- Offizieller Beitrag
HONDA RACING INFORMATION
ZitatAlles anzeigen2011 FIM ROAD RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX ROUND 14 SEPTEMBER 16/17/18, 2011 ARAGON, SPAIN PREVIEW MOTOGP AND MOTO2
STONER AND PEDROSA AIM TO REPEAT AT ARAGON
The magnificent Motorland Aragon circuit made an immediate and impressive MotoGP debut by winning the prestigious 2010 IRTA Best Grand Prix Award in its first year. Certainly Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda
RC212V) would agree. Stoner won the inaugural race from the pole position with Pedrosa finishing second. Now, as they head to Spain for the final European race before packing up and flying east to the three flyaways in Australian and Asia, they will be looking to repeat last year’s success at a venue many riders consider a second home race.Stoner arrives in Spain with a 35 point championship lead after finishing third to Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and Pedrosa in Misano. The Misano race followed immediately after the Australian’s seventh season victory in the Indianapolis Grand Prix and his body clock had difficulty adjusting. He’d challenged early in Misano before understanding that he wasn’t physically capable of dealing with the oppressive heat two weekends in a row. Still, by finishing third he extended his career-best podium streak to 11, and maintained a perfect podium record in every race he’s finished.
Stoner had Pedrosa for company for the first half of last year’s Aragon race before breaking free.
From the 13th lap to the 23 Stoner steadily increased his lead to win by an impressive 5.148s.Pedrosa finished just ahead of Stoner in Misano having passed the world championship leader on the 23rd of 28 laps. Had he not been injured, through no fault of his own in the French Grand Prix, Pedrosa would certainly be challenging Stoner for the championship. In the races he’s finished, he’s been on the podium every time but one, in Mugello, when he returned from his injury lay-off.
With the Aragon circuit serving as a second home grand prix, and having missed his home race in Catalunya, Pedrosa is looking forward to putting the Repsol Honda RC212V up front for his legion of supporters.
Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) fought his way into fifth on the penultimate lap of last year’s Aragon race and was moving forward when he fell on the final lap. Fifth is where he finished in the Misano race after losing out in a dramatic last lap battle to Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V).
With five races remaining, Dovizioso is a strong third in the championship. One of his goals for the remainder of the season is to gain on Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) in second, while protecting his current position. Should he finish third overall, it would be his best career MotoGP finish.
San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli didn’t finish on the podium for his fans in Misano, a track not 6 kilometres from his home in Cattolica, but he did win the battle with Dovizioso, who also considers the San Marino Grand Prix his home race. Having finished on the podium in the Czech Republic “Super Sic” is hopeful of making a quick return. He finished seventh in the inaugural grand prix in Aragon last year and hopes that that familiarity will give him a boost before heading for Japan.
Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) is looking forward to his home grand prix in Motegi, but that won’t affect his concentration going into this weekend. Aoyama’s health has gradually improved since a back injury at the end of June, as has his confidence on the San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V.
Aoyama makes his European home in Barcelona, so he, too, considers Aragon a second home race and hopes to improve on last year’s 13th place finish from his rookie MotoGP season.
Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP RC212V) is from Manresa, north of Barcelona, and also looks forward to returning to Motorland Aragon to race in front of his supporters. Elias finished less than a second out of second place in last year’s
Moto2 race, which he used as a springboard to win in Japan, then sew up the inaugural Moto2 title in Malaysia.The future of MotoGP is in full bloom in this year’s Moto2 World Championship. Stefan Bradl (Viessmann-Kiefer Racing, Kalex) and Marc Marquez (Team CaixaCatalunya Repsol, Suter) have dominated the season, though in very different ways. Bradl owned the first half of the season, whilst Marquez has been nearly unstoppable in the second half. Between them, they’ve won every pole position, Bradl six times, including in the previous San Marino GP, and Marquez five. Bradl has four wins to six for Marquez, though the young German hasn’t won since the British Grand Prix more than three months ago. Bradl won his four races in the first six races to take a commanding championship lead. Marquez, who fell behind after failing to finish three of the first six races, caught fire in round seven in Assen where he won the first of five races and finished second once.
Marquez prevailed in a thrilling victory over Bradl in Misano, with third-placed Andrea Iannone (Speed Master, Suter) also finishing on the same second as Marquez. Bradl’s championship lead was cut to 23 points from the high of 62 following the British GP. Marquez will arrive for the third of four races in Spain after a successful three-day test at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, site of the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix.
Of the three championship leaders, Iannone has the most success at Aragon. Third in the championship, the Italian won last year’s Moto2 race from the pole, with Bradl finishing ninth.
Marquez qualified on the pole for the 125cc race, but was taken out by another rider on the first lap of the race.Motorland Aragon is a multi-purpose motorsports complex that was the collaboration of two of the most distinguished names in their respective fields, with a little extra help. Favored Formula One track architect Herman Tilke designed the racing layout with the assistance of former Formula One driver Pedro de la Rosa. Renowned British architect Sir Norman Foster won an international competition to design the infrastructure, which goes far beyond racing. In addition to a world class racetrack, karting track, off-road track, and motorsports facility, the complex includes a 330,000 square metre Leisure and Culture area. There’s also a 212,344 square metre Technology Park with state-of-the-art research and educational facilities for the motorcycle and automotive industries.
