MotoGP Riders reflect on Valencia and season 2017

Dani Pedrosa – P1

“Obviously I’m very very happy because a win is a win, and this was a very tough and hard-fought one. Today we had a chance because we got a good start and the setup was working well, so we took it. The track wasn’t easy as front grip wasn’t perfect, and in fact we saw a lot of crashes in the race. I was just behind Marc when he made that save and it was incredible. The smoke, the noise, the speed—wow, impressive! I realized that the track had a limit, maybe because the rear had more grip, which pushed the front. Anyway, I tried to manage the front grip, but then in the last three laps I gave it everything to pass Johann. He was so good into the corners but finally I passed him on the last lap. I’m so happy to have won in front of my crowd, and I would like to dedicate this victory to my family, friends, fans, and the team. This was a fantastic day for all of us, as Marc clinched the Rider Title and we secured the Constructor and Team Titles. I also move up one place in the Championship, and that’s great as well.”

Johann Zarco – P2

“I am so happy about today because I was competitive enough to fight for the victory and, like I said yesterday, I knew I can do this because I have all of the elements that I need to go for the win. When I felt Marquez, who was really strong, I had things under control but I didn’t want to let him take the advantage and run away. He had to control it too, yet, I was thinking about the victory and possibly overtaking again and then I passed him. This is why I am pretty happy and finishing 1st or 2nd doesn’t change anything about the race quality that I did. I can enjoy this moment and it must be pleasing for Dani also. He overtook me in a good way on the last lap, at the first corner and he then waited a bit and I couldn’t enter the corner effectively. I lost too much distance and when I tried to catch him again, I almost crashed. Nevertheless, this second place finish is the best way to finish my season.”

Johann Zarco - Image by AJRN — Johann Zarco – Image by AJRN

Marc Marquez – P3

“I’m living a dream. ‘Six Titles’ are big words. The truth is that I’m incredibly happy because we worked so much this year, and today the race was incredibly tense and exciting—a bit ‘Marquez Style.’ I made a mistake, but I also made my best save of the year. From that moment on, I just tried to finish the race in a good position. I’m sorry that Andrea didn’t finish the race, as he deserved to do so. He had an incredible season and I would have liked to have him on the podium with me today. The key to the year has been our mentality. In our world it’s very important to remain positive and motivated during the difficult moments. Some things happened to us at the beginning of the season but when we found the way to sort things out, everything went better. Congratulations to Honda and the entire team for the Triple Crown. It’s an amazing achievement. Winning the Title at the last race of the season in front of our fans is one of the best things possible, really special. Now I want to enjoy this with my entire team and my family, and after that we’ll start to work for next year.”

Marc Marquez - Image by AJRN — Marc Marquez – Image by AJRN

Alex Rins – P4

“Overall it has been a good weekend. We have been improving in each session and we qualified directly to Q2. In the qualifying I expected to get a better position, but otherwise it went well. We had a good pace in the warm-up and I was convinced that I could have a good race. At the start I made a mistake and lost positions, so I had to push from the first lap and try to recover. I think it’s a good way to close the season. Now I’m thinking about the training on Tuesday to start working for next year.”

Alex Rins - Image by AJRN — Alex Rins – Image by AJRN

Valentino Rossi – P5

“We wanted to do better, for sure, but it was the kind of race I was expecting. I knew we had to suffer because my pace during the weekend wasn’t fantastic. We didn’t have enough grip, so we struggled. Now we think the pre-season tests will be very important, because we have to reduce the gap, improve the setting and try to arrive ready for next season.”

Valentino Rossi - Image by AJRN — Valentino Rossi – Image by AJRN

Andrea Iannone – P6

“It has been a very positive race and we managed to finish within 14 seconds of the winner, and that’s not so bad. This means in the last races we made some good improvements. It’s been a pity to be in front at the beginning of the race and then lose some positions because I couldn’t push the brakes to the maximum. In this category, when you are not able and get the best from the braking, you suddenly lose three or fourth tenths per lap. I’m very enthusiastic now because we restart on Tuesday. A new season when we will surely have new expectations, a new bike, and, I hope, things to make us better.”

Andrea Iannone - Image by AJRN — Andrea Iannone – Image by AJRN

Jack Miller – P7

“It was a great race for me and perhaps could have been better because I lost a lot of time in the final two laps. I had to give up the fight with Valentino because I had a couple of front-end moments with my front tyre grip going down towards the end. I felt I could have fought with Rossi and Iannone right to the end otherwise. It has been a good finish to the season with three top tens including two seventh places so no better way to end my time with this great team.”

