MotoGP Riders reflect on Misano MotoGP
MotoGP 2017 – Round 13 – Misano
Image by AJRN
Marc Marquez – P1
“This was one of the best races of my career. It gave me an amazing feeling because it required incredible concentration to manage the tension the whole time. It was very easy to make a mistake, and that’s why I decided to attack only on the final lap. That lap was amazing; I took many risks, but with such a close season, it was worth trying to get the five extra points for the win. Of course I was thinking about the Championship the whole race. At the beginning the feeling wasn’t so good, probably because there was so much water on the track, and I had a couple of very scary moments. Lorenzo was amazingly fast early on, and so was Danilo later when he took the lead after Jorge’s crash, but I was able to follow him and finally to attack. Thanks to the team for the great job. I’m happy for everyone after what happened at Silverstone. We always try to be ready for every situation, so because we knew that changing the setup from wet to dry takes quite a long time at this track, we agreed that if I felt the track was drying, and there was even a small possibly of a flag-to-flag race, I would signal the team. So I did, and even if in the end that didn’t happen, it was right to do so as we got close to it. This Championship is amazing; anything can happen, but now we’ve returned to the top, equal on points with Andrea. The last five races will be very tough, but we’ll keep pushing and give it our 100%. Finally, I wish to congratulate Toni Bou for his 22nd title, it’s just amazing. Keep doing like that, Toni!”
Danilo Petrucci – P2
“It was a fantastic race. From the first lap the feeling was good. I was leading for long until I saw Marquez coming back. I was thinking to make him pass but my fear was that he could run away. Marquez has done a fantastic last lap and he deserved the victory. I would have liked to win the race but I am very happy for how the weekend has gone, and I have to thank the whole team”.
Andrea Dovizioso – P3
“In the end I’m happy with my third place because today I wasn’t able to find a perfect feeling with the bike. I tried to keep up with Marquez and Petrucci and I did for 20 laps, but the track conditions were really difficult. When they began to lower their lap times I would have had to take too many risks to stay in touch, and I preferred to slightly drop my pace to bring home the 16 points for third place, which is very important for the championship. The Misano weekend however confirmed that we can be competitive on every circuit and we can fight for the title until the very end.”
Maverick Viñales – P4
“I’m happy with the result, because it is the best we could do. Honestly, today we asked 100% of the bike. I tried to get the best result and today that was fourth. We have to continue to work in the same way, because today was a good improvement compared to the wet race at the Sachsenring, especially the handling of the bike. We still need a lot of grip on the traction, so we have to keep going. I’ll have to push in Aragón and believe we can close the 16-point gap to our rivals. On the dry we were really fast, I’m happy we made another step here in Misano. I hope we can do the same in Aragón.”
Michele Pirro – P5
“The weekend hadn’t begun well with yesterday’s crash in qualifying, which unfortunately compromised my grid position, and today I didn’t want to take too many risks in the early laps so I started too slowly. From half-way through the race I started to lap at a good pace and I began my recovery, getting close to Viñales. But I was struggling to keep his pace and in the end I decided not to take too many risks because, after yesterday’s two crashes, I was keen to finish the race. I still have to improve because I’m lacking pace in the early stages of the race, but today I really enjoyed myself.”
Jack Miller – P6
“At the start of the race I felt I had more pace than Vinales and Crutchlow but by the end of the race my pace dropped and I probably switched the engine map too late to help look after the rear tyre. It was good on the edge but I had lost some drive grip and it wasn’t possible to hold off Pirro in the final laps. This was my best weekend in the second half of the season so far and with some good points I am looking forward to the next race in Aragon.”
Scott Redding – P7
“It was a difficult weekend. I never had feeling throughout all free practice and qualifying. All things considered I am very satisfied for this result. I was able to have a good race pace, without making any mistake. This very good result will give me trust for Aragon. I have to thank the team for the work that the team has done this weekend”.
Alex Rins – P8
“I’m happy about this result. During the whole weekend we struggled in dry conditions, but on wet we did a very good job. After the start I found myself in last position. It was a problem with visibility, with all the water kicked up by the other riders ahead of me. Little by little I managed to recover positions, setting my own pace. I saw I could get up to the 9th position and settled behind the rider ahead, where I waited until the last lap to attempt the challenge for 8th place. Then in the last corners we crossed lines with another rider and I lost some ground, without a chance to recover further. My team prepared a fantastic setup for the wet, despite only lapping for 20 minutes in this morning’s warmup.”
Jonas Folger – P9
“I am not so happy about this weekend overall, but I did my best. Qualifying was a different story compared to today because I felt good in the dry conditions. In the wet warm up, we decided to change something but we were a little bit unlucky because by the end of the race we understand that it was the wrong direction with the setting. I struggled with the rear grip and the turning in the last part of the GP but eventually, I finished 9th, however, this was due to Johann’s bike giving up. We didn’t have the speed so I am a bit disappointed as I expected more, especially in the wet. Now, we have to look onwards to Aragon.”
