— MotoGP 2013 – Round 18 – Valencia
— Marquez begins Valencia title-charge ahead of Lorenzo
As the MotoGP™ action on the first day of Free Practice at the GP Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana concluded it was Marc Marquez who set the pace with his teammate Dani Pedrosa only 0.066s behind him, and title rival Jorge Lorenzo 0.158s off the pace in third.
Despite the windy conditions in the afternoon’s FP2 at the Valencia track, Marquez stepped up the pace in the second half of the session, with his best time of 1’31.220 not far off Pedrosa’s pole record of 1’30.844 from last year. Pedrosa was very close to his Repsol Honda colleague, with both of them still looking for more grip – using both the softer and harder option rear tyres.
Lorenzo improved late on in the session on his regular number-one machine, having spent time before on his number-two bike with holes in the front bubble to cope with the windy conditions. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow had a great day as he ended up fourth overall despite a late low-side crash, from which he escaped unhurt. The Englishman rides in his last GP for the team this weekend before departing for Ducati.
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi, who is working with Crew Chief Jeremy Burgess for the last time this weekend, was fifth fastest on Friday, 0.4s off the pace. After his statements that he needs to get quicker for next year, he will hope for a strong push in tomorrow’s practice.
The top ten was rounded out by Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda), Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Ducati Team pair Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden. Bradl is keen to resolve front-end grip issues, whilst Batista is working with a new Showa rear shock provided for this weekend.
Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro was unhurt after he crashed his ART machine, which was the new bike him and his team are testing this weekend for the Italian outfit. Despite switching bikes on Monday, Team Manager Gino Borsoi said that the team is pleased to help Aprilia until that day, hence why Espargaro is giving feedback on the new bike featuring a different frame, swingarm and engine. He ended the day 13th on the timesheet.
Practice Results
1 Marc Marquez 1’31.220 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Dani Pedrosa 1’31.286 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Jorge Lorenzo 1’31.378 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
4 Cal Crutchlow 1’31.502 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5 Valentino Rossi 1’31.639 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
6 Stefan Bradl 1’31.858 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
7 Alvaro Bautista 1’31.873 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
8 Bradley Smith 1’31.984 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Andrea Dovizioso 1’32.363 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
10 Nicky Hayden 1’32.395 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
11 Andrea Iannone 1’32.596 ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
12 Michele Pirro 1’32.756 ITA DUCATI Ducati Test Team
13 Aleix Espargaro 1’32.809 SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar
14 Claudio Corti 1’33.172 ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
15 Colin Edwards 1’33.252 USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
16 Hector Barbera 1’33.270 SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
17 Danilo Petrucci 1’33.304 ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
18 Yonny Hernandez 1’33.487 COL DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team
19 Randy De Puniet 1’33.570 FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Test Team
20 Luca Scassa 1’34.049 ITA ART Cardion AB Motoracing
21 Hiroshi Aoyama 1’34.077 JAP FTR Avintia Blusens
22 Michael Laverty 1’34.132 GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
23 Bryan Staring 1’35.478 AUS FTR-HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
24 Damian Cudlin 1’35.644 AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
25 Martin Bauer 1’35.832 AUT S&B SUTER Remus Racing Team
26 Lukas Pesek 1’36.353 CZE IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
— Moto2™
Having topped the FP1 timesheet, new Moto2™ World Champion Pol Espargaro was fastest again on Friday afternoon at the GP Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, with his 1’35.548 lap keeping him 0.142s ahead of Tuenti HP 40 teammate Tito Rabat, and 0.426s in front of Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing’s Thomas Luthi.
Espargaro will ride a Monster Yamaha Tech3 MotoGP™ bike in testing next week and the pressure is off in many ways, having already clinched the title, but he now intends to end the season on a high. The Spaniard dominated both sessions at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on Friday but almost had a clash with wildcard rider Gino Rea during the afternoon, with both riders just managing to avoid going down.
Behind Espargaro, teammate Rabat aims for a strong finish to the season in his last race for Sito Pons’ outfit, and that pair could do battle for the win on Sunday if today’s pace is anything to judge by. Switzerland’s Tom Luthi would also be a good bet for a podium finish, though having also lapped in the top five Alex de Angelis (NGM Mobile Forward Racing) and Simone Corsi (NGM Mobile Racing) will aim to run at the front as the weekend progresses.
The top ten was completed by Jordi Torres, Mika Kallio, Nico Terol, Xavier Simeon and Julian Simon, all lapping within tenth tenths of a second of the leading time.
