Aragon

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

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2013 FIM Roadracing World Championship Grand Prix Round 14 of 18, Aragon GP, Motorland Aragon
27-29 September 2013
Preview: MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3

TITANIC TITLE STRUGGLE CONTINUES WITH HONDA ON TOP

A vintage year of MotoGP racing draws ever closer to its climax at Aragon this week, as MotoGP closes the run of races in Europe at the fast and scenic circuit in the Spanish semi-desert. Repsol Honda RC213V rider Marc Marquez arrives having extended his title lead, with team-mate Dani Pedrosa in a tense catch-up struggle.

With four races to go after this weekend’s Spanish race, the fight is increasingly tense and every score is crucial. Class rookie and 20-year-old “youngest-ever” multiple record-breaker Marquez leads Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) by 34 points. He need finish only second in the remaining races to clinch the title. At the same time, a single non-finish would make all the difference.

The Honda rider has made a sensational and record-breaking debut in the class, adapting at once from his title-winning Honda-powered Moto2 bike to the full factory prototype RC213V, and bringing an aggressive new force to the front of the battle.

Marquez has won five of 13 races so far this year, starting at the second round and then adding a historic four in a row as his main rivals suffered injury problems. Apart from a single non-finish (he crashed while lying second at Mugello), the class rookie has been on the top-three podium at every race. He has also bounced back from a number of crashes, including finishing a close second after fighting for victory at Silverstone, having dislocated his shoulder the same morning.

Marquez returns to the long and fast Motorland Aragon circuit with one win in his pocket, in
Moto2 in 2011, followed by second place last year, on his way to securing the Moto2 title.

Team-mate Pedrosa also has a strong hand to play.
The experienced Honda RC213V rider won the Aragon race last year, and second at the previous two races at the new circuit. The 27-year-old, like Marquez from the region of Barcelona, also has ground to make up in the title chase. A broken collar-bone put him out of the German GP. A week later, in a gruelling “damage-control” race at Laguna Seca, Pedrosa showed his tough side, finishing fifth, ahead of similarly-injured rival Jorje Lorenzo (Yamaha), the reigning Champion.

Before the injury Pedrosa had taken two strong wins, and assumed the lead in the championship.
Now fully recovered, he aims to show his strength in depth over the final run of races. He and Lorenzo have an equal number of points, and both are hunting for Marquez.

Both Honda riders tested the latest prototype of the 2014 version of Honda’s mighty MotoGP machine after the last round at Misano, but Pedrosa concentrated on his current machine, seeking different settings to improve grip and corner exit. Aragon will be the acid test of his progress, in one of the toughest title battles for years.

Honda’s next-best on the RC213V machine is still LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl, continuing a consistently strong second season in MotoGP for the 2011 Moto2 champion. The major highlight was pole position and second place at Laguna Seca – a historic first pole for a German rider in the premier class. Bradl improved his hold on sixth overall with a canny fifth place in the last race at Misano, taking the position on the last lap after a classic stalk-and-pounce race with rival Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha).

Former 125cc World Champion Alvaro Bautista (Team FUN&GO Gresini RC213V) had been closing on Bradl until a relatively downbeat seventh at Misano after an almost unbroken run of top-five finishes at the previous five rounds. Bautista has a special role in the Honda ranks, race-testing Showa suspension and Nissin brakes made by Japanese associates. Alone in this quest, his improving form reflects strong progress in finding the right settings and balance to make the most of this exclusive equipment.

His team-mate Bryan Staring (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) rides a CBR1000RR-powered prototype in the CRT ranks, and is a grand prix first-timer, with the task of learning new circuits as well as adapting to the new machine.
Aragon is one of a handful of tracks where the Australian has previous experience, and he will turn this to his advantage in his quest to add to his points score in his first season.

The tension is rising also in the
all-Honda-powered Moto2 class, where Spanish star Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) is hunting down mid-term leader Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex). The English rider was 43 points clear after round five; since then Espargaro has been regaining ground in see-saw style. They come to Aragon with Redding’s lead cut down to 23 points, and the issue very much in doubt.

Redding’s cause was furthered by a fine win at his home race at Silverstone, his third of the season, but arm problems at Misano triggered corrective surgery. Espargaro is fresh from a fourth win of the season at Misano, and has the added comfort of having won at Aragon last year, to Redding’s third.

