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HONDA RACING INFORMATION
ZitatAlles anzeigen2013 FIM Roadracing World Championship Grand Prix Round 1, Qatar Grand Prix, Losail
4/5/6/7 April 2013
Preview: MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3HONDA TEAMS ALL SET FOR 65th GRAND PRIX SEASON
The 65th season of motorcycle Grand Prix racing roars into action when the floodlights go up and the starting lights go out at Losail on April 7.
The Qatar Grand Prix is MotoGP’s only night-time event and its desert setting makes it a doubly unique way to start the new season.Qatar follows a busy two months of preseason testing that has seen the top teams evaluating their new machines across three different
continents: in Malaysia, in the USA and in Spain.The 2013 MotoGP season also marks the 55th anniversary of Honda’s arrival in Grand Prix racing. The world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer made its World Championship debut at the Isle of Man TT in June 1959, scoring points at its very first attempt. Five and a half decades later the company is still driven by the same racing spirit and by the same determination to achieve technical excellence.
Repsol Honda’s latest RC213V is the embodiment of that quest. Last year Honda won the coveted manufacturers’ World Championship but lost out in the race for the riders’ title due to issues caused by an unreasonably late change to the technical regulations.
Long-time factory rider Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) ended 2012 second overall after winning six of the last eight races. The 27-year-old Spaniard is determined to start off where he left off at the end of last season and is feeling quietly confident about his eighth season with Repsol Honda after four very constructive preseason tests.
Following the retirement of his former team-mate Casey Stoner – who won the 2011 MotoGP World Championship on his RC212V – Pedrosa now shares the Repsol Honda garage with new team-mate and compatriot Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V).
Marquez’s talent has astonished during preseason testing; the 20-year-old even topping the session at the brand-new COTA circuit in Austin, Texas, venue for round two of the 2013 campaign on April 21. The reigning Moto2 World Champion is certainly a very welcome addition to the premier class.
Honda has two other riders on full prototype MotoGP bikes in 2013: former Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) and former 125 World Champion Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V).
Bradl contests his second MotoGP season this year, after taking the Rookie of the Year award in 2012. The 23-year-old German has a very intelligent approach to racing and learns every time he goes out on the bike. After some strong showings during his rookie season – including seven second-row starts and a fighting fourth-place finish at Mugello – Bradl is aiming to take the next step towards the front aboard his factory RC213V.
Bautista also did a lot of learning last year, switching to a Honda MotoGP machine after two seasons with Suzuki. The 28-year-old Spaniard adapted well, scoring his first MotoGP pole position at Silverstone and podium finishes at Misano and Motegi. Like Bradl, he too is ready to take the next step forward this year.
Stoner’s exit from MotoGP leaves the class with just one Australian on the grid – rookie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) who rides an FTR-framed CRT bike powered by a tuned Honda CBR1000RR engine. This is a big move for the 26-year-old who won four races in last year’s hotly contested Superstock 1000 FIM Cup.
Less than two hours before the first MotoGP race of 2013 gets underway the new Moto2 season begins. This is the fourth year of the Honda-powered intermediate World Championship that replaced the long-running 250 World Championship in 2010. The series has rightly won a reputation for fearsome racing that can be attributed the equality of the machinery. The category was created with two distinct goals: low costs and technical equality between all riders and teams, which is why the entire grid used Honda CBR600RR engines provided by MotoGP rights-holders Dorna, as well as control tyres and control ECUs.
With Marquez and Italian Andrea Iannone promoted to MotoGP duties, the outcome of the first race and the World Championship is wide open. Early favourite is last year’s runner-up Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) who won four races in 2012. The 21-year-old Spaniard was fastest during preseason testing and is brimming with confidence.
However, Espargaro is fully aware that he will have to fight all the way for the 2013 title.