Bradley Smith – P10
“I think the biggest thing today was that if you stay upright you’ll get some points, so I tried to play it smart right from the word go. At the start there was so much spray you couldn’t see much, plus there was so much standing water but then I felt better and better as the track started to dry and then from mid race I found myself chasing Folger and then Pol so we then had our own little battle and in the final laps. I dropped into the 1m 48 bracket, which was great, to then bring it home for tenth in the end, my first top ten finish. I’m super happy to put it together on a Sunday and although it is a wet race, we now need to put this together in the remaining dry races, but certainly things are going in the right direction. A good day.”
Pol Espargaro – P11
“I think I’ve tried everything today! Out on track the conditions were similar to the warm up, but this track doesn’t give much grip on the rear wheel when it’s wet. In the dry we were not far away at all but with only 20 minutes this morning in the wet we hardly had much data going into a 28 lap race. I ended up doing everything I could during the race…nothing more! Luckily we have tomorrow to test new things for Aragon and hopefully in the next wet race I can do a little bit better.”
Álvaro Bautista – P12
“Today I could not do anything more than finish. In the morning I had problems with grip. We tried out solutions for the race to see if it would improve, but it was still the same. It seemed like I was riding on ice, there was no grip at all and when I came into a corner I didn’t know if I’d get out of it. I couldn’t feel the tyres. I had to just try to finish, which is what I did.”
Cal Crutchlow – P13
“I felt really good, I felt comfortable and confident. I knew after ten laps that I could probably start pushing, I didn’t want to take too many risks early and I ended up flying as high as I have in a long time. It was my own mistake, no fault of anyone else. I wanted Jack and the rest behind me, but as soon as I passed him I crashed. I was confident that I could come back across the gap to Dovizioso and maybe even Marquez at that time, but I just pushed too hard and crashed out.“I got back on though, and got some points. It was a difficult, long race with the handlebar touching the tank and no footrest! I did what I had to do, but I’m sorry to the LCR Honda team because we could have had a good result today. I don’t know if we would have won the race, but I think we could have definitely been with Dovi. In the condition I’m in we’ve done well all weekend, I’ve felt good all the way through and we can take those positives away from here. We were fast in both wet and dry, but I made a mistake in the race and that’s what cost me.”
Dani Pedrosa – P14
“It has been a very difficult race. Unfortunately, I struggled a lot as I could not put any heat into the tyres. For me, it was as I was riding on the ice. This morning I crashed during the warm up and even if we tried everything to solve this issue we could not coming out with a solution. I was very slow, risking to crash at every corner. Only at the end, with much less water on the track, I was able to increase a bit the temperature and my lap times immediately drop by almost four seconds. It was a shame as we’ve lost many points. We can now only keep focusing in the next races and try to achieve better results. Regarding Toni (Bou) I think he deserved this impressive 22nd Trial title, he is an example for everyone!”
Johann Zarco – P15
“It was challenging but tough for everyone. In the warm up I saw that I wasn’t as strong as I would have liked, but then at the beginning of the Grand Prix, I felt quite good. I was happy to have control and see that the other riders were not much faster than me. I stayed focused and then I saw Crutchlow and Lorenzo crash, who are dangerous for me in the championship. Because they fell, it made me realise how difficult the conditions were for everyone. The race was long but step-by-step it got less wet, although it did not dry and this gave me some confidence but not as much as I expected. I had to stay focused and in the end, I was managing the gap to Redding quite well so I thought that everything was in order for the last lap. However, I had no more fuel from turn 11, which was a shame. I did my best to preserve the fuel until the last corner but then the bike stopped and I had to push it on the home straight and that was long. Some riders overtook me and it’s a big pity but I made sure that I got to the end because it’s the racing mind. I finished 15th, which equals one championship point but it is better than nothing.”
Loris Baz – P16
“From the first lap I realized that the feeling with the rear was not the same as this morning. But on the other hand, I had a lot of confidence with the front, so I pushed hard to gain some places. There are races that you do with your head and there are races that you do with your heart, and this one was a race to take risks. I did my best get closer to the front and every lap I could see how I was catching up with the front group. I was with Jack (Miller) who had a good pace and I wanted to catch Maverick (Viñales), but when I hit the brakes I lost the front and crashed. Then I came back on track, found back to my pace and wanted to score some points. But once again I crashed when I had Alvaro (Bautista) in front of me. Now we have to forget this race and think about Aragon, were I want to use my head in the race.”
Karel Abraham – P17
“This was the worst race of the season for me. We had a good qualifying session but we had been struggling a little over the weekend. Today was really very bad. I had a little crash in the morning, and in the race I had a crash at the same corner -Turn 3- immediately. It was unfortunate because there were a lot of riders and we were overtaking each other. I feel like somebody pushed me a little on that corner, but with this low grip level it is very easy to crash. I felt like somebody kicked me from behind and I lost the bike immediately. I tried to pick it up, but then it was really difficult to ride alone because I didn’t know where the limit was. It was really hard, and I basically just put in some laps to finish the race, thinking that maybe we would get some points if any riders crashed. It didn’t happen, we finished seventeenth, and towards the end of the race I had a few moments where I lost the front or the rear -but it doesn’t matter. We just have to forget this race and go to Aragon positively. I know we can get a good result, but today was definitely not our day.
