Riders and Team Managers reflect on Silverstone MotoGP

2019 MotoGP
Round 12 – Silverstone

Alex Rins – P1

“Today has been unbelievable. I won in Austin, beating Valentino. And now I’ve won here, beating Marc. These guys are very fast and are ‘legends’ of the sport. I knew it would be difficult to beat Marc today, but I really wanted to try, and it was fantastic to do it. In a couple of the sectors he was faster than me, but I could make it up in some other areas. But towards the end of the race I felt I had better pace than him, and I told myself that I must go for it and take the chance, I saw the opportunity and I made it happen. Big thanks to everyone in the team!”

Marc Marquez – P2

“I am happy with the result for the championship but not the result for the race as to lose out in the final moment after leading is not the best feeling. Spending the whole race in front is difficult here because you use more of everything. I tried to go slow for one lap to see if Rins would lead, but he didn’t and I knew Viñales was behind us so I kept pushing. My target wasn’t the race, it was the championship and if the Yamaha riders arrived maybe we could have finished lower. In the last turn I had a moment on the front and had to close the gas which let Rins through but we are happy because we leave with 78 points over second but I hope Dovi is OK after a big crash like that, I hope he can recover well and return because it is always better when you earn the points fighting.”

Maverick Viñales – P3

“I don‘t know if I would have been able to make a move if I had been closer to the front-runners, because it‘s always difficult. I was closing the gap lap by lap, just a little, one or two tenths, but I couldn‘t close the big gap in just one lap. I tried my best and I think we got the maximum and maybe even more from our bike today. There are long straights here and at this track it‘s really about the engine, so we’re happy with third. We missed a bit of traction and top speed. In many corners I was much faster, but in others I was surviving the best I could. I think we improved the bike quite a lot during the weekend and that‘s the most important. At the test in Misano we’ll work on improving the grip. We‘re going to be very focused, do a good test, then we‘ll race some more, and we‘ll see what we can do.”

Valentino Rossi – P4

“It‘s another fourth place, but we‘re a bit disappointed. We expected more from this race, because I started from the front row and during the practice sessions I always had a good pace. Unfortunately, I suffered more today, especially with the rear tyre. Already from the beginning of the race I had less grip. I was able to keep a quite good pace going until midway through the race, I suffered very much in the second half, I had to slow down a lot. It‘s a shame, we had expected to fight for the podium. We wanted to do the race like Maverick, he did a great job, but unfortunately we were a bit slower.”

Franco Morbidelli – P5

“It was a great race for us, especially as throughout the weekend that this sort of result didn’t seem possible at times. I made a good start, was able to move into some interesting positions, and my feeling improved as the race went on. I fought with Crutchlow for a bit but was able to get away from him, and fifth is a good result for me and my crew. It’s a good point to start the next races from, and I feel that we can use what we’ve learned this weekend to improve further.”

Cal Crutchlow – P6

“I tried my best at the start to be able to push, but the tyre wasn’t quite there. I felt a lack of grip immediately in the race and I knew I wouldn’t be able to battle with the other guys. It was pretty similar to what happed in Mugello. But to finish 19 seconds behind the winner here is not acceptable, not from me and not from my team. We tried our best this weekend and we had pace, there was no doubt about that. Yesterday I was able to go one and a half seconds faster than I was at the end of the race, it’s just strange how some tyres are fine and some aren’t. Don’t get me wrong, it would have been difficult to win the race regardless, but I should have been a lot further up than I was.”

Danilo Petrucci – P7

“I knew that today it was going to be a difficult GP for me and the incident at Turn 1 affected my race, because I had decided to stay on the outside line but found the bikes of Andrea and Quartararo in front of me and I lost a few places. I then began my recovery and it wasn’t easy to pass the other riders, but in the last ten laps I was quick and I set my fastest lap on the penultimate lap. For sure without the crash I could have finished higher up, but when you start so far behind anything can happen. I feel bad about this missed opportunity but above all I feel bad for Andrea, and I hope it was nothing serious.”

Jack Miller – P8

“I lost positions at the start of the race due to the accident between Fabio and Dovi. I tried to recover but I couldn’t get a good pace. The rear tyre didn’t help me. We took important points for the “Independent” classification.”

