Remarkable Rossi gets first pole since Le Mans 2010
The MotoGP™ Q2 session saw Valentino Rossi grab pole at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, with Andrea Iannone and Dani Pedrosa also taking front row slots. The session also saw Marc Marquez suffer a turn 4 crash without consequence, though he ended up fifth on the grid.
In what has been a great season for Rossi with the Italian raising his performance levels again, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider achieved his 50th career pole in the premier class and his first since Le Mans 2010 with a 1’30.843 lap at the end of Q2. The pole position gives Rossi the edge over his colleague Jorge Lorenzo in the battle for second in the championship on Sunday.
Iannone (Pramac Racing) looked to be on course for his first pole in MotoGP™ but was beaten by Rossi by 0.132s as the session closed. Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) will get away from third on the grid having qualified 0.156s behind Rossi.
Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) heads row two and is sure to push hard in the race to beat Rossi, at a track where the Spaniard won last year. A crash for Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) mid session left him in fifth, his worst grid position since Barcelona-Catalunya last year.
Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) completes the second row as he seeks to clinch sixth in the championship in his rookie season.
Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) will line up on row three.
Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP), Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) and wild card Michele Pirro (Ducati Team) will line up on the fourth row, with Bradl and Pirro having made it through from Q1.
MotoGP Qualifying Practice Classification
Moto2: Rabat secures record 11th pole in a single Moto2 season
In Moto2 QP at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, Tito Rabat took his 11th pole of the season, with Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli also on the front row.
Marc VDS Racing Team’s Tito Rabat secured his 11th pole position of the season and his first as the 2014 Moto2 World Champion. A 1’35.199s put him 0.043s clear of Zarco (AirAsia Caterham). The French rider presented a late challenge for pole, swapping positions with Rabat several times.
Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team) rounds off a solid rookie season with a front row start, 0.221s from pole position.
Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Sitag) and Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini) also made it into the top five.
Marcel Schrotter (Tech 3), Jonas Folger (AGR Team), Maverick Viñales (Paginas Amarillas HP 40), Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing) and Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) completed the top ten, all within half a second of pole.
Rabat’s 11th pole of 2014 sets a new intermediate class record, one more than Toni Mang in 1981 and Jorge Lorenzo in 2006.
There were early QP crashes for Jordi Torres (Mapfre Aspar Team) and Robin Mulhauser (CarXpert Technomag) with the latter able to rejoin the session.
Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) had a small low side, holding onto the bike and able to quickly remount.
Tito Rabat, Marc VDS Racing Team: pole position – 1m 35.199s – “I’m so happy to be here and racing without the pressure of the title. I just want to enjoy myself this weekend and in the race tomorrow I will push, push, push. In qualifying it was so windy and I was sliding a lot. But the team did a great job and tomorrow I will do my best, enjoy myself and try and win the last race of the year.”
Johann Zarco, AirAsia Caterham: 2nd – 1m 35.242s – “We were so strong yesterday, less so today, but the team worked really well. The start of qualifying wasn’t great for us but I worked on my pace, kept calm and although it was a shame not to get pole, it’s great to be second. Tomorrow we will try to win because it’s always great to win the last race of the year.”
Franco Morbidelli, Italtrans Racing Team: 3rd – 1m 35.420s – “This is a fantastic way to go into the last race of the year and tomorrow we will be working very hard to win my first race in Moto2. That would be an incredible way to start the winter. My thanks as always to my team, who have supported me so well this season!”
Moto2 Qualifying Practice Classification
Moto3: Antonelli on pole with Miller and Marquez on front row
In the Moto3™ QP at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana on Saturday afternoon Niccolo Antonelli took pole, with Jack Miller and Alex Marquez set to join him on the front row.
Having shown good pace on Friday Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN) cashed in to secure his first ever Grand Prix pole, with a new pole record time at Valencia of 1’39.183.
Crucially, behind the Italian on the front row title rivals Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) qualified in second and third places respectively. Miller trailed Antonelli by just 0.068s whilst Marquez was 0.373s off pole and suffered a light crash in the session.
On row two Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team) will line up ahead of Marquez’s teammate Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Miller’s colleague Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – ahead of what will be another intriguing battle on Sunday.
Row three comprises Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo), John McPhee (SaxoPrint-RTG) and Efren Vazquez (SaxoPrint-RTG), with Juanfran Guevara (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3) at the head of row four.