Also showing well at the final tests were his team-mate Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) and the other team duo of Jordi Torres (Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) and Nicolas Terol (Aspar Team
Moto2 Suter). But expect great things also from some other stars of 2012, including yet another team duo of Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team
Kalex) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), as well as 2010 Moto2 king Toni Elias (Blusens Avintia Kalex).Swiss ace Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Suter), who finished fourth in last year’s series, was expected to be in the thick of the fight for the 2013 title until he sustained an arm injury during preseason tests at Valencia. He is expected to return to action at next month’s Spanish Grand Prix. Meanwhile his place is taken by Spaniard Sergio Gadea.
Honda riders in the Moto3 class – now in its second season after replacing the 125cc category last year – face a big challenge at the opening race of 2013. During the final preseason tests at Jerez there were two riders powered by Honda’s NSF250R engine inside the top-ten fastest times:
Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini FTR Honda) and John McPhee Caretta (Technology-RTG FTR Honda).
With Honda planning to provide engine upgrades for the first race, Honda’s Moto3 riders will be working hard to close the gap on the fastest bikes before race night at Losail. Expect Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda) and fellow Italian teenager Alessandro Tonucci (Team La Fonte Tasca Racing Honda) to be among those in the hunt for podium finishes.The Qatar Grand Prix has another unique aspect – it is the only MotoGP event that takes place over four days, rather than three. This is because there is window of just five hours between dusk and 11pm, when plummeting temperatures coat the circuit with dew, which dramatically reduces grip. Practice sessions begin at 6pm on Thursday and Friday, followed by qualifying at 6pm on Saturday and racing from 7pm on Sunday. During race weekend the track is lit by an amazing 5.4 million watt lighting system, the biggest of its kind, which could illuminate a road from Doha to Moscow or 70 FIFA football fields.
The circuit itself, constructed in 2004 to bring MotoGP to the Middle East for the first time, is a sinuous test for man and machine, with the layout of individual corners inspired by famous corners at racetracks from around the world.
Corner speed and machine agility are vitally important at Losail with only one straight worthy of the name – the 1.068km/0.664 mile start-finish, which demands plenty of horsepower.After Losail the MotoGP circuit heads west, setting up camp outside Austin in Texas for the Grand Prix of the Americas at the new Circuit of Americas. Practice starts on April 19. Racing takes place on April 21. Then it’s back to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on May 5.
MotoGP Rider Quotes
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:
“After a long testing period I am now really ready to go racing! The team has worked hard to get us in the best place for the start of the season and I’m pleased with my physical situation. It’s a long weekend in Qatar, with the schedule over four days, and the grip level takes some time to improve with the sand and other conditions there. It will be interesting to see how the new qualifying format works and I’m really looking forward to the race. I’m just excited to get the season started!”Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez says:
“We’ve had a good winter testing and now it’s time to go racing. Qatar isn’t one of my favourite tracks but I still enjoy it. There are many factors to consider there with the sand from the desert which affects the grip, and also the fact that it’s a night race. Also, as I saw in Jerez, everything is different on the MotoGP bike compared to Moto2 so we will need some time.
Let’s see when we get there. For sure I will be nervous going into my first MotoGP race but I’m also excited.”LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl says:
“I am happy to go to Qatar and I feel ready for the first race of the season. It’s a circuit where I normally go fast and like the layout and the atmosphere because racing in the nighttime is awesome. Now I have more experience on this bike in this class and won’t be as nervous as last year at my debut and I feel this circuit could be a good chance to obtain a good result”.
GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista says:
“The new season is about to start and I think we are ready. We did a great job through preseason testing, even though we weren’t helped by the weather in the final session at Jerez.
Unfortunately we still had some things we needed to test, but we didn’t get the chance. Anyway, overall we have made a big step from last year.
Racing in Qatar is always very special and it’s exciting to go out on track under the lights.
