MotoGP Riders reflect on #AustralianGP Phillip Island

The entire MotoGP field’s viewpoints on the #AustralianGP

Team Managers air their thoughts on the Phillip Island MotoGP

Marc Marquez – P1

“It was such an amazing race, I think we put on a fantastic show for the fans! I’m very happy, as I knew that today was important. Dovi was struggling a little this weekend, while I was feeling really good on the bike and had to make the best of it. When the race started I was thinking I had to stay calm and manage the tyres, but then Zarco hit me and I realized it was going to be a battle. I was in a group of fighters. I knew I had to push and defend, but also to attack. So I just tried to control the situation and then, with around eight laps to go, I just gave it my all. I pushed really hard for three or four laps and that was it. I’m happy with the win of course, but even more with going to Malaysia with a 33 point advantage!”

Australian GP 2017 - Phillip Island - Image by AJRN — Australian GP 2017 – Phillip Island – Image by AJRN – Marc Marquez

Valentino Rossi – P2

“I enjoyed the race very much. This track is unbelievable and it was a great race! All the riders in front were very aggressive, so you need to be more ‘stupid’, more aggressive, than they are. It was a great battle with Zarco, Iannone, Marquez and Viñales. I wanted to try the maximum to be on the podium. In the end I’m in second place and I’m very happy. I want to say thanks to all my team, they always work very hard, and thanks to all of Yamaha.”

Maverick Vinales – P3

“I had planned on attacking with five laps to go. On the previous lap, I had already overtaken Johann and tried to overtake Valentino at the last part of the straight, but I went wide. I had a moment with Johann on the outside and then went towards Andrea. I lost my race there, but in the end I recovered really well. I started to overtake the other riders fast and, honestly, I was quite far back from where I needed to be in the last corner, but the bike accelerated really well and I even thought I could pass Valentino. In the end he was a bit too far ahead, but I‘m still really happy. The team was working really well and especially this morning in the rain I felt great and that‘s a good starting point for Malaysia. There are a lot of positives to take from this weekend, especially on the soft tyre. The championship challenge is gone, this is not good news, but we already knew all season it was going to be difficult, especially during the second part. We have to try to be strong, as always, and try to be on the podium again in Malaysia. I want to recover some points to Andrea, which is important. We‘re going to try to make the bike work and try to have one of our strongest weekends.”

Johann Zarco – P4

“It is a good feeling to achieve this target. There were a lot of fast riders who came from Moto2 in 2017, including my teammate Jonas, Alex Rins and Sam Lowes. The main aim was to be Rookie of the Year and I am happy to have done this. It was not easy as Jonas was very strong and he got a really good 2nd place finish at Sachsenring where he was fighting with the top guys. However, I was a bit more consistent which helped me to get the points. Now, I need to keep the 6th position in the championship and it will be fantastic if I can do this, as it will be better than being Rookie of the Year.”

Australian GP 2017 - Image by AJRN - Johann Zarco — Australian GP 2017 – Image by AJRN – Johann Zarco

Cal Crutchlow – P5

“Obviously it was a better result and race than in qualifying. I felt quite good and confident in the race and I was being very patient to be able to try and come towards the podium at the end of the race. The problem was that after about five or six laps there was a small gap to the leaders and I had to push a lot and use a lot of the rear tyre at that moment of the race. But I think that fifth is not a bad result considering that we had a massive crash this morning. It’s one of the biggest high-sides of my career out of turn six and to be able to ride in this shape was good as I was really contemplating not being able to ride with the advice of the doctors and my team. But I tried my best and I think it was a good result considering, although I’m disappointed not repeat my win from last year because I think if we’d have had a little bit better weekend we could have been right up there. But what a great fight, what a great show in the MotoGP race at Phillip Island today.”

Andrea Iannone – P6

“The race for sure has been a positive one for us. It’s been a while since we fought in the leading group for the whole race. I’m happy for how we’ve worked during this weekend; the whole team and Suzuki did a great job in the last two races. We all know that we still have to improve, following this direction we’ve found, and I’m confident for the future. I’m disappointed that I couldn’t finish in a better position, but I couldn’t feel enough grip to make use of our acceleration and keep up with the others. Anyway I gave it all I had. In the very last laps I also found myself in third and second place, but I had to let up because I couldn’t really control the bike. I want to thank the whole team and the Company and I hope I will be able to reward them with a positive 2018.”

Jack Miller – P7

“It was great feeling to be leading my home race at Phillip Island but maybe going hard early hurt me later in the race with rear grip when I had to switch engine maps. It would have been nice to be able to push a bit harder at the end of the race but it was a solid weekend considering my injury, starting fifth and finishing seventh in front of my home fans, I’m happy with that.”