Marquez took a small fall with 15 minutes to go, though both he and the bike were unaffected. Soon after Enea Bastianini (Junior Team GO&FUN Gresini) fell at Turn 4, losing the front end of his KTM.
Wild cards Maria Herrera (Junior Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Albert Arenas (Calvo Team) had a coming together in the closing stages, resulting in Herrera being stretchered away. Both were taken to the medical centre for check ups but neither were seriously hurt.
Hanika also fell in the final seconds of Qualifying but was uninjured.
Alex Marquez, Estrella Galicia 0,0: 3rd – 1m 39.556s – “Today went pretty well. In the morning it was colder, but we had a very good pace despite not setting any perfect lap. For the qualifying session we knew that if we went out with the same mentality we would manage to finish high up. The conditions changed a lot, because there was a lot more wind, but I think in the end we did very well. We’d talked within the team and we were both willing to help each other out. We did a very good job for both of us to qualify on the front two rows, so I thank Alex [Rins] for his help. I will start from third and have a good pace, so we are optimistic about tomorrow.”
Moto3 Qualifying Practice Classification
HRC Report
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) will start the final Grand Prix of a breathtaking 2014 MotoGP World Championship after qualifying a close third fastest at Valencia’s Circuito Ricardo Tormo this afternoon.
The local hero will be joined on the front row by Andrea Iannone (Ducati) and pole position man Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), who scored his first pole position since May 2010.
This was Pedrosa’s tenth front row of the season and puts him in an ideal position for the race, especially since Valencia is such a sinuous circuit which makes overtaking especially difficult. Strong winds were a problem for all riders during today, with Turn One a particular concern. Pedrosa said that the blustery conditions allowed him to get the right line through the crucial high-speed corner only once.
However, the omens are good for the Spaniard who has enjoyed massive success at Valencia: in 2002 he took 125 victory, in 2004 and 2005 he won the 250 race and in 2007, 2009 and 2012 he triumphed in MotoGP.
Recently crowned Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) was running a close second fastest when he slid off with only a minute to go, preventing him from recording what should have been his fastest lap of the session. The twice MotoGP king slid off at Turn Four, the circuit’s first right-hander.
He ended up fifth and will thus start the race from the middle of the second row, which will make a fast getaway more important than ever. Marquez has already won 12 races during his second MotoGP title-winning campaign and if he achieves a 13th win tomorrow he will take the most successful season record from former Repsol Honda rider Mick Doohan, who won 12 races during the 1997 500cc World Championship.
Marquez’s pre-race nerves usually start an hour or two before the 2pm start of the MotoGP race, but tomorrow it’s likely his biggest nerves will be saved for the 11am start of the Moto3 race, in which his younger brother Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) bids to win the Moto3 title against fierce opposition from Australian Jack Miller (KTM).
Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) completed the top ten in qualifying today, hampered by rear-end chatter with his second rear tyre during QP2. Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) will start his last race on an RC213V from 13th on the grid after a difficult Saturday.
Scott Redding (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RCV1000R) once again proved his speed by qualifying 14th and top Open Honda, just behind his RC213V-mounted team-mate, Bautista. Redding has already admitted that he is especially excited by this visit to Valencia, because on Monday he will get his first ride on a factory-spec RC213V.
Nicky Hayden (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) wasn’t entirely happy with his performance this afternoon – he found some traffic when using his second tyre and therefore was unable to get the lap time he’d been aiming for.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) was 18th, two places behind his team-mate, as he gives Honda’s brand-new Open-spec RCV213-RS its first run at a MotoGP event, prior to the machine’s full-time entry into next year’s World Championship. The machine is basically an RCV1000R with a revised engine, featuring pneumatic-valve springs, similar to the factory RC213V’s, and a revised chassis. Set-up time is obviously an issue on a brand-new motorcycle and that’s what Aoyama lacks here.
Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R) was unhappy with his worst qualifying performance of the year which puts him 23rd on the grid.
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd – 1m 30.999s – “It was a difficult qualifying because there was much more wind than in the morning session. That made it hard to calculate the entry to corners and when to brake. As a result, I made a few mistakes and couldn’t set a good lap at the beginning. Later, when I took the corners with a better line, the tyres were more worn down. At the end I was able to find those two tenths necessary to get onto the front row, so tomorrow we need to make the most of the position and have a good race.”