Third overall goes to second Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex rider Esteve Rabat, with two wins among five rostrum finishes; while the battle for the next position is closer. Currently Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) is seven points clear but Japan’s Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) has been closing fast, with a remarkable run of four consecutive second places at the last four rounds. Nakagami will be trying everything to gain that elusive first win.

The race is at the headquarters of Dorna’s engine preparation operation, which supplies race-tuned Honda CBR600 engines to all Moto2 competitors.
This ensures not only close but also reliable racing.

The entry-level Moto3 class is open to all manufacturers, and 14 of the 33 entries use Honda engines, all but two of them in FTR chassis. Two of these shine out with consistently strong results, with relative newcomer Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR Honda) and experienced veteran Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda) currently seventh and eighth overall respectively, separated by only 12 points.

Australian teenager Miller (18) claimed a year’s-best fifth at Misano while Masbou (26) retired to the pits for a costly no-score.

The next best Honda rider is Italian Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda), currently lying 15th in a close pack disputing tenth overall, with a best finish of seventh so far this season.

The Motorland Aragon circuit was inaugurated in
2010 as a fourth Spanish round, and the circuit and facilities proved impressive from the start.
The GP track is one of several possible circuit layouts at an extensive motor-sports complex, where facilities range from dirt-track training to a high-level in-house engineering faculty.

Set in dry, open countryside outside the small town of Alcaniz some 100 km from the city of Zaragoza, the circuit offers both variety and speed, with major elevation changes making the challenge of the anticlockwise track unique. It has ten left-handed corners and seven to the right, as well as a long straight of more than 950 metres.

Honda has claimed victory for the past two consecutive years, with Casey Stoner the winner in 2011, and Dani Pedrosa in 2012.

Honda MotoGP Rider Quotes

Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez says:
“It will be nice to return home to race in front of our home fans in Aragon this weekend. The track is one of my favourites, with technical first and final sections, and you need to be strong in cornering. We’ve had good results there in the past two years so I hope to continue this way and we’ve also been testing there already this year on the MotoGP machine, so we have some data. After the race in Misano, we had a good test on the Monday and definitely found some positive settings, so I’m looking forward to trying them out this weekend in Aragon!”

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:
“I've always done well in Aragon and I’m looking forward to racing in front of our home crowd again. The support is always great and gives you extra motivation. We had a test on Monday after Misano and found some positive things that I hope will help us here in Motorland, especially in corner exit. We’ll have to wait and see.”

GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista says:
“I am still feeling frustrated about the race at Misano because I didn’t have the opportunity to compete as I would’ve liked. It would’ve been nice to give the team and sponsors a good result to celebrate but I felt powerless to ride faster and we still don’t know what really happened because I couldn’t ride comfortably. We didn’t make any changes to the setting compared to practice but the feeling wasn’t the same. We kept the same setting for the test on Monday and I was able to ride almost a second faster, which shows that on Sunday there was something strange happened. Anyway at Aragon we will use the new material from Showa and Nissin that we tested on Monday at Misano and which gave us some positive feedback. Last year we had a lot of problems at this circuit but this year we arrive with a more competitive bike so I am sure that we can be fast like we have been in the last races. The track is unusual with some fast sections and some slow sections; it has a long straight and some long and demanding direction changes. It isn’t easy to find the right compromise with the engine and the setting but one good thing about Aragon is that you can make overtakes at various points on the circuit.”

LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl says:
“We had a test in Aragon this year already so hopefully we are well prepared for the race. It might be an interesting round for us because we are going there with a different set-up compared to the past ... we changed a lot the overall package of the bike in Misano. I am looking forward to this weekend, because the Aragon circuit suits the Honda machines, and with a strong pace we can make another good result ... but no crashes this time!”

GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Bryan Staring says:
“Misano should have ended up with a good result for me but instead it finished with a retirement.
I am still pretty disappointed about that but I certainly haven’t lost any of my determination to finish my first season in MotoGP in the best possible way. Aragon is an opportunity to make up for the result at Misano and I will certainly be giving it my best shot.”