Alex Rins – P8

“I’m very happy for the result because this weekend has been a very complicated one thanks to the variable and hard weather conditions. But today I felt really good and the position was not bad at all. I was able to stay with the leading group for nearly the whole race, but then with six or seven laps to go I had to give up because the rear grip had a big drop. It was getting worn and I couldn’t make any further attempts. The GSX-RR behaved very well and I’m happy. The fight in the leading group has been very fierce and it was nice to see both our Suzuki’s in the mix. This means that the development that we are doing on the bike is working, and I feel I’m improving myself as well, which give me confidence for the future.”

Pol Espargaro – P9

“We are now fighting for top tens in Grands Prix regularly – this is a great feeling that we thought might happen a couple of times but this is our fifth top ten of the year and it is with a gap from the leader of just 16 seconds so we are happy with what we’ve done today. In the race the grip on the rear meant I struggled at the start so I lost the train of the race early, but come the flag we were in front of many others with only one retirement so we must be proud of this result as we are still young in this category.”

Bradley Smith – P10

“Phillip Island has been good to us this weekend but today watching Moto2 was a fantastic build up for me with their 1-2, plus Marvin Musquin won Red Bull Straight Rhythm in the USA – it spurred me on! Starting from a great grid spot meant I was determined to push on and stay inside the top ten and I knew I could do that following our post-Aragon GP test, something that our qualifying speed showed. I had a coming together with Zarco on lap one which lost some time, but I could hold the leaders until halfway. The last lap was a huge battle with Pol but this is a great result for me and for all the guys who are working hard on this project so let’s go to Sepang and finish this trio of races off in the right way.”

Scott Redding – P11

“I’m really very happy for this race. I’ve come back to enjoy riding my bike. The start wasn’t good but from the first laps I found a great feeling. It is a great satisfaction after a very complicated period for me. Now I want to finish the season at its best with two good races in Malaysia and Valencia”.

Dani Pedrosa – P12

“In general we had a hard weekend here, and even today I couldn’t improve the situation in any way. I think the team did a good job, but I wasn’t able to be strong. The warm-up was wet and I lapped fast, but I didn’t have the chance to try the setup changes that we used afterward in the race. On the first lap I went wide, as did Dovi, and I lost contact with the group. But also later I wasn’t able to keep a fast pace. We must keep focused and try and do better in Malaysia.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P13

“Today’s race was a big disappointment and we really lost a lot of points in the championship. For sure my mistake in the early stages of the race complicated things and maybe even the choice of rear tyre was not the best one, but on this track our bike is still struggling a lot. This year we’ve managed to improve many aspects and be competitive throughout the season but when you come to tracks like this, where you don’t brake very much and where there are lots of long fast corners, some of our limits are magnified: in fact here at Phillip Island none of the Ducati were very quick. Pity, because at this point of the season it would have been better to be closer to Marquez in the standings, but now we have to think of Malaysia, where quite simply we’ll have to give it our all.”

Karel Abraham – P14

“I’m very happy. I think this is a very important result for the team because it brings back the good feeling. I never want anybody to crash but let’s say we were unlucky that nothing happened in front of us! Anyway it was a strong race for us, the lap times were good and I was able to run with the factory Ducatis. I had a good fight with Lorenzo and overtook him a couple of times. By the end of the race the front tyre was still good but the rear was spinning and sliding a lot and I was losing drive out of the left-handlers. I was losing grip on entry too and had to play a little with the electronics. On the last lap I prepared one last move on Jorge on the brakes into turn four and made the pass. I was sure he was going to get me back somewhere on the corner exit but he didn’t and I hung on to fourteenth. It’s not a special result but it was a special race because of the group we were fighting with and to finish 26 seconds behind the winner, I don’t think there’s any more we could have done in this race.”

Jorge Lorenzo – P15

“It was a weekend to forget, because we were never able to be competitive. I started a long way down the grid and was unable to improve my position in the race: after ten or so laps I began to lap consistently and a few tenths quicker than yesterday, but when the performance of the rear tyre dropped it was impossible to keep that pace. In general here all the Ducatis suffered a lot, with the different choices of tyres available, but now we are going to Sepang with confidence.”

Tito Rabat – P16

“I always like to score points and although I just missed out today there were many positives for me over the weekend, I learnt a lot in the mixed weather conditions over three days at Phillip Island. I qualified 14th and finished 26 seconds behind the winner, which is a good step for me. I am happy about my race and now I can look forward to the race in Sepang next week.”

Álvaro Bautista – P17

“It has been a difficult weekend, I haven’t had a good feeling with the tyres all weekend in these conditions and today was the best I could do. When things don’t work like they should, especially the combination of bikes and tyres, it is difficult to do any more. We saw here in Australia how all of the Ducatis suffered.”