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 5th – 1m 31.144s – “On the one hand I’m happy, because we have a great pace and a great setup for tomorrow, but on the other hand I am a little annoyed that I made a mistake in qualifying. I apologise to the team, because we could have fought for pole position. I made one mistake on the first stint and another on the second, causing me to crash. You learn from these things and I’ll go out tomorrow looking to enjoy the race, because we are ready to battle for the win.”
Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 10th – 1m 31.443 – “I am totally unhappy because on our second rear tyre in QP2 I had some chattering so although I was pushing very hard I could not improve my lap time. I knew that the other guys would have pushed to improve in the last minutes and I wanted to do the same thing but at the end we are P10. It’s not the perfect position for the race tomorrow but I’m thinking positively because the guys have a similar pace and I have a good pace too. I believe we can easily fight for a top six.”
Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 13th – 1m 32.160s – “Our problem is always the lack of rear grip: the rear tyre looks like is cold every time, therefore I can’t push hard. Our race pace is limited: when I try to push to make one fast lap it’s impossible to go faster, because I lose the rear end everywhere. It’s a bit frustrating, but it’s the same feeling I had during almost all the second half of the season, and today the situation was not different. Tomorrow’s race will be again a difficult challenge: I will do my best to try to enjoy my last race with Honda.”
Scott Redding, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 14th – 1m 32.315s – “I’m happy because today we were able to keep the same good rhythm throughout the whole day, and moreover I did my best lap alone: this is important because it means that we can be fast in the race. At the moment we are still struggling a little bit with the front: in the qualifying we used the soft front tyre and the front was pushing, so we need to keep working to fix this issue. The choice of the front tyre for the race is going to depend a lot on the temperature, so we will see tomorrow”.”
Nicky Hayden, Drive 7 Aspar Honda: 16th – 1m 32.395s – “Yesterday I was struggling into corners but we discovered that was something to do with the brakes after my Sepang crash. With that fixed, today was better. But I couldn’t improve like I usually do with my second on qualifying – there was too much traffic and maybe I was trying too hard. The wind was a problem, especially into Turn One.”
Hiroshi Aoyama, Drive 7 Aspar Honda: 18th – 1m 32.449s – “We lost some time this morning with a back-brake issue, which was important because we need maximum track time with a new machine. We also adjusted chassis set-up but came back to our original setting. I want to have a good race tomorrow. It may be my last MotoGP race so I want to finish it with a smile!”
Karel Abraham, Cardion AB Motoracing: 23rd – 1m 33.019s – “Of course I know that is bad and I’m mad about that. It is the worst qualifying result of the season, even though after Friday everything was going well. I won’t blame anyone or anything; today it just didn’t not go well, even though I tried to give it everything. My crash in FP4 did not help and we had to improvise a little bit. It was also a shame that Valentino went straight onto my line directly from garage. I had to swerve to not hit him. Tomorrow it won’t be easy, but the bike is well prepared and we don’t have any real problems, so not all is lost.”
Yamaha Report
A super heated last qualifying session of the season at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit this afternoon saw Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi rise to the top to start tomorrow’s Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana from pole position. His teammate Jorge Lorenzo will start directly behind him from fourth place on the grid.
Rossi clinched his first pole since Le Mans 2010 by lingering in the pits for a little while at the start of the session, allowing him to fully focus on a lap time once he entered a relatively empty track. Putting down a 1’31.765, the nine-time World Champion briefly set provisional pole. He went on to further improve his time but not his position with a 1’31.614 lap, leaving him in eighth place with eight minutes of the session remaining. Rossi then returned to the pits for fresh rubber and was back out again two minutes later. He became one of the key protagonists in an incredible fight for pole as the times started to drop into the 1’30s. His improvements continued as he initially set provisional pole with a 1’31.198 lap. He later got pushed back to fourth but, with one lap remaining after the flag had come out, he dropped a final time of 1’30.843 to take the 50th pole in his MotoGP career and his 60th pole over all classes.
Teammate Lorenzo was also one of the last riders to get on the track this afternoon. Once out he immediately fired off a fast lap and set provisional pole with a 1’31.726, before getting pushed back to eighth as the pace quickened. He went on to improve with a 1’31.421 to rise back up to second and with seven minutes remaining returned to the pits for a fresh rear qualifying tyre. Three minutes later he was back out and continued to improve his time when he put in another hot lap of 1’31.049, to move up four places to second. He looked good for a front row until a flurry of late activity from other riders pushed him to fourth position, on the second row.