Jack Miller - Image by AJRN — Jack Miller – Image by AJRN

Cal Crutchlow – P8

“I started way too far back, it’s as simple as that, but obviously we have to be happy with a solid enough result considering. To be in the top ten I thought would be good enough, because starting 16th at a track like this is always difficult. We made some good passes and I rode a good race the last ten laps, I was really able to push, but I just ran out of time to get the guys ahead. If I’d started just a little bit ahead, I think I could have finished at the front of the group with (Alex) Rins. Overall, I think we had a good race.“I suppose the season has been average, we’ve had some great races, some fourths and fifths along the way, many fourths, but we’ve also had some bad races where I haven’t finished that I should have finished, whether it be my fault or another fault. But we’re happy enough and now we have to go into next year positive. I want to thank Lucio and the whole crew for their excellent job during this season and of course all our partners for supporting us in bad times and good times”.

Cal Crutchlow - Image by AJRN — Cal Crutchlow – Image by AJRN

Michele Pirro – P9

“At the start it was an enjoyable race for me because I was fighting with the top guys. Then the soft front tyre limited me a bit and when I saw that Dovi and Jorge had crashed out I tried to bring home the best possible result for Ducati. I’m disappointed about that, but this year we proved that we could fight for the world title and so we will start next year even stronger. I want to thank Ducati, Andrea and Jorge because together we’ve had an incredible season.”

Michele Pirro - Image by AJRN — Michele Pirro – Image by AJRN

Tito Rabat – P10

“I am really happy to leave this magnificent team with a 10th place in Valencia, I have had a great time here both in Moto2 and MotoGP. The early laps were difficult but I never gave up and it is very satisfying to be in the top ten as I prepare for a new challenge in my career.”

Tito Rabat - Image by AJRN — Tito Rabat – Image by AJRN

Bradley Smith – P11

“That as a special day and to be able to overcome Aprilia was very special for me. I went head to head with Aleix (Espargaro), giving it everything I could to ruffle his feathers a little and that seem to work. I did my job and I kept the pressure on. The race was good as I hit my marks all I could and hold a mid-32 lap time, then it was a case of survival as the tyres went away with others losing the front. Another very close to top ten finish today keeps our top 11 every race since Brno so roll on the work for the tests prior to the break; 2018 is not far away!”

Bradley Smith - Image by AJRN — Bradley Smith – Image by AJRN

Maverick Viñales- P12

“In the warm up I felt good, but maybe I pushed too much too early. I was feeling really good and that is really important. We’re going to try to achieve that again in the test. The race was different, I had some strange feelings. I needed to slow down a lot. Anyway, I’m happy that in the warm up we found a way. We know we can improve during the test and we’re trying. We tried different set-ups and we’re going to try and adjust.”

Danilo Petrucci – P13

“It was a season full of satisfaction. We have experienced great emotions that I will remember forever. I have an extraordinary team that I want to thank for the work done throughout the season. A special dedication to all those who have contributed to achieving these results. I also greet my mechanic Edoardo with whom I shared the moments before the start of each race”.

Karel Abraham – P14

“First of all I want to say a big thank you to the whole team because I think we have had a very good season, which exceeded our expectations. I’m also glad it’s over because it has been tough! We still have a test to take care of but after that I’m looking forward to taking a holiday, recharging the batteries and getting ready for next season to make even better results. Today’s race was very difficult in the beginning, I had Baz and Van der Mark in front of me and I couldn’t manage to pass them because I had some big problems with the front brake and many times I was struggling to make the corner. I set it up a bit differently, it wasn’t ideal but it was working and I was able to get past them and start closing the gap to the rider in front of me. Unfortunately the gap was too big and I finished three seconds behind Petrucci. I’m really happy to pick up a couple of points and once again we are the first non-factory Ducati, which we can be proud of. As you saw with all the crashes the track conditions were different to all weekend and it was difficult to stay on board. I was riding alone so I had to work hard to stay concentrated and bring the bike home.”

Hector Barbera – P15

“This last race was no different to all the others this season and although the result wasn’t good once again, racing in front of the fans in Valencia is always something incredible. I’ll miss the team, but this weekend didn’t feel like a farewell or the end of something, it was the beginning of a new chapter in my career. I want to thank the team, especially Raúl (Romero), Bocha (Escobar) and the rest of the people who helped to achieve great things in the last five seasons. I also have to thank all the sponsors, especially Avintia, because they have always been there supporting us. This year wasn’t the dream season we had hoped to experience, instead it has been very hard for everyone. Now our paths separate, but I’m sure we’ll meet again in the future.”