— Moto3™
The Friday Moto3™ Free Practice sessions at the GP Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana were topped by the trio fighting for the title, with Luis Salom leading Alex Rins and Maverick Viñales.
Salom’s best time of 1’40.403 from FP1 was the best of the day and the Red Bull KTM Ajo man’s best FP2 time was just a tenth of a second slower, as Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) topped the timesheet in the latter session with a 1’40.489 fastest lap.
Team Calvo’s Viñales was third best in both sessions and his FP2 time of 1’40.580 was his best time of the day, as the three Spanish title candidates flexed their muscles in front of the home fans.
German rider Jonas Folger (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3) and Australian competitor Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG) were fourth and fifth overall respectively, but both were unable to improve on their morning best times in FP2.
The overall top ten was completed by Efren Vazquez (Mahindra Racing), Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini Moto3), Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing) and Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold).
Khairuddin has had some costly crashes in recent weeks and he walked away from a big highside at the conclusion of the session, whilst Lorenzo Baldassarri was also unhurt in a light crash towards the end of the outing.
Brad Binder was taken to the Medical Centre with a suspected collarbone injury, as was Alan Techer, after both had FP2 crashes. Whilst Binder was cleared with shoulder contusion, Techer has suffered a left wrist fracture.
— Repsol HRC Report
It’s been a positive first day for the Repsol Honda team in Valencia, with Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa finishing on the top of the time sheets.
Championship leader Marc, winner in Valencia last year in Moto2, had a good start to the day finishing first in FP1 with just 0.024 separating the top three riders – Marc 1’31.557 (lap 20 of 21), Lorenzo 1’31.575 (lap 12 of 19) and Dani 1’31.581 (lap 10 of 18) – with all three lapping under the Circuit Record Lap set by Casey Stoner in 2008 (1’32.582).
In the afternoon’s FP2 session, times improved on the new asphalt and both Marc and Dani (who is the only rider to have won here in all three classes) bettered this morning’s times, using the hard rear tyre. Marc recorded a time of 1’31.220 on lap 16 of 20, and Dani was second fastest with 1’31.286 on lap 16 of 22.
Marc Marquez 1st 1’31.220
“It was good to start the most important week of the season and with a good feeling. We still need to improve our setup but we were fastest today – which is the key thing ahead of Sunday’s race. Tomorrow we will continue in the same way but try to improve and take another step forward because I am sure that the rest of the riders will do so”
Dani Pedrosa 2nd 1’31.286
“Today we were able to work with the soft and hard compound tyres, but the track conditions weren’t ideal and the bike was sliding a lot. We will have to be very focused, because the level of the other riders is high at the moment and everyone is riding fast. For tomorrow we shall concentrate on improving certain aspects of the bike and continue with the working method that we have been using”
— Yamaha Report
Action got underway today at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia ahead of this Sunday’s championship showdown, the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana.
As one of the two protagonists for the title, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo came out fighting in the two free practice sessions. With a blistering pace from the outset, Lorenzo wrapped up the morning run in second position, 0.018 seconds from Marc Marquez on top.
The defending champion carried his speed straight into the afternoon session, leading from the start. As rivals Marquez and Pedrosa increased the pace, Lorenzo made some set up changes and moved to second position behind Pedrosa. The last ten minutes then became a flurry of activity as the three Spaniards turned in hot laps, Lorenzo delivering a 1’31.378 to finish third in the combined times, 0.158 seconds from the top.
Teammate Valentino Rossi started the weekend’s action strongly in the morning practice. The nine-time world champion led early on before dropping to sixth, just 0.68 seconds from the top as the frontrunners increased the pace.
Rossi got straight down to business in the second practice, holding second on the timesheets from the beginning behind his teammate in first. By mid session the Italian was sitting in third place, having reduced the gap to the top to just over 0.3 of a second. As the later lap times tumbled Rossi was able to close the time gap from the morning session, finishing in fifth in the combined times with a 1’31.639, 0.419 seconds from first.
Jorge Lorenzo – 3rd / 1’31.378 / 27 laps
“This afternoon was very windy so it was very difficult to make the same lap time of the morning but we managed to improve it a little bit. We adjusted the bike a little electronically and also the suspension. We are quite close to everyone and ready to keep working tomorrow.”
