Le Mans

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

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2013 FIM Roadracing World Championship Grand Prix Round 3 of 18, French Grand Prix, Le Mans
17/18/19 May 2013
Preview: MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3

HONDA MEN AHEAD AS MotoGP MOVES TO LEGENDARY LE MANS

Honda stars Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) go into this weekend’s French Grand Prix holding first and second places in the 2013 MotoGP World Championship after dominating the second and third rounds of the series.

Marquez won last month’s inaugural Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas, which Pedrosa finished in second place; then Pedrosa won in Spain two weeks ago, ahead of Marquez. It has been a superb start to 2013 but the riders and the rest of the factory Honda squad know full well that MotoGP is all about going the distance – with three rounds done there are still 15 to go.

Marquez has been making the headlines ever since his MotoGP debut at last month’s season-opening Qatar GP. He finished on the podium there, took victory at the next round in Texas and then moved into the World Championship points lead at his home GP. So far his has been a phenomenal and historic apprenticeship – in Texas he became the youngest rider to score a premier-class pole position and race win – but the 20-year-old will start from zero at Le Mans, where he has never ridden a MotoGP bike.

Pedrosa’s brilliantly gauged victory in challenging conditions at Jerez ignited his push for the 2013 MotoGP crown. The Spaniard’s 23rd premier-class victory moved him past reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and into second place overall. A productive post-race test at Jerez brings him to Le Mans in confident mood and determined to keep the momentum going.

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini
RC213V) also made significant progress during the post-Jerez tests. The Spaniard is the only rider on the MotoGP grid using Showa suspension, so he’s been working very closely with the Japanese company to solve a few issues that have been holding him back. Satisfied with recent progress, he is optimistic of scoring his first top-five finish of the season at Le Mans.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) has had a disappointing start to his second MotoGP season, with two crashes at the first three races, leaving him some way down the points ladder. The post-Jerez tests therefore couldn’t have come at a better time for the young German who was able to spend the day honing his set-up in an effort to cure a front-end issue that has been causing him concern.

MotoGP rookie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) travels to Le Mans hopeful of scoring his first MotoGP points. At Jerez two weeks ago the Australian – who rides a CBR1000RR-powered CRT bike – was less than a second away from his first points haul, coming home in 16th spot, just a few tenths behind veteran Colin Edwards (FTR Kawasaki). That result boosted his confidence, so this weekend he will be aiming for the top 15.

This will be another big weekend for Moto2 rider Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) who leads a World Championship for the first time after winning the first Grand Prix of his career at Jerez. The popular Spaniard, who made his World Championship debut way back in 2005, comes to Le Mans just one point ahead of Moto2 rival Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) who finished second at Jerez.

Third in the Honda-powered Moto2 series is Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) who won the opening race in Qatar, crashed out of round two and finished third at Jerez after a thrilling duel with Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex). The Japanese currently sits sixth in the series behind Grand Prix of the Americas winner Nicolas Terol (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) and Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert Suter).

Honda’s Moto3 riders look forward to the French GP with some optimism after some promising results at Jerez. Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing Suter Honda) moved into sixth place in the points chase after a stirring ride to fourth place, while local hero Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda) goes into his tenth home Grand Prix aiming for another top-ten finish after promising rides at the last two events.

Le Mans may be best known for its 24 hour motorsport events – on both two wheels and four – but it has also been an on-and-off home for the French Grand Prix since 1969. Honda has scored many victories in the circuit’s 24 hour motorcycle race and took its first premier-class Grand Prix win at the venue in 1983, with Freddie Spencer aboard the NS500 two-stroke triple. Since then Eddie Lawson (1989), Mick Doohan (1994 and 1995), Alex Criville (2000), Valentino Rossi (2002), Sete Gibernau (2003 and 2004), Marco Melandri (2006) and Casey Stoner (2011) have also taken Honda machines to premier-class success at the track.

The Le Mans Bugatti circuit, very different from the much longer 24-hour car track, returned to the GP calendar in 2000 after an absence of four years, during which time the French GP was run at Circuit Paul Ricard in Provence. Since 2000 the event has built a huge following in bike-mad France, with tens of thousands of bikers making the two-hour trip to the Sarthe region from Paris.

Le Mans underwent safety modifications before the
1999 GP, partly as a result of Alberto Puig’s injurious turn-one crash during practice for the
1995 French GP. The daunting right hander was tightened and the Musée left-hander was also modified to lower speeds. Further modifications have been carried out during subsequent years in an ongoing program of improvements.