Moto2 Rider Quotes

Marc VDS Racing Team rider Scott Redding says:
“In Misano I lost all feeling in the fingers on my right hand and I couldn’t feel how much pressure I was putting on the brake lever. The championship battle with Pol, and maybe Tito, is going to go down to the wire and I need to be completely fit if I’m to fight my corner, which is why I opted to have the surgery now, before we head overseas for three races in the same number of weekends. The arm is a bit sore, but I can deal with that. The most important thing is that I’m fit to race and the problem with my arm is fixed once and for all. I’m looking forward to this weekend; I finished on the podium in Aragon last year and my target is to do the same this time around.”

Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex rider Pol Espargaro says:
“I like this circuit – for me last year it was so good, and I won. I want to repeat that. I’m at home, and I have to use that advantage, and to use our fans to push me a little bit to recover more points to Scott. But all this year I don’t know why all circuits seem new to us, so we start working on Friday and then see what happens on Sunday.”

Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex rider Esteve Rabat says:
“It’s home, and when you are there it helps you to do your best. Especially for me, because I trained a lot there two years ago, and a lot of the people there are good friends. As always, I will try to enjoy the race and give my 100 percent.”

Honda Moto3 Rider Quotes

Caretta Technology – RTG rider Jack Miller says:
“There’s a big long straight there, but at some of the track where we thought we wouldn’t do so great we did okay – like Mugello and Catalunya, where I was in the top ten. My bike is handling really nicely and going well. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when we get there.”

Ongetta-Rivacold rider Alexis Masbou says:
“Last year I missed the race because I was injured. I only rode there in 2011, and we had a problem with the bike and I didn’t actually race, so I don’t know the track very well. I do know it’s a difficult circuit, so it won’t be easy.
The straight is long but there are plenty of fast corners, so I hope we can find a good set-up to give us an advantage there.

San Carlo Team Italia rider Romano Fenati says:
“I raced for the first time at Aragon last year, and though I qualified fourth I had mechanical issues and had to retire from the race. Obviously I like the track, so I hope to make up for it this year, and to get more points. We are all very close in our group, so anything could happen.”

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HONDA RACING INFORMATION

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2013 FIM MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 World Championships Round 14, Aragon GP, Motorland Aragon, Alcaniz, Spain.
Qualifying, Friday, 28 September 2013

Weather: Dry, partly cloudy
Temperature: Ambient 26 degrees C / Track 34 degrees C

HONDAS BRACKET THE FRONT ROW AT MOTORLAND ARAGON

Honda riders qualified first and third for tomorrow’s Aragon GP, bracketing the front row of the grid. Championship leader Marc Marquez was on pole position, and his Repsol Honda RC213V team-mate Dani Pedrosa a close third fastest. In between them was defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha).

There were two Hondas also on the second row, at a track where Honda’s V4 MotoGP prototype has a strong record, having won for the past two years.
LCR Honda RC213V rider Stefan Bradl was less than two tenths ahead of Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V rider Alvaro Bautista, in fifth and sixth positions. Second Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi was fourth.

Marquez’s seventh pole of his first MotoGP season was yet another landmark in the rookie in a million’s sensational maiden season in the premier class. The Spanish rising star claimed it with a stunning lap time – not only 1.2 seconds inside the lap record, set in race conditions, but better than 0.65 seconds faster than the best ever lap at the challenging and scenic Motorland Aragon circuit. Both of those times were set last year by Repsol Honda RC213V rider Casey Stoner.

Marquez (20) has so far won five races, taking his first victory in only the second round. He followed up with four in a row mid-season, setting yet another “youngest-ever” record in a year of many such achievements. During that spell he regained his early championship lead, which now stands at a significant 34 points, ahead of Lorenzo and Pedrosa, who are equal on points.

Although he now need finish only second at the remaining five rounds, the former 125cc and reigning Moto2 champion has pledged to continue fighting for victories in his quest to become the youngest-ever premier-class World Champion.

Team-mate Pedrosa is battling to regain ground lost after missing one race and struggling through the following rounds when he broke his collarbone in practice at round eight in Germany.
Until then he had been leading on points.

Pedrosa chose natural healing rather than the surgery espoused by rival Lorenzo, with a similar injury. Now back to full strength, he is determined and focused, and hoping to repeat his victory at the Aragon circuit last year.

Both Repsol Honda riders are fresh from post-race tests after the race at Misano a fortnight ago, where Pedrosa concentrated on improving the settings of his machine to tackle issues with rear grip that has been troubling him. The Spanish star celebrates his 28th birthday on race day tomorrow, and hopes to do so with his own third win of the season, after a run of four podium finishes at the previous races.