Valentino Rossi – 5th / 1’31.639 / 27 laps
“Today was not so bad, especially this afternoon. I am quite satisfied with the practice. The level is very high and the top seven or eight riders are very close. This afternoon we were able to close the gap, I am now just 0.4 from pole position and I have quite a good pace. I’m quite happy with the work on the bike. I’m quite fast in the middle of the track but I lose some time on T1 and T4 so we have to work a bit. We have to try to do a good result for the last race of the season, stay close to the top three and see what we can do.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“The first day of practice is done. The boys are very tight at the top. We have space to improve but it looks like the weekend will be nice weather so different from the last couple of years here. Lap times are already quite fast but I guess tomorrow we will break lap records because the tarmac is good and the grip is very good. The boys are very close together so I think it will be tight tomorrow. So far we are happy with the result but of course we need to work and try to improve.”
Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“We are not leading but we are satisfied. For the first day we were able to get a lot of information. Both riders are quite happy. We are for sure going to work and improve the areas where we are suffering. We were also able to test both tyre compounds and we know we can make a step tomorrow.”
Crutchlow makes fast start ahead of final Tech 3 appearance
Cal Crutchlow warmed up for his final appearance in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in Valencia with an incredibly strong performance in today’s two practice sessions at the tight and twisty Ricardo Tormo track.
In gloriously sunny and warm conditions this morning, Crutchlow was an encouraging seventh fastest with a quickest pace of 1.32.434 that left him just 0.052s outside of the top six.
A strong breeze had picked up in advance of this afternoon’s second 45-minute session, but Crutchlow impressively slashed almost a second off his pace to surge up the rankings into fourth position, courtesy of a lap of 1.31.503.
Only dominant Spanish trio Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo lapped faster than the 28-year-old today, who is hoping to mount a podium challenge in his last appearance for the French-based Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad in front of a sell-out crowd on Sunday.
Crutchlow walked away unhurt from a crash on his last lap at Turn 11 to finish just 0.124s outside of the top three and 0.282s away from the best lap posted by Marquez, as he once again led the non-factory challenge in Valencia.
Teammate Bradley Smith also enjoyed a magnificent start to the final round of 2013, the British rider storming to the fourth best time this morning. Smith took full advantage of the surprisingly pleasant conditions to clock a best time of 1.32.086 that saw him eclipse the pace of Valentino Rossi and Crutchlow on the Yamaha YZR-M1 machine.
Smith was able to lap slightly faster in FP2 and he was eventually eighth on the combined rankings, but encouragingly he was just a fraction over 0.5s away from the top six, as he concentrated on assessing both soft and hard rear Bridgestone options ahead of the 30-lap race.
Cal Crutchlow – 4th 1.31.502 – 42 laps
“I am happy with my start to the weekend because this afternoon I made a big improvement and I felt fast and strong in FP2. I am disappointed that I crashed right at the end of this afternoon’s session. I didn’t have a bad feeling with the bike but I was trying to improve the bike in the corners and I lost the front. I was trying to roll through the corner faster but obviously I have found the limit. But it was a very positive session and I am in the top four and being so close to that Spanish trio gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the last weekend. My crew did a great job again today and this is a difficult weekend knowing I am leaving after this race. But that makes me even more determined to ensure the last race is a positive one and we can end a brilliant time together on a high.”
Bradley Smith – 8th 1.31.985 – 45 laps
“The great thing about today is that I felt immediately comfortable on the bike. This morning’s fourth position though made the situation look a bit better than it probably was because I put in a brand new tyre right at the end of the session to set my fastest time. This afternoon I was able to improve again and it was good because we got time on the soft and hard Bridgestone options to assess both for the race. We still have a little bit to find with the setting on the hard tyre and we will try and use it again tomorrow to get as much information as possible before deciding what will be the choice for the race. But it has been a positive first day and I am quite close to the front so I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”
— LCR Honda Report
Sunny and dry conditions welcomed the MotoGP riders for the first day of practices of the ultimate round of the season at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia. Following an intense three-week schedule over sea, LCR racer Stefan Bradl took the 4.005Km race track today with the intention to chase the best set-up of his RCV ahead Sunday’s race as the German had an unfortunate history at the Spanish track: since his first appearance here in 2007, Bradl never completed a race. Now, after the fracture occur in Malaysia and the intense recovery programme, Bradl aims to put the word END to this unlucky record.
Stefan: “Well… I think we achieved an acceptable position today and we gradually improved our pace from the morning to the afternoon. We struggled a bit with a lack of front feeling in the morning and it was difficult for me to turn the bike. But we adjusted the setting lap by lap getting a better feeling in the afternoon thus it was easier for me to go faster. There’s still something to improve about the bike balance but we are working on it. I am very happy about my conditions because the ankle is responding well and I had no painkillers so far”.