The track’s character is very stop-and-go, with plenty of slow turns where braking and acceleration performance are primordial. Riders and their engineers therefore concentrate on honing their machines’ stability during braking, as well as improving rear-end traction for the numerous hairpin exits.

After Le Mans the MotoGP circus heads south to one of the season’s most popular events, the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on June 2.

Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez says:
“We go to Le Mans and again we arrive there starting from zero, as I haven’t done any tests there. I’ll do my best and I’ll try to make the most of the situation. I hope it doesn’t rain so we can prepare the bike on a dry track, this is very important to find the right set-up. I’m very happy at the moment but we have to keep our feet on the ground as the coming circuits are new for me in MotoGP. A huge part of our success in this first part of the season is down to the help that Honda and the team have given me and it has helped my riding a lot.”

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:
“After a fantastic weekend in Jerez and a productive test on the Monday, I’m looking forward to going to Le Mans. I’ve had good results there in the past and I enjoy the circuit, so I’m hoping that the bike works well there. Practice management in Le Mans can sometimes be difficult and complicated due to the weather but I’m finding my comfort again on the bike and I’m working well with the team. I will go to France and aim to use all of my experience and remain focused for the whole weekend.”

Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista says:
“After the weekend at Jerez and the post-race test I feel very motivated. We have worked very hard to find more rear grip from the bike after suffering over the course of the weekend. In the test we found some solutions that make me confident that we are on the right path. We worked closely with HRC and Showa and we improved our pace from the race so we can go to Le Mans with renewed enthusiasm. I have not enjoyed particularly good results at this track in the past and the weather usually plays a role here so we have to be prepared for everything. Last year didn’t go badly for us in the dry but the race was wet and we struggled because my visor steamed up. With the progress we are making I am convinced that we have the potential to be battling in the top five again and this is our objective. This is a ‘stop-and-go’ circuit with a lot of direction changes. It is quite slow and technical, so it suits a bike that handles well.
There are no long straights and that makes it physically demanding because you don’t get any chance for a rest!”

LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl says:
“We arrive at Le Mans with two DNFs from three rounds and some issues with the front-end that we partially solved in the Jerez test session. Le Mans is another good circuit which I like and in my debut year in the premier class I finished 5th. This increases my motivation and my will to be back at the front with the other guys.
However, we are conscious of our set-up problems which affect my corner entries and my riding style. We collected further data in Jerez to begin the Le Mans weekend with a good base set-up and, session after session, we will try to adjust the package.”

GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Bryan Staring says:
“I am still really happy with the result from Jerez because it has given us a nice boost to try and do even better in the races coming up. Lap by lap I am adapting my riding more and more to MotoGP and I am pushing the bike with more conviction. I can’t wait to get out on track at Le Mans, which is a place that fascinates me even though I have never been before. In fact out of the next seven tracks I only know one of them so I have to concentrate hard on learning them and adapting quickly so that we can start working on set-up. We have been making progress lately so we need to keep going like this and I am sure we will soon achieve our first objective of scoring points. ”

Moto2 rider quotes

Tuenti HP 40 Pons rider Esteve Rabat says:
“I’m not sure what to expect at the moment because this is the first time I go to a race leading a World Championship. Le Mans is a very difficult circuit, with a lot of heavy braking, and the weather can be difficult. I’d like to say I am confident, but in Moto2 you always need to keep working.”

Marc VDS Racing Team rider Scott Redding says:
“It’s been a strong start to the season and, three races in, I’m just one point off the top of the championship standings. But this early, the championship standings are just names on a piece of paper. More important is approaching the Le Mans weekend as we have the previous three races, putting in the work during practice and qualifying to give us the best chance of a good result on Sunday. It’s worked for us so far, so I don’t see why it shouldn’t work again this weekend.”

Tuenti HP40 Pons rider Pol Espargaro says:
“I like Le Mans. Last year I was quite fast in the dry, but so far this year isn’t going so well for me, so I’m not really sure what to expect. I will push 100 percent, that is sure, and we will do our best to put the issues of the last couple of races behind us.”

Honda Moto3 Rider quotes

Ambrogio Racing rider Brad Binder says:
“I think Le Mans will be really good for us because the Suter Honda handles so, so well. On top speed the KTMs have the legs on us but there’s no seriously long straights at Le Mans, so I think that will even things out and we will be able to use our advantages in the corners.”

Ongetta-Rivacold rider Alexis Masbou says:
“The GP of France is always an important weekend.
My family and friends come along, sponsors too and especially all my fans, so it’s a time when we would love to share good results. Except for my first French GP in 2003, the added stress of my home race has never bothered me, but the national GP is always a stressful weekend because we want everything to work out perfectly. Le Mans is a circuit with heavy braking and hard acceleration, which corresponds well to Moto3, but the most difficult thing can be the weather!”

