Laguna Seca

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

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2013 FIM Roadracing World Championship Grand Prix Round 9 of 18, US GP, Laguna Seca
19-21 July 2013
Preview: MotoGP

HONDA LEADS THE WAY TO THE WEST COAST ROLLER-COASTER

Honda takes the road west to California looking for a third consecutive win at the United States Grand Prix, with Honda riders holding the top two positions in the World Championship as the season reaches its halfway break.

Repsol Honda RC213V riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa lie first and second overall, and aim to consolidate their positions at half-time. They are separated by only two points, so the result will be crucial for each.

The race, at the charismatic Laguna Seca circuit between Monterey and Salinas, comes just seven days after a dramatic German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, where the Repsol Honda pair suffered wildly contrasting fortunes.

Class rookie Marquez claimed a confident second win of the year to overtake his team-mate and re-assume the World Championship lead. Still only 20, he is the youngest rider in history to do so.

Pedrosa suffered a vicious accident in the third free practice session, and was forced to withdraw from the race.

Marquez’s progress since he came to MotoGP this year as Moto2 World Champion has been sensational. The rider from Cervera, outside Barcelona, has been breaking “youngest-ever”
records ever since his first pole position and then first race win at only the second round, in Austin, Texas.

In the eight races since, Marquez has been on the rostrum every time but once – a late-race crash ruled him out of the Italian GP, when he was in a confident second place. The final jewel in the crown was his German GP win last Sunday, also achieved from pole position.

The highly technical Laguna Seca circuit presents a new challenge. He has ridden in 125 and Moto2 classes at all the circuits on the calendar except in Austin, Texas. That track was new to all riders, and he was victorious. By contrast, his rivals all have several years of experience of the tricky Californian track; he has never seen it before.

Pedrosa’s season had been even stronger in championship terms. He has led on points from round four until his enforced withdrawal in Germany’s round eight. Consecutive race wins in Spain and France showed the strength of the 27-year-old Spaniard’s title challenge. A register of consistently strong rostrum or top-four finishes in every other race underlined its depth and maturity.

Hiatus in Germany was the result of a violent low-speed high-side crash on his first flying lap of Saturday morning’s free practice: a cold track took part of the blame: the rider was not yet pushing at full speed. A heavy impact left Pedrosa with a partially fractured left collarbone, but it was low blood pressure attributed to shock that saw him ruled out by track medical authorities on race morning, in spite of his initial willingness to ride.

Pedrosa returned to Barcelona and quickly cast off the symptoms, telling fans on Tuesday he “felt good”, and was looking forward to the race and a satisfactory end to the first half of the season. Dani has claimed four podium positions in eight visits to the circuit, including consecutive top-three results in the last two years. The highlight was victory in 2009.

It is the second visit to the Californian circuit for German LCR Honda RC213V rider Stefan Bradl.
He arrived last year in the same position as Marquez this year: reigning Moto2 champion but circuit novice. He rode to an impressive seventh place.

This year, Bradl (23) consolidated a row of improving results with his second fourth place this year at home in Germany. He has his sights firmly set on attaining a first MotoGP-class rostrum at the Californian track.

Spaniard Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) raced to fifth in Germany, his best result of the year as he regains momentum after falling victim to two consecutive first-lap crashes in rounds five and six.

The former 125cc World Champion has a dual role as racer/tester: he alone uses Showa suspension, helping with pioneering development. Bautista and his Gresini team have recorded steady progress with this task over the first eight races of the season, and he hopes to improve on his eight-placed finish in last year’s race.

Team-mate Bryan Staring (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) is approaching his first visit to Laguna Seca in sober frame of mind, after a bruising series of crashes in Germany. Still hungry to add to the first two points he gained in Catalunya in round five, the Australian has adapted well as he gains experience on the CBR1000RR-powered CRT bike. At the same time, learning the intricacies of the circuit pose a new challenge.

Laguna Seca is a long-established circuit in hilly country inland from Monterey’s picturesque bay and historic Cannery Row.

At 2.243 miles (3.610 km) it is the shortest circuit of the season, but not the slowest (that mark belongs to the next circuit on the calendar, Indianapolis), and Turn 1 is a famously challenging sweep taken at close to top speed while preparing for the much tighter corner to follow.

Even more famous is the Corkscrew, a tortuous left-right approached from a blind rise, with a giddying drop in the middle of it. Races have been won and lost at this notorious corner set.