Hector Barbera - Image by AJRN — Hector Barbera – Image by AJRN

Loris Baz – P16

“It was a difficult race, but it was the same for all Ducatis. I fought to the end with Hector, as we did almost all season, and I loved it because it showed the spirit of our team. It was a fun race altogether. I had a hard time to overtake Van Der Mark, but in the end and after touching several times, I did it. I got away and then fought with Hector during the last few laps. He passed me, I passed him again in the last corner, but accelerating out of the last turn he passed me again. I let him win because he was racing at home…just joking! It’s a bit sad that both riders leave the team, but we both know that next year we’ll have options to fight for the podium, which will motivate us a lot.”

Loris Baz - Image by AJRN — Loris Baz – Image by AJRN

Michael van der Mark – P17

“It has been a challenging weekend but I really enjoyed the race today. I had a very strong start and moved up a couple of places, whilst I had some nice battles on the track. This Grand Prix was great fun and I want to thank Hervé for the opportunity. It was always a dream to ride a MotoGP bike and to do two races with this amazing team was special for me. If he asks me again, then I would be delighted to ride with the team. We just need to work more with the setup of the bike for my style but overall, I have enjoyed this weekend so much.”

Michael van der Mark - Image by AJRN — Michael van der Mark – Image by AJRN

Andrea Dovizioso – DNF

“I tried everything and I think that we have to be pleased with this weekend. We weren’t as quick as Marquez but we fought to the very end. I pushed hard right from the first lap, I didn’t make any mistakes and I put myself in the right position but unfortunately I didn’t have many cards to play. At the start I thought I could pass Jorge but there were some points where I was losing and others were I was gaining: in the end staying behind him helped me ride in a smoother way, so it was positive he was in front of me. We were all at the limit, even Marc who managed to save himself once again from a crash, and I want to congratulate him because also this year he managed to make the difference. At any rate I’m very happy with this season and I want to thank all the guys in the team, Ducati and all those who gave their support because our season has been over the top, full of satisfaction.”

Jorge Lorenzo – DNF

“No one wants to finish the season with a crash, but apart from this retirement, I think that we must be happy with how we finished the championship, because both in Malaysia and here at Valencia we fought for the podium and this is the way we must begin next year. I pushed hard for the whole race to try and catch the leading group and towards the end I had to take a lot of risks: the front was turning in, especially in the right-handers, and in the end I lost control and couldn’t avoid crashing. Half-way through the race, when Andrea was following me closely, I analyzed the situation and I though that it was better to try and give him a tow to reach the leading group. If we had caught Zarco and Pedrosa I would certainly have let him past. But I want to offer him my congratulations because this year he has had a really fantastic season.”

Jorge Lorenzo - Image by AJRN — Jorge Lorenzo – Image by AJRN

Álvaro Bautista – DNF

“Two crashes is not the best way to finish a season. On the first one I felt another rider make contact with my front wheel. I had the bike leaned over and I couldn’t do anything to save it. I was running the hard front tyre and I didn’t like the feeling, I was getting a lot of vibrations. In the end, I didn’t do anything unusual on the way into turn one but I lost the front and crashed. We started the year really well but we have struggled a little in the second half of the season. Now we have to reset and in a couple of days get ready to start working towards the new season with renewed energy and keep fighting like always.”

Alvaro Bautista - Image by AJRN — Alvaro Bautista – Image by AJRN

Aleix Espargaro’ – DNF

“I struggled with the front end feeling throughout the weekend and in the early stages of the race with a full tank, the difficulty was even more evident. I tried to stay calm at the start, but apparently I wasn’t calm enough. I made a mistake that I am particularly disappointed about, because we deserved to finish the season in a better way. Now I want to think about 2018, where we will need to continue improving the RS-GP and our approach to the races. Beyond the results, which do not fully reflect our work, this season I had fun riding and I feel very much at home with the team. I have a lot of confidence in the Aprilia engineers and I know that they will put together an excellent technical package for us.”

Sam Lowes – DNF

“My pace at the midrace point was very good. It’s a pity that I had lost contact with the group because of some problems downshifting. I went long a couple of times and that shook my concentration and then there was the unlucky crash. I want to thank the team and wish them all the best for next season. A new adventure in Moto2 awaits me and I want to be ready to tackle that in the best possible way.”