Ambrogio Racing rider Danny Webb says:
“I’m looking forward to getting to Le Mans and getting to work. Jerez wasn’t a good weekend for me, but that’s behind me now and forgotten about, so I’m fully fit and ready to go at Le Mans. My feeling is that the Honda will work well at this track, so I know that I can have a good result.”

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2013 FIM MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 World Championships Round 4, French Grand Prix, Le Mans Qualifying, Saturday, 18 May 2013

Weather: cool and cloudy
Temperature: Ambient 16 degrees C / Track 21 degrees C

MARQUEZ AND HONDA TAKE POLE POSITION AT LE MANS

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) stormed to pole position at Le Mans this afternoon, the World Championship leader beating off a challenge from reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo
(Yamaha) by three hundredths of a second. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) will both start tomorrow’s French Grand Prix from the second row of the grid after qualifying fifth and sixth fastest.

Remarkable rookie Marquez started practice yesterday morning having never ridden a lap of the legendary French track aboard a MotoGP bike, and yet by the end of the day he was second fastest, 0.134 seconds behind team-mate Pedrosa.
The reigning Moto2 World Champion commented that Le Mans is a small and tight track, and that it feels a lot smaller and tighter on a MotoGP bike than a Moto2 machine! In the final pre-qualifying practice session Marquez slid off at Turn Two – the first left-hander that claimed five riders today – but that hardly affected his confidence at all.

This is the 20-year-old Spaniard’s second premier-class pole, following his pole position at last month’s Grand Prix of the Americas, which made him the youngest premier-class pole sitter in GP history. He backed that up with victory the next day, making him the youngest premier-class race winner.

Bradl’s determined push to fifth, which puts him in the middle of the second row between Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) and Pedrosa, was some reward for all the hard work he’s put in with his team to solve a front-end issue that had hampered him at the last two races. The German ended the day less than a tenth of a second off his first MotoGP front row.

Pedrosa was confident of fighting for pole position after ending the first three practice sessions second fastest, behind Marquez. But a tumble at Turn Two interrupted his efforts during the 15-minute QP2 qualifying session. The former
125 and 250 World Champion got back to the pits, took his second bike and managed to better his time, but he had to be happy with sixth on the grid, just five thousandths of a second behind Bradl.

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini
RC213V) was another who fell at the first left, sliding off there during FP3. He recovered to go seventh fastest in qualifying, which puts him at the top of the third row of the grid. The first three rows are tightly packed, with the top nine riders covered by just 1.035 seconds.

Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) will start from 21st on the grid. The Australian rookie – who has never ridden at Le Mans before – was happy with his progress and with his race pace.

Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) scored his first Grand Prix pole position this afternoon, bettering Moto2 rival Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) by 0.350 seconds.
Nakagami was ahead when rain began to fall, denying his rivals the chance to attack the lap time of the Japanese rider.

The Japanese and the Briton will be joined on tomorrow’s Moto2 front row by local hero Johann Zarco (Came Ioda Racing Project Suter) who also made sure he got in a good lap time before the rain came.

The second row will be led by World Championship leader Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex), winner of the last race at Jerez in Spain. He will start the race alongside Xavier Simeon (Desguaces La Torre Maptaq Kalex) and Nicolas Terol (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter), winner of the Moto2 race at the Circuit of the Americas.

Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR Honda) was Honda’s top performer in Moto3, scoring his third successive second-row start. The 18-year-old Australian was in fine form, ending the session sixth fastest, less than six tenths off pole position, which went to Maverick Vinales (KTM). Miller attributed some of his performance to new bodywork from FTR.

Isaac Vinales (Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR
Honda) ended the afternoon on the third row, with eighth fastest time, despite a minor engine glitch during qualifying.

Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda) was the top French performer in Moto3 qualifying, taking tenth place on the grid, just over three tenths of a second down on Miller. The Frenchman was just ahead of Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda), Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing Suter Honda) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (GO&FUN Gresini FTR Honda)

Rain is forecast for tomorrow at Le Mans, round four of this year’s 18-race MotoGP World Championship.

Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: pole position, 1m 33.187s
“Qualifying went very well. After FP3, in which
we had a small front-end crash and I lost my
confidence a little, I was back on it
immediately. It was hard to heat up the tyres,
but that was the same for everyone. I think
that's the reason why there were so many crashes.
I am very happy, because I think that we had a
good session and have a good peace. Tomorrow we
will try to give 100 per cent and see if we are
fortunate enough to have a dry race. If it is a
wet one, then we just have to do as well as we can.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda: 5th, 1m 33.634s
“Finally we’ve done a good job in qualifying, as
the gap from the third to the sixth in the
classification is very narrow. It's nice to be
back after the difficult weekend in Jerez and I
knew I was fast enough to get fifth place, which
is our usual position. I want to thank the team
for their efforts because they’ve done a good job
adjusting the front end, working on suspension,
electronics and mapping. Now I can ride the bike
with confidence no matter what the weather will
be tomorrow and I am confident we can race at the front.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 6th, 1m 33.639s
“The afternoon practice sessions were difficult.
I crashed in qualifying, so I had to go back to
the garage and only had a little time left on the
clock when I got back out on track. I was not
able to make the best use of the session, but at
least I was able to clock a fairly decent time
and place sixth. It is a pity, because we could
have been much higher up the grid. For tomorrow
we will have to try to get a good start, get back
up through the field and have a good race.”

Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 7th, 1m 33.984s
“Today was a difficult day, especially this
morning because we tried some things with the
set-up to resolve the issues we had yesterday but
they didn't work. We made some progress with the
electronics and then went back a step with the
set-up but at the end of the morning session I
had a crash on cold tyres that was quite heavy.
Thankfully I wasn't really hurt apart from a blow
to my chest, which was painful this afternoon. I
couldn't ride at 100 per cent for qualifying but
I felt more confident with the front so I am
looking forward to riding it tomorrow. We have
another thing to try in the warm-up with the
electronics and then we will see what the weather does for the race.”

Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda: 21st, 1m 36.714s
“I am halfway happy because I feel I could have
done better but we have still closed the gap to
the guys in front of us. Our race pace is
important and it makes me confident for the race.
Obviously our biggest problem is that the tracks
are always new to me and it has taken me some
time to learn the right line around here. Taking
everything into account I think we can have a good race tomorrow.”

Moto2 rider quotes

Takaaki Nakagami, Italtrans Racing Team: pole position, 1m 38.508s
“Qualifying was quite difficult because of the
weather – as soon as the session started there
were already a few drops of rain falling. I tried
100 per cent from the start and tried to make no
mistakes and ride some good laps. I’m really
happy to get my first pole. Big thanks to my team
and to my mechanics who help me a lot. I was
quite strong in winter testing and I have a good
feeling with my Kalex. If it rains tomorrow it
will be a very hard race. I will try 100 per
cent, try to make no mistakes and to be on the podium.”

Scott Redding, Marc VDS Racing Team: 2nd, 1m 38.858s
“I was up for taking another pole position today,
as I definitely had the pace here, despite the
small crash this morning. Unfortunately the
timing was wrong, in a session that was more of a
sprint than qualifying is normally. I put in a
fast lap right at the start but, unfortunately,
Taka got a lap behind me, which was all he needed
to take pole. I thought I could come back, but
then the rain arrived and that was it. Anyway,
I’m happy enough with the front row, especially
as I’m ahead of Espargaro and Rabat on the grid.
We also got some time on the bike in the wet this
afternoon, which could be important given that
there’s a good chance of rain tomorrow.”

Johann Zarco, Came Ioda Racing Project: 3rd, 1m 39.187s
“I'm happy with my first front row of the season
and I’ve done it in France which makes it taste
even better. The changing weather made qualifying
difficult, with a few drops of rain falling at
the start of the session, so everyone was
immediately pushing to get a good time. I have a
good feeling with my Suter, so I was able to go
quite fast. After it started raining more heavily
I went out again to test the feeling of the bike
in the wet, knowing that Le Mans doesn’t have
much grip. Tomorrow I’ll try to fight for a podium and make France proud.”

Honda Moto3 Rider quotes

Jack Miller, Caretta Technology – RTG: 6th, 1m 44.278s
“That was good, I’m pretty happy – another solid
second row. There are a couple of big straights
here, so we’ve done well to be where we are and I
know there are a couple of points I can improve
for the race. We’ve got a new fairing here which
is working really well. It’s smaller for better
aero and it’s better in windy conditions too. The
team is working phenomenally hard, I can’t thank them enough.”

Isaac Vinales, Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta: 8th, 1m 44.548s
“The bike is good, through the engine wasn’t
pushing as hard in qualifying as it was in this
morning’s session. We’ve made a few small
adjustments to the chassis set-up, which have
helped, so I’m quite confident for the race because my rhythm is pretty good.”