Stefan Bradl’s second-row start reflects a return to strong form that peaked with a first pole position and second place at the US GP, before the summer break. The German rider showed his pace on the first day of practice, running second fastest, and was confident for the race after his own tests at Misano helped him find better machine settings.

Bautista has shown improving form throughout the season, as he and his team get to grips with his exclusive use of Showa suspension and Nissin brakes … the Spaniard is race-developing the Japanese components, made by companies with close associations with Honda. Working alone means no reference points or data, but the Italy-based team has made strong progress during the season, and his results and race performances have steadily improved.

His team-mate Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) qualified 21st on his Honda CBR1000RR-powered CRT bike. The Australian is in his first grand prix season, learning new tracks while also getting to grips with a new type of machine.

Former 125cc champion Nico Terol (Aspar Team
Moto2 Suter) claimed a career first Moto2 pole, only his second time on the front row of the grid this year. The first time was at round two in Austin, Texas, where he went on to claim his first race win in the class. Since then, however, he has been only once on the podium in the volatile class.

All Moto2 riders use identical race-tuned Honda
CBR600 engines, supplied by the organisers. This ensures not only close but also reliable racing, with riders striving to make the difference on a variety of prototype chassis.

Two-time race winner Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) and his team-mate Pol Espargaro complete the front row of the grid, but the major focus of the race is the championship battle between Spanish star Espargaro and English championship leader Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex).

Redding still has a points lead of 23, but Espargaro has been closing the gap over the latter half of the season. Redding, fresh from arm surgery, qualified a disappointing 13th at Aragon, on the fifth row of the grid, putting him in the thick of heavy race traffic. The difference on time is not so great, however – the top 13 all qualified within one second of pole time.

Japanese racer Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex), who has finished second in the last four races, heads the second row. Alongside him, single race winner Jordi Torres (Aspar Team Moto2
Suter) was narrowly ahead of Simone Corsi (NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up).

Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex), Alex de Angelis (NGM Mobile Forward Racing Speed Up), reigning Moto3 champion Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex) and Johann Zarco (Came Iodaracing Project Suter) complete the top ten.

In the Moto3 class, up against rival factories, two Honda riders were in close contention with each other. In the end Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda rider Alexis Masbou took the fourth-row starting position from San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda rider Romano Fenati in the closing stages.

The experienced 26-year-old Frenchman was happy to be top Honda, but anticipated a tough race at a track where a long straight does not favour his machine’s superior cornering ability. Fenati (17) had been higher in free practice, in a generally strong weekend for the young Italian, in his second year in the class.

Less than half-a-second slower, Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 FTR Honda) was 15th out of the 35 qualifiers.

Second San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda rider Francesco Bagnaia was 17th, Jack Miller (top Honda in the points standings) a disappointed 20th on the Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda, one place ahead of France’s Alan Techer (CIP Moto3 TSR Honda).

Isaac Vinales (Bimbo Ongetta-Centro-Seta FTR
Honda) was 23rd, Alessandro Tonucci (La Fonte Tascaracing FTR Honda) 24th, and John McPhee (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda 27th; with Lorenzo Baldassarri (GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 FTR Honda), wild card Bryan Schouten (Dutch Racing Team FTR Honda), Hyuga Watanabe (La Fonte Tascaracing FTR Honda), Matteo Ferrari (Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR Honda) and Juanfran Guevara (CIP Moto3 TSR Honda) filling the grid.

The 5.078-km Motorland Aragon circuit, the central part of a major motorsport and technology centre, is fast and scenic, running up and down a dry and stony hillside and including a long straight just a few metres short of a kilometre.
The weather was dry for the two practice days, although overnight rain made a cool and damp start to Saturday. There is a small chance of rain tomorrow, bringing the possibility of a flag-to-flag race in which riders pit to change bikes to match changing conditions.

Honda MotoGP Rider quotes

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V): 1st – 1m 47.804 “It was a very closely fought qualifying session.
We were able to get maximum performance from the tyres, which was the key to this pole position.
Small details decided things this afternoon. I am happy, because we were able to achieve our aim of a front row start and to have the pole is a bonus. Tomorrow it will be important to get a good start and keep calm in the early laps, with the intention of taking the race to Jorge and Dani.”