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

Scott Redding – DNF

“I’m sorry to have finished the season with a crash, but the feeling with the bike wasn’t good. However, I am satisfied for these two years. I had a great relationship with the whole team with whom I worked to overcome the difficulties. The relationship with Pramac Racing is a bond that will remain in the future. Thank you to all the guys who have worked to put me in a position to give my best”.

Pol Espargaro – DNF

“We must be proud and happy of what we have done this year. Overall we’ve had a good year as we finished much higher than where we started so the progression this year has been unbelievable. No one expected where we were going to finish so I’m so proud of the guys working here at the track and the team at the factory in Austria developing this bike. This is so important for us. Sure, we finish the season today but next season starts tomorrow with testing so we have new parts and new ideas to do and this makes everyone pumped up, so let’s go for 2018 and let’s aim for another step up.”

Mika Kallio – DNF

“When we started the third lap going into the second corner and I braked normally but suddenly I lost the front without any warning. I’m fine but it’s sad to finish the season like this as I wanted to bring some points to KTM, so now we’ll enjoy the evening together. During the season the steps we did were amazing and when we started to come close to the top ten this was something some others in the paddock did not expect but it was then other teams started to look at us. Thanks so much from my side of the garage as this test team has been working really well testing and racing – it was not easy jumping into the race mood and race weekends but they did a great job without any mistakes so it was a pleasure to race with KTM again.”

Mika Kallio - Image by AJRN — Mika Kallio – Image by AJRN

Claudio Domenicali (CEO of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.)

“Today we experienced some really strong emotions, an epilogue with a dramatic turn of events that concluded an extraordinary season for Ducati and Andrea Dovizioso. Marc Marquez deservedly won the 2017 world championship and we offer our congratulations to him. But also in this last race Andrea demonstrated that he had the pace, the speed and the determination on a track that in the past had seen him often in difficulty. Then two errors in a few seconds saw both Jorge and Dovi end the season with a retirement, but the great satisfaction remains for what the squad has done this year.”

Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)

“It’s been a really hard-fought championship, and in the end Marquez and Honda deservedly won, so after the race I went over to congratulate them. We tried right to the end, we went very close, and for me we did a really good and solid season, both in the results and on a technical level. There is still a bit of disappointment over the missed opportunity, but we have to be satisfied for the improvements we have made this year. My heartfelt thanks go out to all the people who have made possible this fantastic world championship.”

Tetsuhiro Kuwata – HRC Director – General Manager Race Operations

“Today our riders and team did a perfect job. The race was very tense for everybody, but the final result was amazing! Marc was brave and pushed hard as always, managing to get on the podium despite a big scare! Dani finished the Championship with a victory, so I don’t think we could have asked for more today. I would like to thank the riders, everyone in the Repsol Honda Team, and HRC at home. We’ll keep giving our 100% to continue in this way.”

Yoshishige Nomura – HRC President

“Today was the ‘perfect storm’ for HRC and Honda, as we won the Rider Title, Constructor Title, and Team Title, earning the Triple Crown. Of course I am extremely happy with this fantastic result, and I would like to congratulate Marc and Dani for their hard work and commitment, as well as all the HRC Engineers and our Sponsors, who together have contributed to this incredible result. I am very proud of all them.”

Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Team Director

“It was a very challenging race day for us, here in Valencia, but I’m sure it was still exciting for the MotoGP fans. Valentino made the most of a difficult weekend and rode a mistake-free race today. Thanks to his efforts and the crashes and run-offs, he secured fifth place. It’s a shame that he misses out on fourth place in the championship by just two points. Maverick’s race today was slightly compromised by the incident in the warm up session this morning, which left him with very little time to prepare a set-up for the afternoon. However, his feeling was actually really good in the warm up. It’s a pity he had a completely different experience during the race. Today’s final results are not so exciting, but the team did everything they could to push through a difficult weekend again, despite the challenges we faced, and this allowed us to secure second place in the Team and Constructor Championship and Maverick secured third place in his first year with Yamaha. However, we would have liked to end the season differently. We did everything we could, but we haven’t been able to achieve what we wanted. The 2018 season already starts on Tuesday. This test will be important to evaluate some new items, but most important is leaving the circuit with a clear idea of the direction we have to take for next year’s bike.”