It’s a nice track, but the fact that you’re racing at night and the varying levels of grip make it strange to ride. I’m curious to see how the new qualifying system works, but I think it will be exciting. We’ll keep working to make the bike more rideable and make sure we’re as competitive as we can be for the first race. I had a lot of problems last year in practice in Qatar and only managed to finish seventh in the race, which I wasn’t happy with, so this year we’ll certainly look to make up for that.”GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Bryan Staring says:
“I am nervous and excited about making my debut in MotoGP. After an encouraging test at Jerez I am highly motivated and confident we can do well.
I don’t know Losail but I have watched all the races there on television and I’m curious to experience it myself. I have worked hard with the team throughout the winter and gradually I am getting used to the bike, which is very different to anything I have ridden before. I have gradually adapted my riding style to cope with the power of the FTR Honda and I am ready for this new experience now. Obviously racing at night will be completely new to me too, but that just makes me feel even more excited about making my debut in MotoGP. Hopefully I can have a good race and start the season in the right way.
Moto2 Rider Quotes
Pons 40 HP Tuenti Kalex rider Pol Espargaro says:
“Preseason testing went very well for us. I’m glad I was fastest in all three IRTA tests – one at Valencia and two at Jerez – but I am very well aware that you get no points for testing! The World Championship finally starts this weekend and I think we are ready to fight for the title, with the confidence and peace of mind that comes from having the best technical team behind me to achieve the goal. We will have to work race by race and never forget that Moto2 is a very difficult category. There are many other riders – some who have already been World Champions, others who have yet to be champions – so even if we give 110% of our potential we know this season will be tough.”Blusens Avintia rider Toni Elias says:
“I like the layout of Losail but the fact that we are racing at night complicates things, mostly because of the dew that can affect grip. I would prefer to race during daylight, but racing by night isn’t a problem because, in the end, it’s the same for everyone. We did a very good job in preseason tests, but I think that we still have a last step to make, so we will try to make that step during the first two days of practice to reach qualifying in as competitive a position as possible. I am happy because we have improved a lot in a short time and I can’t wait for the first to start. Talking about results is always risky and even more so in a competitive category like Moto2, but if we can’t win in Qatar, being on one of the other two steps of the podium would be a good result for the first race.”Marc VDS Racing Team rider Scott Redding says:
“Last year we achieved our aim of top-five finishes, but this season I need to step it up and be aiming for the podium in every race, starting this weekend in Qatar. We head to the first race off the back of three very positive preseason tests, with a bike that I feel confident with, and with a package that we know is competitive. I’m probably better prepared, both physically and mentally, for the start of the season than I’ve ever been before, so I’m really looking forward to the weekend ahead. A podium finish in Qatar would be the perfect start to what promises to be another tough and hard-fought season, so that’s what I’m aiming for.”
Moto3 Rider Quotes
San Carlo Team Italia Honda rider Romano Fenati says:
“I wasn’t so happy with the results of the final tests at Jerez, but we go to Losail remaining focused on the championship. We tried so many things with the FTR Honda during testing and I think we still have a lot of work to do. The best thing is that the team is working really well, so I’m sure we will improve. Last year we had a great race at Qatar and a great start to my career in GPs. I think this time it will be tougher, but we are ready for the challenge.”GO&FUN Gresini Honda rider Niccolo Antonelli says:
“I am ready and excited about the first race of the season at the Losail circuit in Qatar. I can’t wait to get out on track and see how I am physically, but if I feel okay I will be trying my best to fight at the front. I have confidence in the new Honda engine and with the job the guys have done in the recent test at Jerez I think we can be racing with the best of them. I like Losail and the surreal atmosphere of racing at night is exciting to me so I can’t wait to get back on the bike and start this new adventure.”Team La Fonte Tasca Racing rider Alessandro Tonucci says:
“For Qatar I feel very good and I’m training. I get on well with the team and in the last test we worked so hard but we have not yet found a definitive solution to balance the bike well. I hope to find something in the first practice session. We will also see how it goes the new engine that arrives in Qatar. I hope to do well!”