Alexis Masbou, Ongetta-Rivacold: 10th, 1m 44.600s
“We have been improving the bike and today we
tried two different settings, one that was good
for corner entry and the other that was good for
corner exit. Now we have to decide which one to
prove or maybe try something in between. This is
the first time we have been within a second of
pole, so I am quite happy. All the Honda teams
are working very hard and we are starting to close the gap.”

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2013 FIM MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 World Championships Round 4, French Grand Prix, Le Mans Race day, Sunday, 19 May 2013

Weather: cool and wet
Temperature: Ambient 12 degrees C / Track 18 degrees C

PEDROSA & MARQUEZ TAKE FIRST & THIRD FOR HONDA AT LE MANS

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) scored a masterful victory in treacherous conditions at Le Mans this afternoon to take the World Championship lead from team-mate Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) who finished a brilliant third in his first wet-weather MotoGP race.

The fourth round of the 2013 campaign started on a soaking track, which slowly dried as the race went on to reveal narrow dry lines here and there, making the task of machine control on worn rain tyres extremely tricky. Pedrosa and Marquez were the masters of the conditions, Pedrosa dominating the race after a tussle with early leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), while Marquez fought back brilliantly after completing the first lap in eighth place. The Spanish pair now hold first and second positions in the points chase.

Pedrosa started from the second row and was up to third at the end of the first lap. He was quickly up to speed, passing reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) on lap three and then attacking Dovizioso for the lead two laps later at the Garage Vert right-hander. Pedrosa quickly built a 1.3 second advantage but ran very wide at the La Chapelle hairpin on lap eight, which put Dovizioso back in front. The Spaniard was ahead again four laps later, then the Italian took over once more at half-distance. Next time round Pedrosa grabbed the lead at the Musee left-hander and that was that.

The second half of the race was all his own, his advantage growing to seven seconds at one point.
In the final laps he eased his pace to cross the finish line 4.8 seconds ahead of Cal Crutchlow
(Yamaha) who had got the better of Dovizioso in the final laps. It was Pedrosa’s second successive win, following his similarly dominant performance at sunny Jerez two weeks ago. The result was also Pedrosa’s 24th premier-class victory, which puts him one win behind 1993 500 World Champion Kevin Schwantz.

Marquez’s race was equally impressive. The 20-year-old started from pole position but lost several places at the start and then took his time to get the hang of riding a MotoGP bike in the wet, making a few mistakes at the same time.
And yet remarkably it only took him eight laps to learn to race a MotoGP bike in the rain – on laps eight, nine and ten he was the fastest man on track but he was still in tenth place. During the final two thirds of the 28 laps he moved forward at a remarkable rate, taking the final podium place from Dovizioso with two laps to go. The result maintained Marquez’s 100 per cent podium record from his first four races as a MotoGP rookie.

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini
RC213V) rode a good race to finish sixth, behind the Ducatis of Dovizioso and Nick Hayden. Despite not getting the best of starts he ran a good pace in the early stages and was happy enough with the end result, considering he’s never like the Le Mans circuit.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) came home in tenth place after sliding off at the Dunlop chicane on lap 18. He had been running in sixth place when he went down. The young German quickly remounted, rejoining the track in 11th position.

Australian MotoGP rookie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) was one of the early fallers, sliding off his CBR100RR-powered CRT bike on the second lap.

Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) won the Honda-powered Moto2 race to become the first non-Spanish winner in any MotoGP class so far this year. The Briton started from pole position but made a slow start, ending the first lap down in eighth. He fought back brilliantly from there, passing several rivals to take the lead from local Johann Zarco (Came Ioda Racing Project
Suter) on lap nine. The race was red flagged when rain began to fall in the final laps. Results were taken from the 22nd of the scheduled 26 laps.

Cool and tricky conditions contributed to the numerous crashes, most importantly three falls at the Musee left-hander. On lap three Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) grabbed the lead from Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons
Kalex) who then slid off at Musee, followed immediately by his team-mate Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex). Four laps later Nakagami crashed at the same corner, gifting the lead to Zarco.

Redding stayed out front from lap nine onwards but he was always under pressure from the group of riders immediately behind him. First it was Zarco who was his closest challenger and later it was team-mate Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team
Kalex) who came through to finish second after a difficult first few laps.

Xavier Simeon (Desguaces La Torre Maptaq Kalex) took his first Grand Prix podium in third place, just 1.234 seconds down on Redding, having got the better of Zarco and Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert Suter) who finished fourth, just ahead of Zarco.