Laguna first hosted the US GP in 1988, in an interrupted six-race series that terminated in 1994. The race returned in 2005, now uniquely for the MotoGP class only; and in the last nine years has been re-established as a charismatic highlight of the calendar.

As the ninth of 18 rounds, it also marks the mid-point of the 2013 season. There is a three-weekend summer break, then MotoGP begins in earnest once more, with the all-classes Indianapolis GP on August 18.

Honda has a strong record on the Californian roller-coaster track, with five victories in nine visits. Nicky Hayden won the first two years in a row, Dani Pedrosa in 2009, and Casey Stoner in 2011 and 2012.

Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda
“Winning in Germany was good experience, although I perhaps prefer races that are a little more of a battle, and also with Dani and Jorge Lorenzo present. I hope they are recovering well. Laguna Seca will be a hard GP for me because I’ve never ridden there. We’ll take it step-by-step and remain calm, and learn the lines. I will prepare by watching a lot of videos of races there.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda
“I want to thank everybody for the many messages of support I have received. The important thing is that I feel good. I will have to see how things go with regards to the collarbone, but as for the rest of the problems the really important thing is that I am feeling well. It was a real blow because we arrived at the Sachsenring in a good position in terms of the World Championship, but that’s racing and you have to keep looking forward. The championship is long and we are still only roughly halfway through it, so a lot can still happen yet.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP
“We have been very competitive and very fast for the whole weekend in Sachsenring and the great support of my fans made this round even better for me. Now it’s time to enjoy the Corkscrew again. Laguna Seca race track is great and I have more experience this year to cope with the rollercoaster there. Actually our overall package is pretty competitive so we aim to catch the podium in the US. It won’t be easy but, in the last rounds, we have demonstrated our skills racing with the guys in the front, so a podium-finish would a perfect result before the summer vacation.”

Alvaro Bautista, FUN&GO Honda Gresini
“It wasn’t an easy weekend in Germany but we came out of it with a positive result. I found more confidence with the bike around most of the track but I was losing too much time in the second sector and we didn’t manage to fix it in time for the race. Anyway, we made some positive steps and certainly improved on Assen. It has helped lift morale in the team and now we go to another tricky circuit in Laguna, with its elevation changes and blind corners. It is a tough track but we will do our best to adapt quickly. We struggled with the suspension here last year but we have made some good progress in this area since then and I am sure that if we are methodical in our work we can make sure we have a competitive RC213V to race on Sunday. I am confident because the team is working well and this makes me think we can be fighting for a good result this weekend.”

Bryan Staring, FUN&GO Honda Gresini
“I am still upset with the weekend at
Sachsenring. Four crashes in one weekend is too much and I feel sorry for the team because they are putting so much work in. I knew it was going to be hard but I didn’t know it would be this hard. My confidence has taken a battering and Laguna Seca is not the easiest circuit to be going to next. It is a difficult track but I have to stay calm, work hard and rely on the unrelenting hard work of the team. I will have to concentrate hard from the start to learn the best lines around the track and then start working on the set-up of the bike as quickly as possible. We will be doing everything we can to put the weekend in Germany behind us.”

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HONDA RACING INFORMATION

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2013 FIM Roadracing World Championship Grand Prix Round 9 of 18, US GP, Laguna Seca
19-21 July 2013

Qualifying, Saturday July 20 2013
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: Air 18 degrees C / Track 42 degrees C

BRADL LEADS ALL-HONDA FRONT ROW AT LAGUNA

German rider Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) claimed his first MotoGP pole position at Laguna Seca, heading a trio of Hondas taking control of the front row of the grid for tomorrow's US GP at the exciting and challenging Californian circuit.

Bradl's triumph came with only 30 seconds of an exciting final qualifying session remaining. Repsol Honda RC213V rider Marc Marquez had set the pace all session, but had to watch powerless from the pits after slipping off unhurt while striving to put pole position out of reach.

Rookie championship leader Marquez stayed second, and will start from the front row of the grid for the sixth time this season. His earlier lap time was 0.017 seconds slower than pole.

Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V rider Alvaro Bautista stormed to third, for his first front row this year. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V), returned from injury, qualified seventh, to head row three.

Bradl's maiden class pole comes after a run of improving results for the German, following a troubled start to the former Moto2 champion's second MotoGP season. He claimed his first front-row start at Assen in round seven, and scored his second fourth place of the season at the German GP last weekend.

The 23-year-old has his sights firmly set on his first MotoGP rostrum on his second visit to Laguna.