Valentino Rossi – 1st / 1’30.843 / 8 laps – “Getting my 50th pole position in my MotoGP career is a great achievement. It was a bit of a surprise, I didn’t expect it. I knew that I could do a good lap time because I felt really good with the bike. When I pushed the times were already not so bad, but on the last lap I was able to give a little bit extra. To get another pole position after four years is quite emotional. I like it a lot and I’m very happy, especially because it will be very important for tomorrow’s race.”
Jorge Lorenzo – 4th / 1’31.049 (+0.206) / 7 laps – “Fourth place is good, keeping in mind that all the riders’ times are very close. I tried to do some good lap times. I did one fast lap but I made a mistake in the second and I went wide and I lost one or two tenths of a second. Valentino was behind me and he improved his lap time and went in front. This happens sometimes and you can lose some positions because of it. Our rivals are really competitive and they can take slow corners really late and exit corners very easily with a lot of acceleration, but we are not so bad. We have a great pace. The race is going to be long, so it won’t be easy but we have a lot of potential to win the race.”
Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director – “It is incredible to see Valentino on pole, especially at a place where in the past he has struggled to go fast. Jorge’s times also looked good today. He was consistently fast, so it’s a pity that he lost the first row at the end of the session as he deserved to be there. He has a good rhythm and he has won many races here, so I think we can be optimistic for tomorrow. We’re still not satisfied about the settings; compared to yesterday we made a big step in the right direction, but there are still some things that we need to improve. The race will be 30 laps, which is quite long. This is quite difficult to manage, not only physically for the riders, but also technically and tyre-wise. We’ll try to find something tomorrow morning that will hopefully give us some benefits.”
Strong second row start for Espargaro in season final qualifying at Valencia
Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Pol Espargaro will begin the final race of his debut season in the MotoGP class from the rear of the second row in sixth after a strong qualifying in Valencia. The young Spaniard started his day in superb form by completing Free Practice 3 with a result of 1’31.083 which saw him end the session impressively in second place and only 0.133 from the leading lap. This set him up perfectly for QP2 under gloriously sunny yet windy conditions at the Ricardo Tormo circuit. During the qualifying dash, Espargaro launched into a formidable run instantly before finishing with a best time of 1’31.307 that was set at the close of session on the last of his nine laps. The 23 year old rider’s notable efforts saw him fantastically clinch sixth in what was a strong-minded and well fought performance with his time being only four tenths from pole position. Tomorrow he will lunge forward at the start of the 30 lap race as he aims to confirm sixth in the championship standings in the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana.
Meanwhile, Bradley Smith will contest in the final race of the 2014 season one place behind his teammate, in seventh on the MotoGP grid after undertaking a strong ride in qualifying today. The British star began his day at Valencia by finishing in tenth position in the morning having used the session to complete further adjustments to the setup of his Yamaha YZR-M1. His best lap was 1’31.469 and resulted in him being only three tenths from the front row. Smith continued his forward momentum into the qualifying and concluded the 15 minute shootout with a top result of 1’31.324, leaving him at the head of the third row for tomorrow’s race. His time was a blink of an eye behind his teammate by only 0.017 and he will seek to conclude the race as the leading satellite bike in the final round.
Pol Espargaro – 6th / 1’31.307 (+0.464) / 9 laps – “Of course a second row start is nothing to be too unhappy about, even though after our performance this morning, I expected to finish a bit higher up the grid. However, to be just behind the four factory bikes as well as Iannone is definitely a promising position for us to be in for tomorrow. In addition, I remain convinced that we are stronger in the race than what we have shown on the single lap today. The wind was really strong this afternoon so any of the riders were lucky if they managed to have a wind free run. I unfortunately made a small mistake on my fastest lap and with these small gaps, you can easily lose a couple of positions. However, to be only four tenths from pole is a good achievement and puts us in a good place to fight from in order to end our season in sixth overall tomorrow, which is our aim.”