— Ducati Report
The Ducati Team experienced an uphill start to the final race weekend of the year, with Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden finishing the first two free-practice sessions for the GP de la Comunitat Valenciana ninth and tenth, respectively, in the combined times.
In the perfect weather conditions of the morning session, Hayden and Dovizioso were ninth and tenth, and although they occupied the same positions in the afternoon session, they were in the opposite order. In preparation for tomorrow afternoon’s qualifying sessions, both riders will work with their teams in an effort to improve the turning of their Desmosedici GP13 race machines, particularly in the first and last sectors.
After having sat out the last few rounds to focus on his Ducati Test Team duties, Michele Pirro is back in the MotoGP paddock this weekend, this time in another appearance as a wildcard rider. The Italian was twelfth best aboard the test team’s Desmosedici.
Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team, 9th (1:32.363)
“The track surface is still really nice, but our normal limits remain. Unfortunately, it’s difficult for us to make our bike turn like the others can, so we’re limited and aren’t able to get close to the other factory riders. We’re still too slow mid-corner. Regarding the tyres, the soft is too soft on the right, and although there aren’t many turns in that direction, it still wears too quickly. With this temperature, I think we’ll have to go with the hard, although it doesn’t have much grip and is a bit difficult to manage.”
Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team, 10th (1:32.395)
“The track surface has held up really well from last year and is in great shape, and although the wind made things a bit difficult in the afternoon, that’s the same for everyone. Our first couple of exits this morning were decent, but we haven’t improved enough since then, with either the bike or myself. I’m okay in splits 2 and 3, but the first and last ones are giving me some problems. We need to get the bike to brake and turn better, and we’ll keep trying tomorrow to put ourselves in a better position for Sunday.”
Michele Pirro – Ducati Test Team, 12th (1:32.756)
“It’s nice to be back at a race after two months, so thanks to Ducati for the opportunity to do this again. It took me a few laps to get used to it again this morning, as we haven’t had any tests here. My bike doesn’t have any major updates, so it’s more or less the base for what we used in my last race. Now we’ll try to understand what to do for tomorrow to make further improvements, but anyway, I’m pleased that my gap to the other Ducati riders is around two tenths, which means my level is still good.”
— Power Electronics Aspar Report
The MotoGP World Championship began an important weekend at Valencia on Friday. Not only is the Moto3 title up for grabs, but this year the premier class title is also still to be won. It is a situation which has not occurred since 2006, and as a result the grandstands at the Valencia track are expected to be packed for the occasion. Marc Márquez and Jorge Lorenzo are the title contenders, and it was Márquez who drew first blood with the top spot in practice today. He was just 0.066 quicker than teammate Dani Pedrosa, with Lorenzo in third.
Aleix Espargaró is known for his fun-loving nature and, after he clinched the CRT title in Australia and brother Pol became Moto2 World Champion in Japan, he has reason to be cheerful at the season closer. He was the quickest of the CRT competitors on Friday, once again. The POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar was the standout of that particular field in both morning and afternoon, and not even a crash –from which he escaped unharmed- could stop him from completing a positive day.
Teammate Randy De Puniet was not feeling comfortable on track, due to an engine braking issue. He nevertheless put in 39 laps of the Valencia track. He will continue searching for the way forward in tomorrow’s practice sessions at a circuit he loves.
13th Aleix Espargaró 1.32.809 (26 laps): “Today we debuted a new chassis. It is the new development for next season and it felt very good. This morning we had to set it up, and we were 1.3 seconds off the fastest time. Thus, we were very motivated after the morning session and were focusing on the afternoon. In the second session we improved, but before the end of the run I crashed. I feel really bad about it, because we had a lot of work to do with the new chassis and the crash affected our plans. I apologized to the team afterwards, because it was a silly crash. Tomorrow we shall see the potential that this bike has. I am very relaxed this weekend, because both Pol and I have completed our objectives. It is a special race for me and I want to enjoy every moment. Despite the crash today, things are going well.”
19th Randy De Puniet 1.33.570 (39 laps): “This morning we felt good right from the start of the practice, but we had some engine braking problems which lost us a lot of time. Without knowing the reason why, the bike was locking up under braking. The issues continued in the afternoon, and we eventually had to go to the second bike. This afternoon my mechanics will make sure that everything is under control, so that tomorrow we can use the sessions to the maximum and not miss a minute. I love this track and I want to get a good result here, so tomorrow we will look for solutions.”