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda): 3rd – 1m 47.957 “Even though the position on the grid maybe doesn't reflect it, we had a good qualifying session. We did a good job today and a lap time that I’m pleased with. For tomorrow the key will be to have a good start as the first corner is very close. I want to have a strong first few laps and maintain a good pace for the whole race.
The tyre wear will be crucial so it’s also important to manage them for the race distance.”

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V): 5th – 1m 48.128 “Obviously I wanted to catch the fourth place, but at the end Rossi was a bit faster. But I am pretty satisfied anyway. We had a good start to the weekend and we continued with a good base set-up and consistent pace. This makes us quite optimistic for the race tomorrow, although we have a big question mark about the tyres:
actually we have a good pace in the first laps but the tyres drop down quickly. The key element will be to save the tyres as much as possible until the end of the race. At this stage I am happy because the rider and the team are working well together, and I like this combination.”

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini): 6th – 1m 48.302 “We didn’t go out this morning because the track conditions after the rain were such that we couldn’t get any useful feedback from either the wet or dry tyres so it meant we had to do all our work in the afternoon. Final free practice didn’t go well so we went out in qualifying with the setting from yesterday and set a good time. The pace from the other guys was very fast though and we have had to settle for sixth place and a second row start tomorrow. I am still happy with the lap time and my feeling on the bike. It was important to qualify well here because the first turn is very tight and even though it won't be easy I think we can be fighting for fourth or fifth place.”

Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda): 21st – 1m 52.102 “I am pretty happy because in comparison to yesterday I have a better feeling with the bike and I am sure we can improve even more for the race. The goal is to make up as many positions as we can and close in on the points.”

Honda Moto2 Rider quotes

Nico Terol (Aspar Team Moto2): 1st – 1m 53.812 “I am really happy about my first pole position in Moto2. This whole weekend my pace has been very consistent, and I made a big effort to be on the front row … so pole is perfect for me. Moto2 is very close and many riders are very fast – but here at this track my pace is good. I won here in 125, and my feeling for the track is always very good.”

Tito Rabat (Tuenti HP40): 2nd – 1m 53.985 “I will be going for another win tomorrow. We have a very consistent pace and a good rhythm, and our tyres are not going down too much. I have a little trouble in the last sector, and I’ll be checking with my mechanics to see if we can do something about this. For tomorrow – just make a good start and enjoy the race.”

Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40): 3rd – 1m 54.294 “Third today is like a pole for me … yesterday I was quite slow, and was 11th, a second from the fastest. But we worked hard over the night to improve the bike for my style, and then today we could improve little by little. So now we have a better chance, but the first laps will be very hard … I am not the best with a full tank of fuel, and we also need to save the tyres for the end.”

Honda Moto3 Rider quotes

Alexis Masbou (Ongetta Rivacold): 12th – 2m 00.498 “I’m feeling quite good on the bike, and good to be top Honda, but the position is not what I expected. This is a difficult track for us because the layout favours top speed more than handling. I tried a different rear suspension link today, but it didn’t feel too good, so tomorrow I may return to the old one. I’m sure I can improve acceleration a bit if I can find better rear grip, and race for some good points.”

Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia): 13th – 2m 00.818 “All weekend I have been going well. I enjoy this track, so it is a little disappointing not to be top Honda. I hoped for better in qualifying, but I never could get a good clear lap because there seemed to be so much traffic … but the race is tomorrow, and we will see what happens.”

Niccolo Antonelli (Team GO&FUN Gresini): 15th – 2m 00.858 “We could have done better today but I am quite satisfied. Unfortunately Aragon is not a good track for our bike and I needed a good tow in order to do the lap time, but I didn’t get one.
Things can change in the race though and if we get a good start then a top ten finish is not unthinkable.”

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2013 FIM MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 World Championships Round 14, Aragon Grand Prix, Motorland Aragon, Alcaniz Race day, Sunday, 29 September 2013

Weather: Dry, partly cloudy
Temperature: ambient 23 degrees C, track 30 degrees C

MARQUEZ TAKES WIN NUMBER EIGHT FOR HONDA

Repsol Honda RC213V rider Marc Marquez fought back after almost running off the track to take his sixth win of the year at Aragon, stretching his title lead to almost 40 points with four races remaining. It was Honda’s eighth win this year, and the RC213V’s third in a row at the scenic Motorland Aragon circuit in the Spanish hinterland.