Mattia Pasini (NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up) finished sixth, his best result of the year, just ahead of another local, Mike Di Meglio (JiR Moto2 Motobi). Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex), Anthony West (QMMF Racing Team Speed Up) and Alex De Angelis ((NGM Mobile Forward Racing Speed Up) completed the top ten.

Redding’s first Moto2 win – he won the British
125 GP in 2008 – moves him into the World Championship lead, 24 points ahead of Spanish GP winner Rabat.

The Moto3 race – first of the day – got underway on a partially damp track and was won by World Championship leader Maverick Vinales (KTM).
Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda) was Honda’s top finisher, the Italian crossing the finish line in seventh place after a thrilling battle with several other Honda riders.

Fenati was chased over the line by Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing Suter Honda), Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda) and Isaac Vinales (Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR Honda); the four riders covered by just over two seconds. Team-mates John McPhee (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda) and Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR Honda) were next in 11th and 12th. Binder’s result puts him an impressive fifth in the World Championship standings.

The MotoGP 2013 World Championship continues with the Italian Grand Prix – one of the sport’s favourite events – at Mugello on June 2.

Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: race winner
“I’m very happy because I have earned an important victory. I’ve been trying to win at this circuit for many years in MotoGP and it has always been a tough track for me. Today, the moment finally arrived, when I least expected it, and it is immensely satisfying. Conditions here are usually against me, because it is cold and I don’t like riding in these temperatures, but today I got the best out of myself. The bike was also good, above all on the opening laps when the track was very wet. I made a few mistakes but I was able to recover from them, maintain the advantage and win the race. I’d like to thank all my team and also my supporters!”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 3rd
“This podium almost counts as a win as it was my first wet race in MotoGP and I wasn’t expecting to finish in the top three. Also, bearing in mind that I had dropped quite far back from the front, third place and 16 points is an important achievement for the World Championship. We can say that this was a very good weekend; we had a good setting for the dry, but when it rained it was up to me to learn from the mistakes that I made at the start of the race. I need to improve, because I was finding it hard to ride with water on the track. It will be difficult to maintain our performance at Mugello, but we will go there and try 100 per cent. I congratulate Dani on a great race and victory and I’d like to thank the whole team!”

Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 6th “That was a particularly difficult race because the conditions were so different to how they’d been for practice. I also didn’t get a great start and that was a shame because looking at the lap times it cost me the chance to fight at the front. When the track started to dry the bike was cutting the power on the straight and I was losing time but sixth place is a positive result if not a great one because we’ve improved on last year and I don’t like this track. Overall we have made progress here and I feel better with the electronics and suspension in the wet. I am satisfied with the result and I want to thank the team and the sponsors. This is a nice boost before we go to their home race at Mugello.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 10th
“My start was pretty good and I think that our pace was not so bad because we were able to race with the top group. Then during the race I could not see properly and had to open the visor many times. So for me it was a bit tough to do the perfect line and I crashed because I touched the white line. After that I was lucky because I was able to keep riding with acceptable lap times.
Actually we are back up to speed but we had some bad luck in the race. In any case we are fast in the dry and in the wet so I am looking forward to Mugello which is one of my favourite race tracks.”

Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: DNF “I made a rookie mistake and ruined the opportunity to get some valuable experience in the wet on this bike, so I am really angry with myself right now. I needed to ride a steady race and instead we’ve ended up with nothing to show.
I want to apologise to the team because their efforts this weekend deserved a better result. I will try to make it up to them at Mugello in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Moto2 rider quotes

Scott Redding, Marc VDS Racing Team: 1st “It’s an amazing feeling to have taken the win today, in what were very difficult conditions.
It’s a fitting reward for the team, who have all worked so hard for this win and, to them, I have to say a big thank you. I also owe a lot to [team owner] Marc van der Straten for his support, so it was great that we had the chance to stand together on the top step of the podium today. The win also puts me back on the top of the championship standings, but this time with a bit more of an advantage, so I’m happy with that. Now we go to Mugello, where I’ll definitely be looking for more of the same!”

Mika Kallio, Marc VDS Racing Team: 2nd
“We went with a slightly different setting today and that, combined with the weather conditions, meant I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in the race. But the plan was the same as Jerez; to make up as many places in the first few laps by being aggressive and, once again, it worked. I got held up by Domi Aegerter and Xavier Simeon at one point, as both are difficult to pass, but I pushed through into second because there was a good chance the rain would bring out the red flag, which is exactly what happened. It’s a good result for me and it was good for the team to have two riders on the podium today. Now we need to focus on Mugello, and making sure we have the bike set-up right for the first practice session.”