Álvaro Bautista - Image by AJRN — Álvaro Bautista – Image by AJRN – Álvaro Bautista

Loris Baz – P18

“It was a difficult race because we changed many things on the bike. I was able to make a good start and I was in the group with Karel (Abraham), Jorge (Lorenzo) and the others during the first few laps, where I had a really good feeling. I tried to save the tyres, but at the same time I was attacking to defend myself in that group. But then Scott Redding passed me twice and on the second occasion, he took me out and I lost contact with the group. I tried to push hard to get back, but it was impossible. I also think that I overheated the rear tyre because at the end I had no grip. Nevertheless, I finished another race and now we already thinking of Malaysia.”

Australian GP 2017 - Phillip Island - Image by AJRN - Loris Baz — Australian GP 2017 – Phillip Island – Image by AJRN – Loris Baz

Sam Lowes – P19

“Obviously you always hope for a better result but, given the conditions, I’m rather satisfied. I overtook a few riders in the race and I didn’t make any mistakes throughout the weekend. We are working well. Unfortunately, Aleix wasn’t able to demonstrate the full potential of the RS-GP today because of the crash, but we are on the right path.”

Hector Barbera – P20

“This was a strange race. On the first lap I was okay, but I think that something happened with my rear tyre, because from the second lap until the end I was sliding everywhere. I tried to change the engine mappings, but the lack of traction remained the same. Together with Michelin, we have to analyse what happened because the tyre seamed to be new after the race, which was strange. It’s a shame because I had good feeling after my strong pace in FP4 yesterday and I was hoping to score some points. Now we fly to Sepang where I expect to finish the triple with a good result for the team.”

Danilo Petrucci – P21

“It’s my worst race of the season. We do not know why we have not managed to be competitive. I really cannot explain that at the moment. Fortunately, Sepang is only in a week’s time. It’s a track that I like very much and I hope to be able to do well to forget as soon as possible this weekend”.

Danilo Petrucci - Image by AJRN — Danilo Petrucci – Image by AJRN

Broc Parkes – P22

“I just did not have the rear grip from the start. Maybe it was because I didn’t have a lot of track time this weekend so I struggled a little bit. In the race, I thought I could stay with the Ducati’s and Lowes but unfortunately, I dropped back from them. However, it was hard to come back and I rode on my own for a while. I wanted to do better but I’m happy to have completed my home Grand Prix and to have ridden here in front of everyone. Thank you to Hervé and the entire Monster Yamaha Tech3 team for giving me this opportunity.”

Aleix Espargaro – DNF

“The race was going well. Despite a less than perfect start, I had already rejoined the leading group and I had a good feeling. Unfortunately, as I was overtaking Miller on the first turn, I went a bit too wide, ending up on the dirty part of the track and sliding out. I should be able to participate in the race in Malaysia even with the injury to my hand. We’ll see what the conditions are on Friday.”

Romano Albesiano – Aprilia Racing Manager

“This was a peculiar weekend where we once again demonstrated how competitive our bike is and how Aleix is able to take advantage of it. The race began in the best possible way. Despite a less than perfect start that we need to work on, he recovered with impressive speed. Unfortunately, the crash stopped him in a race where anything could have been possible, but the responses from this track give us great optimism both for the upcoming races and for 2018.”

Sam Lowes - Image by AJRN — Sam Lowes – Image by AJRN

Michael Bartholemy – MarcVDS Team Principal

“Jack put in a big effort to finish seventh considering his injury and as we know at this track rear grip is always an issue in the second half of the race. For a private team to finish in the top ten at this level in MotoGP is always a good feeling. It is a pity Tito just missed the final championship point but he did a good job, in conditions over the weekend that were not easy for him. Now we look forward to the race next weekend in Malaysia.”

Mike Leitner – KTM Team Manager MotoGP

“A super day. Unbelievable that we can stay in these positions in the race. Practice and the race was very good for both riders even if Pol’s rear tyre wasn’t as he wished so maybe he could’ve gone with this group in front, but we’ll check that. However, we have to be realistic to race here for the first time at Phillip Island and to be in front of many strong bikes and teams proves the riders and the KTM team did a great job. Thanks to all the guys working and pushing so hard at KTM in Mattighofen and Munderfing in Austria to enable these results. In the meantime let’s go to Sepang now for potentially our hottest race of the year.”

Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro - Image by AJRN — Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro – Image by AJRN

Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Manager

“It was a fantastic race! The adrenaline levels were very high throughout all the 27 laps. Since Valentino and Maverick decided to use two different tyre options, I wasn’t able to relax, as I was unsure which was the right one, but in the end both choices seemed to work out well as both riders finished on the rostrum. This double podium result is very important for the team, especially after the challenging race in Motegi, and gives us a boost for Malaysia. This morning we made a good step in the wet and this improvement is another positive point that we take away from this Grand Prix. I want to thank the riders, team members and engineers for their hard work. We aim to continue this momentum in Malaysia as we still fight for the Team and Constructor titles.”