The team’s joy was tempered by misfortune to second Repsol Honda RC213V rider Dani Pedrosa, who crashed out heavily in a freak incident on the sixth of 23 laps. He had taken second place from pole starter Marquez, and was mounting a strong challenge on early leader Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) at the time.

Split seconds before Marquez ran wide, he clipped the rear of Pedrosa’s machine, and the team discovered that one of the electronic sensors of the traction-control system had been damaged, causing the system to become inoperative. This triggered the crash, which happened a few yards further on as Pedrosa opened the throttle. The rear wheel spun, the bike slewed sideways, and the Spaniard – who turned 28 on race day – was tossed over the high side.

Lorenzo had led away with yet another of his trade-mark lightning starts, and led by a second after the first lap, with Marquez second and Pedrosa third. The Honda pair gradually closed the gap over the next four laps; then on the fifth Pedrosa pounced on his team-mate, and was soon on the Yamaha’s back wheel and challenging strongly.

It seemed only a matter of time before he took the lead, but he hadn’t completed another lap when instead he was sent flying.

While Pedrosa was taken to the medical centre for checks (he escaped serious injury), Marquez regrouped and set about closing a gap of almost two seconds on Lorenzo. It took him nine laps to catch up and get ahead with a clean but forceful pass. Lorenzo stayed close until the closing stages, but was powerless to prevent Marquez taking the win by better than one second.

A crowd of 61,300 enjoying warm but overcast conditions were rewarded with exciting racing down the field, with a four-bike battle for the last rostrum place. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) hung on to the spot under race-long pressure from Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V), Alvaro Bautista (FUN&GO Gresini Honda RC213V) and Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha).

It came to a climax in the last six laps. First Bautista got ahead of Rossi, then Bradl joined the action, with Crutchlow a close spectator. The trio changed places again with two laps to go, Rossi regaining the upper hand to lead Bautista over the line by less than a second. The Spaniard had his hands full with Bradl, less than two tenths behind. Crutchlow was just over half a second away. Less than two seconds covered the quartet.

Bautista has a special role with Honda, race-developing Showa suspension and Nissin brakes, the only rider to use the Japanese components made by companies associated with Honda

His team-mate Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) finished 18th, in the middle of a three-rider battle. The Australian, in his first grand prix season, rides a CBR1000RR-powered machine in the CRT category.

Marquez has now amassed a total of 278 points, with Lorenzo second on 239, and Pedrosa dropped to third on 219.

Nico Terol (Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) took a resounding victory in the Moto2 class, stamping his authority on a category where all riders use identical race-tuned Honda CBR600 engines supplied by the organisers, to ensure close and reliable racing. It was the former 125cc champion’s second win of the season, achieved after starting from pole position for the first time in the class. Terol led from the first lap to the last, and was able to slow towards the end and still win by 1.7 seconds. Earlier he had been more than four seconds clear.

There was a strong battle behind him, as championship leader Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) strove to keep ahead of challenging rival Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex). Espargaro’s team-mate Esteve Rabat had finally escaped ahead of the pair on the 14th of 21 laps. Soon afterwards second Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex rider Mika Kallio caught from behind, and the three closed up as the laps counted down.

Redding resisted fiercely as Espargaro’s attack redoubled, and left tyre marks on his rival’s leathers as they made contact. But in the end the Spaniard prevailed, taking the last rostrum spot by three tenths, and whittling another three points out of Redding’s title lead. He is now 20 points ahead, with four races remaining.

Kallio was a close fifth. More than seven seconds away Jordi Torres (Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) was a lonely sixth, with Johann Zarco (Came Iodaracing Project Suter) and then Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) equally alone behind.

Mattia Pasini (NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up) prevailed in a big battle for ninth, from Moto3 champion Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex), Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team
Kalex) and Marcel Schrotter (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team Kalex), with Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert Suter) losing touch at the end to finish 13th. Nakagami had been with the leaders in the early stages, but dropped back after running off the track.

In the smallest class, Moto3, Honda-powered machines are up against rival factories, and the top runners among the Honda hordes found themselves engaged in a fierce battle for the points behind the three runaway leaders. A pack of nine, and sometimes ten, 250cc four-strokes were locked in combat for an eventual eighth place.