Xavier Simeon, Desguaces La Torre Maptaq: 3rd “I feel very happy with this podium, after a few difficult years. This year we have a good package – good team and bike – and every race we try to go better. We made another step forward this weekend, which is great. The race was difficult.
I could follow the general pace, but when Scott passed me he was a little faster. Then Mika passed me and I was trying to take him again when the red flags came out. Thank you my team – they are doing an incredible job.”

Honda Moto3 Rider quotes

Romano Fenati, San Carlo Team Italia: 7th “It was a good race. Unfortunately because I went wide, while trying to pass McPhee who was slower, I rushed things a little too much. After that I was able to come back, and the feeling on the bike was good. I’m happy with the bike and the work done with the team. Now we head to Mugello, where we’ll try our best to go back on the podium.”

Brad Binder, Ambrogio Racing: 8th
“It was tricky at the beginning with the dodgy conditions, so I was trying to find my feet. In the middle of the race I kept getting held up. It was only in the last few laps that I got through the group – I kept getting blocked. My last two laps were my fastest laps and they were the first laps I got when I wasn’t blocked. Without all that, I feel I could have done better.”

Alexis Masbou, Ongetta-Rivacold: 9th
“That was a really difficult race, especially because during the early laps when the track was still damp in a lot of places. I am a little upset because we chose the soft tyre which cost us the chance of a good result. Anyway, I rode a good race, not so bad. The last few laps were also difficult because sometimes when I shifted the bike wouldn’t change gear, which lost me time.”

RESULTS

MOTOGP
RACE: (28 laps = 117.18 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 49'17.707 / 142.6 /
2 / Cal CRUTCHLOW / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 49'22.570 / 142.3 / 4.863
3 / Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 49'24.656 / 142.2 / 6.949
4 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 49'27.794 / 142.1 / 10.087
5 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 49'36.178 / 141.7 / 18.471
6 / Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / GO&FUN Honda Gresini / HONDA / 49'41.268 / 141.4 / 23.561
7 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Yamaha Factory Racing / YAMAHA / 49'45.668 / 141.2 / 27.961
8 / Michele PIRRO / ITA / Ignite Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 49'58.482 / 140.6 / 40.775
9 / Bradley SMITH / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 49'59.114 / 140.6 / 41.407
10 / Stefan BRADL / GER / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 50'18.702 / 139.7 / 1'00.995
11 / Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Energy T.I. Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 50'22.817 / 139.5 / 1'05.110
12 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Yamaha Factory Racing / YAMAHA / 50'34.075 / 139 / 1'16.368
13 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Power Electronics Aspar / ART / 50'41.907 / 138.6 / 1'24.200
14 / Danilo PETRUCCI / ITA / Came IodaRacing Project / IODA-SUTER / 50'43.433 / 138.6 / 1'25.726
15 / Karel ABRAHAM / CZE / Cardion AB Motoracing / ART / 50'49.818 / 138.3 / 1'32.111

Pole Position: Marc MARQUEZ 1'33.187 161.6 Km/h Fastest Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1'43.597 145.4 Km/h Lap 15 Circuit Record Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1'33.617 160.9 Km/h 2011 Circuit Best Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1'32.647 162.6 Km/h 2008

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION TILL DATE:
1 PEDROSA 83, 2 MARQUEZ 77, 3 LORENZO 66, 4 CRUTCHLOW 55, 5 ROSSI 47,
6 DOVIZIOSO 39, 7 BAUTISTA 38, 8 HAYDEN 35, 9 ESPARGARO 20, 10 IANNONE 18,
11 BRADL 17, 12 SMITH 17, 13 PIRRO 13, 14 SPIES 9, 15 BARBERA 7.