Bradley Smith – 7th / 1’31.324 (+0.481) / 9 laps – “I am pleased with the qualifying result today as it is a solid place to start the final Grand Prix from. The conditions on track were quite tough and with a lot less grip compared to last year. Plus the wind really picked up this afternoon and was quite aggressive, particularly into the first corner. I finished with a time that was close to Pol’s and I believe that is why our team works so successfully together as we have been battling since 2005 so we know each other very well. I finished 0.4 of a second from the pole and I qualified ahead of Aleix who, along with Pol, is the contender to my target of landing sixth in the championship standings. So overall, the result today leaves me in quite a promising position for tomorrow and I look forward to the battle in the 30 lap sprint at Valencia.”
Aleix Esparagaro first open bike in Valencia qualifying
The last qualifying session of the season ends up with another pole position in the Open class for the NGM Forward Racing rider Aleix Espargaro. The Spaniard stopped the clock on 1.31.468, just 0.643 from the pole position and tomorrow he will start the GP de la Comunitat Valenciana from the 11th position.
It was also a positive Saturday for Alex De Angelis. He qualified 19th on the grid after a heavy crash, fortunately without consequences for the rider. Despite his session being compromised by the incident, Alex is confident for the race.
Aleix Espargaro – 11th / 1’31.486 (+0.643) / 9 laps – “I’m happy with the work done during this weekend, even if I expected a better result for this qualifying. Tomorrow we will take the start from the 11th spot on the grid. Despite this position, we are only 0.643 from the pole position, so we are all quiet close. For the race it will be important to maintain the contact with the front guys. I aim at finishing this special season with the NGM Forward Racing Team with a good result.”
Alex De Angelis – 19th / 1’32.453 (+1.610) / 8 laps – “We did a good job in the FP3, and I was confident for the afternoon session as the feeling was good and also the pace. We made some small modifications for the qualifying, but in the FP4 I crashed badly, compromising the session. I went back on track and I succeeded to repeat the lap times of the morning. All in all, I’m confident for the race. We will continue working for the race.”
Ducati Report
Crutchlow and Dovizioso qualify for the Valencian Community GP in eighth and ninth for a row 3 grid start
The two Ducati Team riders qualified on the third row of the starting-grid for the Valencian Community Grand Prix, the final round of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship, which takes place tomorrow at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia.
Both Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso were able to complete two good free practice sessions today, easily gaining access to Q2, but during the decisive qualifying run they were disturbed by strong winds and could not put together a perfect lap.
Michele Pirro, test-rider for the Ducati Test Team, was fourteenth at the end of FP3 and then took part in the first qualifying session (Q1), finishing second. Having gained access to Q2 together with Bradl, Michele was however not able to go any higher than twelfth and as a result will start tomorrow’s race from row 4.
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – 8th (1’31.359) – “I’m a little disappointed with the final outcome in qualifying: I believe we should have gone a bit quicker but we were affected a lot by the wind with our bike and I also had some problems with chatter. But overall today I felt we had a good feeling with the bike, I was a bit more confident and we were able to push a bit more, so hopefully tomorrow we can have a good race.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 9th (1’31.426) – “We have worked well all weekend, but in the afternoon there was a strong wind and I lost a bit of feeling with the front. I didn’t ride as smoothly as I did in the other sessions and unfortunately I was not able to do the times I had expected. We’ll see what the conditions are like tomorrow, but I think that for the race we should be OK.”
Michele Pirro (Ducati Test Team #51) – 12th (1’32.617) – “I’m happy in any case because I managed to get into Q2. This morning I wasn’t satisfied because I couldn’t push hard and I knew I could have done better. In Q1 on the other hand I set a good time, lapping on my own, not far from the times set by the other Ducati riders. Unfortunately in Q2 I didn’t have any more new tyres to use: we did a few modifications but in the end I preferred not to take any risks.”
Suzuki Report
Team Suzuki MotoGP will spend Saturday evening at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo going over the final plans, settings and strategies for its re-introduction to the premier class of Grand Prix racing for what will be the 18th and final round of the 2014 season tomorrow at Valencia in Spain.
Randy De Puniet improved his best-lap around the 14 curves of the flat and curling layout on the works GSX-RR by two-10ths-of-a-second compared to his fastest effort through Friday’s Free Practice sessions. Despite running into a few more small teething-troubles with the brand-new MotoGP project, the 33-year-old Frenchman was able to secure a spot on the seventh row of the grid for the 30-lap (120km) Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana on Sunday afternoon.