Best of them was rising Italian Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda), who conquered the group and came within a little over two seconds of catching seventh-placed Jonas Folger (Kalex KTM). He was two tenths ahead of KTM’s Arthur Sissis. Barely one second behind, experienced French rider Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda) secured 11th, with Australian star Jack Miller (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda) 13th.

Miller had ridden through from 20th on the grid, after a tyre issue in qualifying kept him from his more usual position challenging for the front two rows.

Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 FTR
Honda) was right on his back wheel for 14th, with another clutch of Hondas – Francesco Bagnaia (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda), Isaac Vinales (Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR Honda) and wild card Bryan Schouten (Dutch Racing Team FTR Honda) – filling from 17th to 19th places, in another big group battling for the final point. Fifteenth to 22nd places crossed the line within less than 1.4 seconds.

The race was won by Spanish KTM rider Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia KTM) ahead of fellow countrymen Maverick Vinales (Team Calvo KTM) and his team mate Alex Marquez. Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) finished fourth and retained his lead in the championship.

The next race is the Malaysian GP in two weeks’
time, followed week by week by two more long-distance races, in Australia and Japan, before the season finale in Valencia.

Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 1st
“Today was a very gruelling race, because I had to make two comebacks; the first was to catch Jorge after he broke free at the start, then I needed to make another after Dani passed me and I wanted to overtake him after two laps. I felt comfortable but I went a little wide under braking, lifted the bike up and made light contact with him. I’m not sure he even noticed it, but it was a bit of bad luck because the team told me I caused his traction control cable to snap and I’m sorry for that – it’s something very unusual to see. The important thing is that Dani is OK. I was eventually able to overtake Jorge and take the victory, which is important in terms of both the 25 points and for my morale.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2nd
“Fortunately I’m fine physically. I took a heavy knock to my hip and my groin area, but I was able to escape relatively unhurt from what was a big crash. Marc went in too wide on the corner entry, clipped me from the outside and I went flying when I got on the gas. My mechanics told me later that the traction control cable had been cut by the contact.”

Alvaro Bautista, GO&FUN Honda Gresini, 4th “It was a great race and I had a lot of fun fighting with Crutchlow, Bradl and Rossi. It’s just a shame that I missed out on the podium again but I am happy because I fought for it until the end. Unfortunately I ended up getting into a fight with Bradl on the final lap and lost touch with Valentino but I have no complaints and we have to be happy with a result like this at a circuit where we have had so many difficulties in the past. Thanks to all the guys for the incredible job they are doing. It is nice that we were back to our best today, proving that Misano was not our fault.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 5th
“Probably it was an exciting race to watch and it was fun also for me. Overall we had a good weekend and a good race although I lost the last-lap battle with Rossi and Bautista, but I am happy anyway. Of course I was dreaming about the podium, as we were fast and consistent over the three days, but Alvaro was very strong in the last lap. After Silverstone and Brno tough weekends, our performance is getting stronger and stronger and I gained more confidence on the bike. I only need some more experience to manage the last laps and the drop of the tyres, but we took the right direction.”

Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini, 18th “I am not really happy because I thought the race would be different, but after a good start I made a mistake and lost focus. It’s a shame, but we have to stay positive because we have some important races coming up, including my home Grand Prix, and I am determined to finish the season off in a positive way.”

Honda Moto2 rider quotes

Nico Terol, Aspar Team Moto2, 1st
“It was a perfect weekend for me. Yesterday was better, but today was more difficult because there was more wind, and it was more difficult to keep the concentration and consistency. In this class you can struggle at once race and do well at the next one. Thanks to my team for all the work.”

Esteve Rabat, Tuenti HP 40 Pons, 2nd
“I am very happy for the weekend. I made not such a good start to the race, and there were a lot of other riders around – Nakagami, Pol, Scott Redding. I was stuck behind Scott’s bike for a while, but when I passed them I tried to go. I could concentrate well and I could get a good gap quite quickly, but it was too late to catch Nico. But I am still very happy.”

Pol Espargaro, Tuenti HP 40 Pons, 3rd
“I’m happy because we are a little bit closer to Scott than before. It was a difficult day for us.
I don’t know why, but these races are all difficult. Like Nico said, sometimes you can win, another time you have to fight very hard for fifth or sixth position. We tried our best and finally the position was okay because we were in front of Scott. It was a very hard fight, but we gained some points back.”