MotoGP 2017 - Phillip Island - Image by AJRN — MotoGP 2017 – Phillip Island – Image by AJRN

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“After the positive race we had in Motegi in the wet, it’s been nice here to see that we can be competitive on a dry track as well and stay in the leading group with the top competitors. Andrea had a fierce race with hard-fought battles and Alex set and maintained a fast pace until the end, when he had to let up because of a drop in the tyre. We’re happy we confirmed on a dry track the improvements we’ve made in the wet. We have to continue this positive trend in the last two races. I also want to congratulate both riders for today’s race; Andrea, for having held on tight and fought with the best, and Alex who made another step of improvement and conducted a solid race. This progression is very positive for us and I hope it will also help in the last two races.”

Australian GP 2017 - Image by AJRN — Australian GP 2017 – Image by AJRN

Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 Yamaha Team manager

“Phillip Island always produces some unbelievable racing but I think that this one is going to remain as maybe one of the best in MotoGP history. We feared the rain, however, fortunately, it did not happen which allowed the crowd and the viewers to enjoy an incredible show. We were right in the mix at the front and the start was ok but Johann touched Miller so he had to let a lot of people pass to avoid crashing. After that, he showed incredible speed and overtook every other rider to take the lead. Once he was there, he tried to open a gap, yet, it was so difficult because Phillip Island is a slipstream track. We know this as we won the 250cc World Championship with Olivier Jacque against Shinya Nakano in 2000 and the slipstream was highly instrumental. We could see that Johann was losing out on the straight and especially if someone was right behind him. Up until the last lap, he was in a position to fight for 2nd as Marquez broke away in first. Yet, I think he wanted it a bit too much so he tried to pass Valentino on the inside. However, he lost some speed when entering the straight and Maverick, who was behind, took the slipstream past him and we lost the podium by almost nothing. We are in Parc Fermé as the Top Independent rider but we have shown that we can fight at the top. The team did a great job and the suspension, tyres and rider were all perfect, and even if our man was aggressive, it wasn’t too much. Plus, we consolidated 6th position in the championship, which is important. Nevertheless, I am happy but there is a slightly bitter taste in my mouth because a podium was certainly possible. On the other side, I have to thank Broc Parkes a lot as it was not an easy weekend for him due to the fact that he had to learn the YZR-M1 as well as the Phillip Island circuit on the 2017 Michelin tyres. In addition, the track conditions for the entire weekend were difficult but he did well and made almost no mistakes. We knew the race was going to be tough and sure, he needs more track time to be closer to the guys, yet, he was impressive in all departments. I would like to thank him a lot for his professional approach. We never know what will happen in the future, but we met a top rider and a super nice man. So many thanks again to him for what he did for Monster Yamaha Tech3.”

MotoGP 2017 - Phillip Island - Valentino Rossi — MotoGP 2017 – Phillip Island – Valentino Rossi

Nicolas Goubert – Michelin

“I don’t know where to start after a race like that. The performance of the front group was amazing and it was incredible to see such a race. The riders pushed the tyres to the limit and we saw no fade in performance as the race progressed from any of the tyres on such a demanding and abrasive track. This is always such a challenging race and it was the first time the riders had the soft rear option for a race here and they certainly put it to good use today. Throughout the weekend we had many different conditions to contend with and tyre choice was difficult today for all concerned. The the track was warmer than at any other point this weekend, but the race was quite late, so the temperature could have dropped quickly and all those factors had to be considered. The Michelin technicians worked closely with all the teams to assist with the decisions on tyre selection and again it demonstrated how different riders and manufacturers can use different compounds. We now head to Malaysia where I’m sure it will be a lot warmer than here, that will also bring its own challenges, but we will certainly be up to the test.”

Pascal Couasnon – Director of Michelin Motorsport

“This has been a very busy weekend for Michelin, due to being the title sponsor here at Phillip Island and with that honour it has also given us the opportunity to announce this great news about our extension to the contract. We are delighted to be a part of MotoGP for a further five years. This is a huge compliment to the confidence that Carmelo Ezpeleta and Dorna has shown in what Michelin is achieving and fully endorses our achievements since we returned to MotoGP. These first two seasons have seen some impressive racing and we have seen tyre performance and strategy make a real contribution to the show. Michelin is pleased to have played a role in this and that has been endorsed by the decision of Dorna to extend its collaboration with Michelin as technical partner and exclusive tyre supplier until 2023. Michelin will use its on-going association with MotoGP to continue developing ever-safer and more competitive racing tyres and it is these innovations that will go on to benefit our road tyres. The information we gather from the premier motorcycle championship is directly linked to improving our road tyres, we are constantly striving for the best, whether it is on track with the world’s top racers or on the street, Michelin is dedicated to offering the finest tyres for the task.”