Pol Espargaro – P9

“It was a difficult race and the temperatures were quite high at the end which made the track slippery, more than we expected, and I was struggling with the rear tyre. Anyway, we were in the group fighting for sixth and we should be happy. We took some good points and we are playing for the top ten in the championship. The bike is getting better and better and we are doing a good job to be competing with the Hondas and Ducatis. Misano next and it is not the easiest for me but I have been fast in the past. We have a test in a couple of days and we’ll see what we can do.”

Andrea Iannone – P10

“I rode a good race, making up positions and managing to stay in the group with Aleix, Pol and Petrucci. Throughout the weekend we worked hard and I hope that some of the progress we made will help us in the upcoming races. Unfortunately, I lost ground in acceleration, even compared to my teammate, and that kept me from launching an attack on the riders ahead of me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we must never give up and today I confirm that once again.”

Pecco Bagnaia – P11

“To be honest, this is a good result, better than I expected. After a good Friday and the positive feelings of the FP3 and FP4, I have not found any more feeling. We have taken valuable points for the classification and I can’t wait to be in Misano.”

Sylvain Guintoli – P12

“The race felt good for me, I had strong pace, especially towards the end. I was hoping to be able to score points, but I didn’t expect this many and a 12th place. It’s fantastic that Alex put the bike on the top step, the team really deserve it and it just shows how much hard work and commitment they are putting in all the time. What a great weekend.”

Hafizh Syahrin – P13

“It was a hard and also a long race. I felt a little bit strange before the start of the race and I didn’t have too much confidence, because I was scared to crash in the race again for the third time in a row. So, in the beginning, I tried to ride safe and didn’t really find a good rhythm. But after ten laps, I could manage to come back step by step, I made my fastest lap on the last one. I’m really sorry to the team and everybody, because I was just lacking confidence. For sure, this will be a different story in Misano, I will work hard to build my trust again, also during the test, which will help me a lot.”

Jorge Lorenzo – P14

“Today went better than expected. Coming into this race I knew it would be difficult and I was thinking that maybe I will finish one minute or more behind the winner because all weekend I have been about three seconds slower than the fastest time. To finish within one minute of the winner and to take away two points is a good reward for a demanding race. I was able to learn more about how to conserve the tyres as well as testing my fitness so I am pleased. Right now I am sore, but I will be stronger for the Misano test and then again in a better physical condition for the Misano race.”

Karel Abraham – P15

“On Saturday we thought they wouldn’t let me race after the crash but they finally gave me the fit. During the race I had pain in the muscles of my hands, which were injuried by the crashed of Friday. I was close to retiring from the race but I thought about staying in case someone crashed and we could get some point and it eventually happened. After crashing, Tito was recovering little by little and I was afraid to make too much effort because I was close to pass out, but in the end I could get into the points ahead of him. I hope to be physically recovered for the Misano test on Thursday.”

Tito Rabat – P16

“The crash has been a shame because we did a great QP, a great warm-up and I was fighting with the group of Zarco, Petrucci and Espargaró but I made a mistake by forcing too much, I ran wide and when I was trying to pass to Guintoli my front wheel locked. It was very hot and the grip of the wheels changed a lot. I want to apologize to the team because we were doing a great job but I made a mistake.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P17

“I didn’t expect this crash during the weekend, from Friday to the warm-up we did a great job and gradually close the gap. I expected our pace to be about 2 minutes high to middle and we made a good start. In the beginning I lost a bit of time with Pol (Espargaro) but once I overtook him I started to recover my pace and followed Jack (Miller) again. But at turn 16, after the apex when I came off the brake and started to touch the throttle, I lost the front grip and had no chance to recover it. I’m very disappointed and sorry for the team because the weekend was not so bad and our pace suggested we could fight for the top seven or eight. But we lost this opportunity and I’m very disappointed in myself, but these things happen in racing because I was pushing.”

Miguel Oliveira – DNF

“It was a disappointing race to crash with Johann. There is nothing else to say, I was feeling confident, the bike was feeling good, it was a realistic opportunity to finish inside the top 10 again, but unfortunately it ended too early. I’m looking forward to the next one.”