Hervé Poncharal – Monster Yamaha Tech3 – Team Manager

“It was an amazing final for the MotoGP World Championship. We knew that there would be a lot of tactics and strategies between Dovi and Marquez. Clearly, Johann realised this, took the lead and then tried to break away, because he was willing to take more risks than the others, who had a lot to lose. He rode incredibly in the opening laps and remained at the front until almost one lap to go. Unfortunately, Dani was really strong in the last ten laps and he made his move at the correct corner, which was turn 1 on the final lap and that was it, despite Johann’s efforts. Of course, a win is something magical and what everyone was hoping for, yet, this experience will certainly help him to be stronger. The last four races have been unbelievable with four consecutive front row starts and a second successive podium. In addition, I think we gave some valuable information to Factory Yamaha who tried our bike today. They could see that maybe it was better in some departments but not overall. Anyway, our rider showed that it doesn’t matter what people are saying because he is the one making the difference and getting the results. I’d like to congratulate him for the whole season, which has been like a dream and say thanks for giving us the rookie of the year and top satellite titles with 6th in the championship. Furthermore, he has helped us to complete the campaign as the top Independent team. Another fantastic achievement is that this year, Johann has led the second highest number of laps, with 64, after Marquez. On the other side of the pit box, Michael made a lot of progress compared to Sepang and I’m sure that the dry weather helped him. He fought with experienced MotoGP riders and did a great job so we are happy with how things progressed and we know that it was not easy, but I would like to thank him for replacing Jonas. He is smart and he deserves more opportunities so I will try to do my best to give him some chances if it is possible to do so, in collaboration with Yamaha. Additionally, I really hope that Jonas watched this race and it will push him to work hard to recover. We need him and I hope that we can see number 94 on the other side of the garage soon. Thanks to the whole team for their hard work, it was an unbelievable season. Finally, I would like to say farewell to Wil Moody who has been a fantastic asset to the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team. I want to wish him good luck with his new adventure and say thanks for all of his work.”

Michael Bartholemy – MarcVDS Team Principal

“I am very happy for this result by Jack and Tito in their final race with our team, they both move to new challenges in 2018. To have both riders in the top ten is an excellent finish to the season and moved Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS up two places in the team rankings at this final race in Valencia.”

Mike Leitner – KTM Team Manager MotoGP

“We all our proud of this first KTM MotoGP season, especially the second part of the year. I must say once more thanks to all the effort from so many individuals, especially the riders who’ve pushed hard but today it was Bradley who scored the points to get us fifth in the manufacturers championship. Of course it wasn’t great Pol had to start from the pit lane but that’s a reason of the pace of our development with the new chassis. Mika tumbled off but many others went down today so it wasn’t easy. Now we focus on a good winter test and look to 2018.”

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“I have to say that finally, at the end of the season, this has been a good race. We have been competitive for the whole weekend until the warm-up session. Honestly, we were expecting to set some better pace with both riders today. We struggled a little more than expected, but at the end we can consider ourselves happy. Finally the season is over and it’s positive how the riders have become more and more competitive and how the GSX-RR has improved. For sure we are still pretty far from the lap time and overall performances of the top five, so we have to develop further. Tomorrow we start the new season with the test and we have many things to try out that we are confident will allow us to be more competitive. I want to thank you all, the team and riders, for this season.”

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“I’d call this race in Valencia a good end to the season. This season has been pretty tough for all of us, although in the last five or six races we have been able to become more competitive. Since Japan, we have done what we had the potential to do since the very beginning, which is somehow comforting for the new adventure of next season. I really want to say a big thank you to everyone, the crews, the engineers, and the whole team. It’s never easy to keep your head up when things get hard, but we did it as a team. We kept calm, we stayed focused, and finally we recovered. Let’s take all of this and use it to our advantage in the new upcoming season.”

Nicolas Goubert – Michelin

“Today has seen another demonstration of what we have been trying to achieve since we returned to MotoGP last year, and that is to give as much choice as possible to all the riders and manufacturers at every race to allow them to be able to choose tyres that will work on race day, no matter the riders’ style. That was highlighted by the first four all using different configurations today and five of the six compounds being used throughout the field. It was again an exciting and absorbing race and we congratulate Marc on his championship and all the other riders for such an entertaining season. I also want to send my thanks to all at Michelin and all the riders and teams I have worked with during my time in MotoGP, it has been a fantastic journey and I have enjoyed my 28-years at Michelin and have been able to be involved in many great things within the company. I am leaving the MotoGP project in safe hands with Piero and the rest of the team and I am sure it will continue to go from strength-to-strength.”