Marquez claimed his second win of the year in Germany, regaining the championship lead as his senior-class debut season continues to gather momentum. The reigning Moto2 World Champion arrived at the notoriously tricky 3.610-km Californian circuit sight unseen, since the smaller classes do not race here. He confounded predictions that he would find it hard to learn, taking to the top of the time sheets on the first afternoon, then continuing to force the pace as he polished his corner lines and braking points.

The high number of laps round the very short track helped him to unlock the circuit's secrets, and he seemed set for a second successive pole position, his third this year, when he slid off on the fast Turn 6. He was able to ride back to the pits, but there was not time to essay a clinching final lap.

Bautista's first front row of the season came after steady improvement through the free practice sessions, where he was fourth fastest. He went one better with a series of improving laps in final qualifying. The Spanish former 125 World Champion has a dual role for Honda, race-testing Showa suspension, the only rider on the grid to use it. The team reports encouraging recent progress with this project.

Factory rider Pedrosa was ruled out of last weekend's German GP with temporary low blood pressure problems after suffering a partial collarbone fracture in a practice crash. Courageously returning to this race, in spite of the risk of further damage, the Spanish star took a cautious approach. He did not take part in the morning free practice sessions and placed 11th on Friday afternoon. This meant he had to take part in the first of two final qualifying sessions, needing to be first or second fastest in Q1 to go through to Q2 with the top ten. He ran just four flying laps to secure a significant top time; then came out again after a ten-minute break, missing a second-row start by a quarter of a second to fellow returned injury victim and title rival Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha).

Pedrosa's aim will be to gather as many points as possible in his weakened condition, to limit damage to his championship score as the first half of the season ends and the summer break begins.

Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda rider Bryan Staring was another rider meeting Laguna Seca for the first time, and qualified his CBR1000RR-powered machine 22nd. The grand-prix first-timer is seeking to add to his championship points score as he continues to gain experience with the CRT machine.

Honda is seeking a third straight win at Laguna Seca, where the retired Casey Stoner took successive victories on the Repsol Honda machine in 2011 and 2012. In eight previous visits Honda has won five times, with Nicky Hayden victorious in 2005 and 2006, and Dani Pedrosa in 2009.

Tomorrow's race is the ninth of 18 rounds, and the halfway point of the season is followed by a three-weekend break.

Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: pole, 1m 21.176
"It's an unbelievable sensation! My first pole position in the
premier class at this spectacular circuit and I am the first German
rider to get this result in the MotoGP history. I cannot ask for
more! We knew that we have a good pace all the weekend but this
result is another step forward for me and the team. I am happy with
the bike set-up, as happened in Germany, and want to thank my team
for their job. We did not make any particular changes, just adjusted
some small things ahead the qualifying and my pace was immediately
fast. We had a small problem when I stopped at the garage to change
the tyre and we lost half a second but once I was out again the track
was clear in front of me and I could go for my perfect lap. I think
it was my best lap ever."

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 2nd, 1'21.193
"I am happy, because despite the crash we are going to be starting
from second on the grid for my first US Grand Prix. Obviously we
would have liked to have taken pole, but I made a mistake at Turn 6
when I went in too fast. I lost the front end and couldn't prevent
the crash. I think that we've done a good job so far and have a
strong pace, so we are confident that tomorrow we will be able to cap
things off with a good race."

Alvaro Bautista, Team FUN&GO Honda Gresini: 3rd, 1'21.373
"We did some more work this morning on our race pace and I felt
really confident on the bike. This afternoon we finally got the front
row position that we have missed out on in recent races. Qualifying
has been our weak point but I was on the pace from the start today
and everything felt good. It means we have the opportunity to make a
good start tomorrow and not lose time trying to pass riders over the
early laps. I am happy, confident and thankful to the team for all
the work they are putting in. Hopefully we can have a lot of fun tomorrow."

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 7th, 1'21.728
"Today went a little better than yesterday. We were able to ride a
little faster and I was able to make the cut for Q2. Getting seventh
on the grid is very good and I'm happy with the placing, but the most
important thing is that we had a good practice session and are in the
mix to be able to have a good race tomorrow."

Bryan Staring, Team FUN&GO Honda Gresini: 22nd, 1'24.756
"I am quite happy with our performance although we're still lacking a
little something if we want to run with the guys ahead of us. We have
made some steps forward but we need to improve further in the race
tomorrow. I feel confident with the bike but need to get more
comfortable with the track. It's not an easy task because Laguna Seca
is a difficult track to learn but we'll try our best."

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