The anti-clockwise circuit uses the contours of the rolling hillsides to great effect, spreading
17 corners, 10 lefts and seven rights, along its 5.077km length. The circuit mixes elevation and blind bends with corners of varying speeds, along with a 968m straightaway that leads to the final sequence, a double-apex left-hand 180.Aragon is round 14 of 18 and the final European race before the most extended road trip of the season. It begins on the first weekend in October at the postponed Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi, Honda’s home grand prix. The originally scheduled April race was moved because of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the island nation. Following a weekend off after Motegi, the season resumes with back-to-back races at the magnificent Phillip Island circuit in Australia and the tropical heat of the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit, also a rider favourite, before returning for the curtain-closer at Valencia in November.
HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES
Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner says:
“I've managed to rest since the hard race in Misano, where I was totally worn out. The hectic schedule we follow had drained me completely and I had no energy, nothing left to give, so I've enjoyed relaxing this past week and getting back to some training. The Aragon track is OK; it's not one of my favourite circuits, I feel it could be a little faster. We ran well there last year, mainly due to the fact we took a big step in the setup on the bike. This year we arrive there with a totally different bike so we have a lot of things to learn in FP1, getting the gearbox set up right and a few other things in general. It will be interesting to go there on the Honda.
Dani was competitive there last year and I think we can work well there also, and expect a good result. We'll get there and see what we can do.”Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso says:
“We arrive in Aragon third in the championship looking to close the gap to (Jorge) Lorenzo in second, but also needing to defend from Dani in fourth. I like Motorland Aragon, the circuit is very nice and it’s fun to ride. The key characteristic is the downhill braking areas and it has some similarities to the Istanbul circuit with interesting corners and changes of direction. It’s not so fast, but all in all I like to race there. Last year it was a new track so I think that with one year of experience we can be even more competitive. Last year I crashed on the very last lap while I was fighting with Ben Spies for fifth position. This year we arrive confident that we can have a strong race.”Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:
“I have very good memories of the Grand Prix of Aragon. Last year we started well and we had a good race. I'm satisfied with our performance in the past few weeks and I feel better every day.
This week I've been able to rest and recover some energy and now I'm really looking forward to this race. People from all around Spain attend the Aragon GP and the atmosphere there is incredible.
The circuit is spectacular and very technical. It combines fast and slow corners, some of them complicated and blind where you need to find points of reference outside the track. We need to set up the bike very well for this track and make the most of all the practice sessions. The data we have from last year can help us on this and it will be important to start in a good direction, but we cannot relax. I'm excited to see the Spanish fans again after missing the Catalunya race and I hope the home support will give me an extra boost so that we can enjoy this race together.”San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli says:
“The last lap at Misano was a wonderful moment for me – I had great fun battling with Dovizioso and Spies, passing each other two or three times, and to have won that particular fight was great for me and my fans. Now we have to keep this momentum going and make sure we have more to shout about before the end of the season. We are improving and I have been more consistent in recent races, but even though the race was exciting at Misano, we really need to be fighting for the podium positions. Aragon didn't go badly for me last year and I like the track so hopefully I can have a good race. We need to find a bit more pace in practice so that we can be challenging for better grid positions, like we were at the start of the season. It goes without saying that my feeling with the team is brilliant and that is just further motivation to fight for good results.”San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Hiroshi Aoyama says:
“I could maybe have finished with a better result at Misano, but I am pleased that I have my confidence back with the bike as well as my own physical fitness. I feel in good shape to improve my results throughout the final stages of the season, starting at Aragon. Even though I didn't go so well there last year I feel I can improve on my result at Misano. Living in Barcelona I consider this to be another 'home' race for me and I want to make a good job of it. We are in good shape to do well and with the help of the team I think I can do it. We are improving and on our way back to being as competitive as we were at the start of the season.”LCR Honda MotoGP rider Toni Elias says:
“Aragon is a marvellous race track, but it’s very tough. I am hoping to find a good base setup there because it’s extremely important to fine-tune the bike if you wish to shave some tenths. For me, it’s the second home GP this year because it’s close to Manresa where I live and a lot of friends and supporters will come to see me. Of course I was expecting a different situation for my second home race, but this is what we have got at the moment and the only thing to do is working hard to adjust the problems we have been facing since the beginning of the season.”Moto2 RIDER QUOTES
Team CaixaCatalunya Repsol-Suter rider Marc Marquez says:
“I'm looking forward to Aragon - I like the track and I know I'll have a lot of fans coming to see me there. But I will be focusing on the race and keeping the same mentality that I have used for a while - to do it race by race, not thinking about the championship, even though things are getting closer now. We were very happy at Misano because we beat Bradl even though he was so strong in qualifying. It will be hard work again, but me and the team are ready.”Viessmann Kiefer Racing-Kalex rider Stefan Bradl says:
“Last year I found Aragon very difficult, but this year we are strong at every race. The important thing is that we have had a chance to have some rest after Misano, where I was carrying a small cold from the trio back from Indy. It will be another hard race. We must work some more on the bike because we need to find something.
There are five races left; we will do our best, racing race by race.”Speed Master-Suter rider Andrea Iannone says:
“We had a great race at Aragon last year, but this year everything can be different, we know that anything can happen. The main thing is that we are on good form again, so I go into this next race feeling quite confident. We will try and have another great race like last time there.”