MOTO2
RACE: (22 laps = 92.07 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / Scott REDDING / GBR / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX / 36'43.583 / 150.4 /
2 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX / 36'44.673 / 150.3 / 1.09
3 / Xavier SIMEON / BEL / Desguaces La Torre Maptaq / KALEX / 36'44.817 / 150.3 / 1.234
4 / Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Technomag carXpert / SUTER / 36'45.284 / 150.2 / 1.701
5 / Johann ZARCO / FRA / Came Iodaracing Project / SUTER / 36'45.442 / 150.2 / 1.859
6 / Mattia PASINI / ITA / NGM Mobile Racing / SPEED UP / 36'55.855 / 149.5 / 12.272
7 / Mike DI MEGLIO / FRA / JiR Moto2 / MOTOBI / 36'55.961 / 149.5 / 12.378
8 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Italtrans Racing Team / KALEX / 37'13.295 / 148.4 / 29.712
9 / Anthony WEST / AUS / QMMF Racing Team / SPEED UP / 37'14.062 / 148.3 / 30.479
10 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / NGM Mobile Forward Racing / SPEED UP / 37'14.818 / 148.3 / 31.235
11 / Randy KRUMMENACHE / SWI / Technomag carXpert / SUTER / 37'15.118 / 148.2 / 31.535
12 / Simone CORSI / ITA / NGM Mobile Racing / SPEED UP / 37'15.258 / 148.2 / 31.675
13 / Sandro CORTESE / GER / Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 37'15.500 / 148.2 / 31.917
14 / Marcel SCHROTTER / GER / Desguaces La Torre SAG / KALEX / 37'19.361 / 148 / 35.778
15 / Louis ROSSI / FRA / Tech 3 / TECH 3 / 37'28.628 / 147.4 / 45.045

Pole Position: Takaaki NAKAGAMI 1'38.508 152.9 Km/h Fastest Lap: Scott REDDING 1'39.117 152.0 Km/h Lap 19 Circuit Record Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 1'38.533 152.9 Km/h2010 Circuit Best Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 1'37.710 154.1 Km/h 2012

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TILL DATE:
1 REDDING 76, 2 RABAT 52, 3 KALLIO 47, 4 AEGERTER 47, 5 ESPARGARO 41,
6 TEROL 38, 7 SIMEON 35, 8 NAKAGAMI 29, 9 ZARCO 28, 10 DE ANGELIS 22,
11 WEST 20, 12 PASINI 18, 13 SIMON 18, 14 TORRES 16, 15 CORSI 15.

MOTO3
RACE: (24 laps = 100.44 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / Maverick VIÑALES / SPA / Team Calvo / KTM / 42'05.448 / 143.1 /
2 / Alex RINS / SPA / Estrella Galicia 0,0 / KTM / 42'06.712 / 143.1 / 1.264
3 / Luis SALOM / SPA / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 42'06.835 / 143 / 1.387
4 / Jonas FOLGER / GER / Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 / KALEX KTM / 42'20.041 / 142.3 / 14.593
5 / Alex MARQUEZ / SPA / Estrella Galicia 0,0 / KTM / 42'43.397 / 141 / 37.949
6 / Jakub KORNFEIL / CZE / Redox RW Racing GP / KALEX KTM / 42'45.743 / 140.9 / 40.295
7 / Romano FENATI / ITA / San Carlo Team Italia / FTR HONDA / 42'48.773 / 140.7 / 43.325
8 / Brad BINDER / RSA / Ambrogio Racing / SUTER HONDA / 42'48.985 / 140.7 / 43.537
9 / Alexis MASBOU / FRA / Ongetta-Rivacold / FTR HONDA / 42'50.959 / 140.6 / 45.511
10 / Isaac VIÑALES / SPA / Ongetta-Centro Seta / FTR HONDA / 42'51.122 / 140.6 / 45.674
11 / John McPHEE / GBR / Caretta Technology - RTG / FTR HONDA / 42'56.900 / 140.3 / 51.452
12 / Jack MILLER / AUS / Caretta Technology - RTG / FTR HONDA / 42'57.040 / 140.3 / 51.592
13 / Arthur SISSIS / AUS / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 43'04.161 / 139.9 / 58.713
14 / Alessandro TONUCCI / ITA / La Fonte Tascaracing / FTR HONDA / 43'04.418 / 139.9 / 58.97
15 / Philipp OETTL / GER / Tec Interwetten Moto3 Racing / KALEX KTM / 43'23.475 / 138.8 / 1'18.027

Pole Position: Maverick VIÑALES 1'43.696 145.2 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Maverick VIÑALES 1'43.916 144.9 Km/h Lap 24 Old Circuit Record Lap: Jakub KORNFEIL 2'01.056 124.4 Km/h2012 Circuit Best Lap: Maverick VIÑALES 1'43.696 145.2 Km/h 2013

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TILL DATE:
1 VIÑALES 90, 2 SALOM 77, 3 RINS 61, 4 FOLGER 53,
5 BINDER 32, 6 KHAIRUDDIN 28,
7 KORNFEIL 27, 8 MARQUEZ 24, 9 MASBOU 23, 10 OLIVEIRA 20, 11 SISSIS 19,
12 AJO 18, 13 FENATI 17, 14 VAZQUEZ 16, 15 MILLER 14.

NEXT EVENT: ROUND04, JUNE 02, MUGELLO, GRAND PRIX OF ITALY

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