Aleix Espargaro’ – DNF

“My start was very good, but then I lost a couple of positions after the accident involving Dovi and Quartararo. I managed to recover quickly and my pace wasn’t bad. I battled with Petrucci and my brother for a while, but it was not easy to stay out front. I felt like I had a good pace, maybe slightly better than theirs. Unfortunately, less than two laps from the finish, the bike stopped. It’s a pity after everything we had done.”

Fabio Quartararo – DNF

“[Alex] Rins had a small slide in front of me and I shut the throttle a little too much to avoid him and then highsided. It’s a pity for the result, but more importantly I hope that Andrea [Dovizioso] is OK. It was a racing incident, and just bad luck for both of us. All weekend we were fast and the worst position of the weekend was fourth in qualifying. I had the same pace as the top guys and I’m really happy with the improvements we made this weekend. The team made a big step forwards together and it’s something we can build on.”

Johann Zarco – DNF

“It was a shame about the crash because the race was interesting. I was in control and looking to overtake Miguel in that slow corner – as I was doing to a few others in practice – and in the end I just had to apologise to him for destroying his race. The whole weekend I showed a bit better pace. I will just have to wait for Misano now and hope to have the same kind of feeling.”

Team Managers

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“We expected to be more closely to the front and join the fight with the two leading riders, but at the beginning of the race we saw that it was going to turn out differently. That said, our performance is improving, we are making consistent progress. Maverick’s third place is the consequence of hard work. Vale had been strong all weekend, but he had a different feeling this afternoon due to grip issues and tyre degradation, especially in the final stages of the race, but he still took fourth. Anyway, this round has been positive overall. The most important thing we take away from this weekend is that our riders were more comfortable with the bike in all sessions. We know what we would like to work on at the upcoming Misano Test, so we‘re looking to make further steps.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team Team Manager

“It could have been a great weekend, but we’re leaving with mixed fortunes. Fabio had bad luck with the DNF, but Franco had a very good race and made great progress. Both his pace and his strategy were good, and it’s a shame that he couldn’t quite chase down Valentino [Rossi] at the end. It’s disappointing for Fabio as he could have been fighting for the win with the pace that he had, but that’s racing – these sort of things can happen.”

Mike Leitner – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“We are very happy with Pol’s race performance and to be so close to sixth position when everybody had to manage the tyres and fuel. Again a single-digit result is very good for us, the project and for Pol especially after Red Bull Ring where he wasn’t able to finish. We are happy because we know this track is very difficult. We are not so happy with the race crash from Johann and it was unlucky that he hit Miguel and both riders went out. We have to take it like it is. I’m happy for Hafizh in P13 and it shows that he is getting better and better with the KTM. We know we have to push and work hard to make a step but we are at a point where we can fight for single-digit race results, which is our target this year. We are looking forward to the Misano test now and preparation for the race there.”

Hervé Poncharal – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“It’s a big shame to end up a weekend like that. I am very sad and also disappointed because this is not what should happen in between experienced riders, especially on the same brand. It was early stages yet, we had everything under control like we planned and Miguel was having his own race, trying to save the tyres. The target was a top 10 finish and I think it was really possible. The race is the fruit of long, long hours, everybody is working hard and to see it ending like this, is just a pity. Johann came to apologize to Miguel and to me, but in a way it’s something, I can not digest. It’s a bitter feeling. I’m not happy at all, but this is part of racing, unfortunately. On the other side, we were really working hard with Hafizh the whole week to tell him ‘You haven’t seen the flag till we came back from the summer break. It’s very important for you to get your confidence back and not to do anything stupid.’ He had a cautious race in the beginning. You could see that he was not trying too hard and quite scared to do any mistake. But in the end, he had a great battle with Lorenzo, who is a multiple World Champion on a factory Honda, so I think he learned quite a lot. He passed him with two laps to go and did his fastest lap on the very last lap. Clearly, that means, he was having a little bit of pace still in his pocket. This is a good result for him, because some points are important, finish the race and having a good fight. So, let’s take the positives of the whole weekend; we are competitive. Let’s go to the next round!”

MotoGP Race Results and Championship Standings