— MotoGP 2013 – Round 18 – Valencia
— Marquez and Lorenzo commence tense Championship decider
Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo are set for the big decider this weekend at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, where one of the two will walk away as World Champion. They spoke to the assembled press at the Thursday pre-race press conference joined by Repsol’s Dani Pedrosa, Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi, Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden as well as Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Bradley Smith.
In a slight change to the norm, that press conference was preceded by one featuring the Moto3™ title protagonists in the form of Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Luis Salom, Team Calvo’s Maverick Viñales and Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins – all of who could also be crowned World Champion on Sunday.
Back in the premier-class however it was Marquez who commenced proceedings: “We need to finish in the top four and that is not easy with all of those guys in MotoGP. The mentality is the same as on other weekends: try to do my best Friday, Saturday in the Warm-Up and the race. We will see whether we can fight for the win, fight for the podium or just fight for some points.”
Lorenzo, who has a 13-point deficit over Marquez, knows he has a tough task at hand: “I am sure that, if he can, Valentino will help me, just as I would help him if he found himself in the same situation as me. The important thing is to be fast from Friday onwards and of course especially in the race. I think Marc and myself should be very proud as two Spaniards fighting for the MotoGP world title. I think the best strategy is try to win the race. That’s it. That’s the only thing I can do. We are fighting with a lot of Honda riders and that’s the only thing we can do. Let’s see if it rains on Sunday, but in normal circumstances I think it is very difficult.”
Pedrosa, who won in Valencia last year, had to respond to journalists on the topic of “Team Orders”: “HRC has no team orders as far as I know and I think he is still 13 points ahead and always on the podium, so I think he’s capable of doing it anyway, but sure I’ll try to do my best in the race. And winning it would be the best way of helping the team.”
Rossi, veering off topic slightly, announced the split from his long-term crew chief Jeremy Burgess: “The target is to fight with the top three each weekend. This season it has happened, but not so often. We have had some very good races, with some podiums, and especially one victory. For me, the best way to help Jorge is to try and be in front of Marc. I know it’s very difficult, but for sure I will try. The rumours are true. Not that I am not happy with Jeremy, but I think next year Jeremy will not be my chief mechanic. It was a very difficult decision for me because I have a great history with him. He is not just my chief mechanic but part of my family and my father of racing. But I have decided that next year I need to change something to try and find new motivation to have a new boost to improve my level and my speed.”
Hayden, who clinched the title here in 2006, does not see a great similarity between his race here and what the two Spaniards are about to commence: “Not really. Obviously it’s a lot better to be eight points down [as he was in 2006]. He has a bigger margin, so he needs more to happen. You have to think Marc is in a much better spot – I would much rather be in his spot than Jorge…actually, I would rather be in any of their spots! Marc is not exactly your typical rookie and you would think without any problems he should get it done, but you never know until the flag flies on Sunday.”
Smith, coming to the end of his rookie season, is pleased with how things have gone, yet also believes that next year’s newbies will maybe have more of an instant impact: “We seem to have been ahead of our own personal targets and also what Yamaha expected of me, so that is really nice. I am pleased with the final outcome and also looking forward to the winter before coming back and having another go next year. I didn’t really have the best end to my Moto2 championship and didn’t come into this season with the highest confidence, so I think my jump was a bit more from what we’ll see from Scott and Pol.”
The Moto3™ contenders are tightly bunched at the top of the table, with Salom holding only a two-point lead over Viñales. The Red Bull rider commented: “I want to say thanks to Maverick and Alex for making this championship so nice. I have enjoyed this year a lot and the position on Sunday won’t matter. Of course I want to win if I can, but I won’t mind about the position. But I will remember this season forever and have always remembered fighting with them. We have won seven races this year, which is a lot and we need to continue as we have been doing across the other races.”
Viñales, who knows he has to win, will be giving all he can to take the title: “I don’t believe it! Japan was incredible. This is an opportunity and we will try to make the best result and find the best setting for the race. We have worked really hard all season but this weekend we’ll try to work even harder than usual. Winning is the only result we can do to win the championship. We’ll try to do our best and do the best possible in the race.”
Rins added: “My team and I will try to work in the same line as we have at other circuits – and that’s it. Maybe in the race we need to do a better strategy, like Salom’s strategy, which with he has won seven races, so maybe I can do that strategy but in the end we will see.”
Earlier in the day, Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow, Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaro and Mapfre Aspar’s Nico Terol took part in a popular Spanish sport called Padel at the Agora Tennis Court in Valencia. They received the best tuition possible with the stars of the World Padel Tour, Pablo Lima, Juani Mieres, Miguel Lamperti and Maxi Grabiel at hand to show them the ropes.