The GSX-RR cut through cool and cloudy air on Saturday for the second day of action at the Ricardo Tormo and as the vast stadium seating section started to fill with fans and expectation. De Puniet, who claimed victory at Valencia over 10 years ago in the 250cc class and clearly knows his way around the course thanks to 15 previous Grands Prix at the venue, hit lap-times in the mid-to-low 1 minute 32 second bracket. He was 20th in FP3 and then slotted into the QP1 group.
He posted a 32.8 on his first quick attempt and lowered the chrono to 32.5. The Saturday afternoon outing was not without interruption for the fledgling Suzuki crew but Team Manager Davide Brivio and his technicians were able to gather more information and valuable data in a ‘race setting’ in preparation for their work in the coming days (2015 test) and winter period. The first ‘moment of truth’ arrives tomorrow with Suzuki’s first Grand Prix since the end of the 2011 campaign.
Randy De Puniet: “Not so easy today. We had a few more technical issues and we had to jump between the bikes and I couldn’t really ride like I wanted to. I’m a bit disappointed about the position because I believed I could have done much better. It’s the first race for the bike, however, and tomorrow we will try our best. I think I can ride low ‘32s tomorrow. I know I can do this and I can be consistent but we haven’t been able to show this yet. I’m ready to fight with everybody tomorrow and I would love this if we can make it happen. If we keep going in the right direction then we will have no regrets.”
Davide Brivio – Team Manager: “A bit faster today and overall I think things are not too bad for our first race. We are encountering some issues but this is a part of being in a race environment with a project that is still young! This is why we are here; to take note of the problems we might find and the gap we have to the others. We are in the process and path we need to take. It is all about shaping our winter homework. I don’t think the performance is so bad and I can see some potential with the bike once a couple of technical issues have been solved. I think Randy is doing a good job and putting in a lot of effort despite a challenging situation. We are looking forward to the race tomorrow and I’m sure Randy will find a bit extra when he is part of the group. Up until now we are doing what we need to do and I think it is going OK.”
Bridgestone Report
Bridgestone slick compounds available:
Front: Extra-soft & Soft (Symmetric) & Soft (Asymmetric). Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Weather: FP1 – Dry. Ambient 16-18°C; Track 19-21°C (Bridgestone measurement) – FP2 – Dry. Ambient 19-20°C; Track 25-28°C (Bridgestone measurement)
In blustery conditions at the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi seized his first MotoGP pole position since the 2010 French Grand Prix as the nine-time World Champion sets his sights on a third victory in 2014
On his last lap in Qualifying Practice 2, Rossi set the quickest time of the weekend so far, a 1’30.843, to beat Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone to pole position by 0.132 seconds. Qualifying in third place for tomorrow’s race was Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa who stopped the clocks at 1’30.999 and was the only other rider besides Rossi and Iannone to lap in the 1’30 bracket in qualifying. Rossi and Pedrosa used the same combination of the medium compound rear and symmetric soft compound front slick to set their best times in qualifying, while Iannone set his best time using the soft compound rear in conjunction with the asymmetric soft compound front.
All of today’s sessions took place in fine conditions but strong winds in the afternoon created challenging riding conditions while also keeping track temperatures to a moderate level, with the peak reading of 28°C being two degrees lower than yesterday’s high. In a similar vein to yesterday, the medium compound rear slick was the most popular option in today’s sessions, with all the Factory Ducati, Honda and Yamaha riders preferring this option, as well as a few of the Open-class entrants.
Front tyre choice was more varied, with both the asymmetric and symmetric soft compound front slicks being widely used, although race tyre choice will depend largely on tomorrow’s weather, with cooler temperatures forecast for Sunday.
The potential for cooler weather means that the morning Warm Up session at 0940 local time (GMT +1) will be crucial in helping the riders to decide which tyres to choose for the thirty-lap race which commences at 1400.
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department – “After a fast start to the day with FP3 this morning, conditions were more challenging for the riders this afternoon with strong winds, but overall it was a productive day for us and the riders. The riders have a good idea of what their preferred race tyre choice is, but I believe we will need to see what tomorrow’s weather brings as cooler conditions could result in some riders re-evaluating their front tyre choice. The two soft compound front tyres, the asymmetric and symmetric options are both working well but it might take a final evaluation in morning Warm Up for the riders to see which option works best for them in cooler temperatures. Rear tyre choice looks pretty much set now, with the medium compound rear slick likely to be used by the majority of the riders.”