Jorge Lorenzo – DNF
“What a pity about my crash! The bike was going very well and I was riding pretty calmly, without taking too many risks and trying to manage the tyres well. Unfortunately at a certain point I lost concentration trying to change the mapping to a different electronic configuration, I used the rear brake in a slightly different way and that was enough to cause a high-side and make me crash. I’m very disappointed about that because I think I could have won the race by a distance and instead I had to retire. Races are like that however and you have to accept that these things can happen.”
Andrea Iannone – DNF
“Sadly I had a problem in my arm. I decided to wear the rain suit for the race, which actually proved to be too tight, obstructing the blood flood to the arms, so right after two or three laps my forearm started to pump and get rigid, preventing me from riding properly. I was never able to open the gas full-throttle, and then I also lost responsiveness with the brake. It’s a shame because the machine was performing well and had good potential. I’m sorry for Suzuki because we could have taken advantage of these conditions.”
Hector Barbera – DNF
“The crash was a pity because today we had a big chance to get a good result. But all in all, the weekend has been positive, because we started the race better than usual and after some laps we were close to the front. The conditions were tricky but we had to try. I was closing the gap with Viñales and Miller, maybe I pushed too much and I crashed. I was highsided from my bike and I was lucky to escape with no injuries. Now we have to focus on the next race in Aragon.”
Tito Rabat – DNF
“At beginning of the race I had no grip on the rear and don’t know why and this made the early laps difficult on a very wet track. Then I was able to take my rhythm and catch the guys ahead and was in a position to score points. With the crash I just rolled the gas a little at turn six and the rear slid out. It is disappointing for me and the team, I wanted to finish the race in these difficult conditions.”
Aleix Espargaro – DNF
“The conditions today were truly difficult. This morning in warm up I did not feel good, but we made a few important changes to the RS-GP and in the early part of the race the feeling was decidedly better. Then I began to have problems with the front tyre before the crash. It’s a shame because we have not been able to demonstrate our true potential for a few races now. I am disappointed, but I have not lost my spirit or the desire to continue fighting.”
Sam Lowes – DNF
“I can’t be pleased about how the race ended, but on the track I was able to be competitive. I battled, overtook, maintained a good pace and the RS-GP worked brilliantly on the wet track. When the amount of water on the track began to go down, the front didn’t give me the same confidence. I tried to slow down too, but I wasn’t able to avoid the crash. Despite the result, the race is still incentive to give me confidence that I hope to take advantage of in Aragón where I won my last race in Moto2.”
Romano Albesiano – Aprilia Racing Manager
“First of all, I would like to say a few words about Sam, who was moving up in the order and had gotten into the top ten. A great result was definitely within his potential. It’s too bad about his crash, but today the conditions were very treacherous and unfortunately they also led to Aleix’s crash. We need to keep hanging in there, even if recently we haven’t reaped much, we are sowing well. The potential is there and we are determined to demonstrate it soon with a good result.”
MotoGP 2017 – Round 13 – Misano – Race Results
- MARQUEZ Marc 50’41.565
- PETRUCCI Danilo +1.192
- DOVIZIOSO Andrea +11.706
- VINALES Maverick +16.559
- PIRRO Michele +19.499
- MILLER Jack +24.882
- REDDING Scott +33.872
- RINS Alex +34.662
- FOLGER Jonas +54.082
- SMITH Bradley +57.964
- ESPARGARO Pol +1’00.440
- BAUTISTA Alvaro +1’17.356
- CRUTCHLOW Cal +1’35.588
- PEDROSA Dani +2’02.212
- ZARCO Johann +1 lap
- BAZ Loris +1 lap
- ABRAHAM Karel +1 lap
MotoGP World Standings after Round 13 – Misano – Top 15
- Marc MARQUEZ – Honda – SPA – 199
- Andrea DOVIZIOSO – Ducati – ITA – 199
- Maverick VIÑALES – Yamaha – SPA – 183
- Valentino ROSSI – Yamaha – ITA – 157
- Dani PEDROSA – Honda – SPA – 150
- Johann ZARCO – Yamaha – FRA – 110
- Danilo PETRUCCI – Ducati – ITA – 95
- Cal CRUTCHLOW – Honda – GBR – 92
- Jorge LORENZO – Ducati – SPA – 90
- Jonas FOLGER – Yamaha – GER – 84
- Alvaro BAUTISTA – Ducati – SPA – 62
- Scott REDDING – Ducati – GBR – 54
- Jack MILLER – Honda – AUS – 53
- Aleix ESPARGARO – Aprilia – SPA – 43
- Loris BAZ – Ducati – FRA – 39