Honda Moto3 rider quotes

Romano Fenati, San Carlo Team Italia, 8th “It was a fantastic race. I was fighting a lot with Vazquez, Sissis and other riders. The start was not good, and in the second or third lap I started to move up, passing people one by one.
Then the fight with Vazquez, and I could get away a bit when I passed him. The KTM is a higher level on speed, so it is impossible to pass them on the straight. You have to do everything in the corner.”

Alexis Masbou, Ongetta-Rivacold, 11th
“I made a good start, and I was with a good group in the first part of the race. To start with Oettl and Salom was too difficult, but still I was okay. Vazquez pushed everyone in the group and we lost a lot of time in the middle of the race – one or 1.5 seconds slower than our rhythm.
Fenati got ahead and was able to make a little gap, but I found it impossible to pass Vazquez and finished just behind him. But I think we did a good job.”

Jack Miller, Caretta Technology RTG, 13th “We struggled all weekend. Qualifying was a disaster – I had the wrong tyre, and we ended up losing out so today we had to start from the back. We had a good pace … even yesterday I should have been seventh on the grid, which would have been a bit nicer. So I had to work my way through and into that big group. It was going good, then Vazquez hit Khairuddin and he went down and we all had to chop the gas, and broke up the group. We lost the slipstream and that was pretty much the end of it. But we took some points, that’s the main thing.”

RESULTS

MOTOGP
RACE: (23 laps = 116.794 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 42'03.459 / 166.6 /
2 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Yamaha Factory Racing / YAMAHA / 42'04.815 / 166.5 / 1.356
3 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Yamaha Factory Racing / YAMAHA / 42'16.386 / 165.7 / 12.927
4 / Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / GO&FUN Honda Gresini / HONDA / 42'17.246 / 165.7 / 13.787
5 / Stefan BRADL / GER / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 42'17.432 / 165.7 / 13.973
6 / Cal CRUTCHLOW / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 42'18.121 / 165.6 / 14.662
7 / Bradley SMITH / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 42'34.679 / 164.5 / 31.22
8 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 42'44.130 / 163.9 / 40.671
9 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 42'56.872 / 163.1 / 53.413
10 / Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Energy T.I. Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 42'58.526 / 163 / 55.067
11 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Power Electronics Aspar / ART / 43'01.460 / 162.8 / 58.001
12 / Yonny HERNANDEZ / COL / Ignite Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 43'08.972 / 162.4 / 1'05.513
13 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / Power Electronics Aspar / ART / 43'10.048 / 162.3 / 1'06.589
14 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Avintia Blusens / FTR / 43'12.133 / 162.2 / 1'08.674
15 / Claudio CORTI / ITA / NGM Mobile Forward Racing / FTR KAWASAKI / 43'12.589 / 162.1 / 1'09.130

Pole Position: Marc MARQUEZ 1'47.804 169.5 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Dani PEDROSA 1'48.565 168.3 Km/h Lap 2 Old Circuit Record Lap: Casey STONER 1'49.046 167.6 Km/h 2011 Circuit Best Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 1'47.804 169.5 Km/h 2013

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION TILL DATE:
1 MARQUEZ 278, 2 LORENZO 239, 3 PEDROSA 219, 4 ROSSI 185, 5 CRUTCHLOW 156,
6 BRADL 135, 7 BAUTISTA 125, 8 DOVIZIOSO 112, 9 HAYDEN 102, 10 SMITH 80,
11 ESPARGARO 76, 12 PIRRO 50, 13 IANNONE 47, 14 EDWARDS 31, 15 BARBERA 27.

MOTO2
RACE: (21 laps = 106.638 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / Nicolas TEROL / SPA / Aspar Team Moto2 / SUTER / 40'15.232 / 158.9 /
2 / Esteve RABAT / SPA / Tuenti HP 40 / KALEX / 40'16.968 / 158.8 / 1.736
3 / Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Tuenti HP 40 / KALEX / 40'18.762 / 158.7 / 3.53
4 / Scott REDDING / GBR / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX / 40'19.015 / 158.6 / 3.783
5 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX / 40'19.281 / 158.6 / 4.049
6 / Jordi TORRES / SPA / Aspar Team Moto2 / SUTER / 40'26.834 / 158.1 / 11.602
7 / Johann ZARCO / FRA / Came Iodaracing Project / SUTER / 40'31.530 / 157.8 / 16.298
8 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Italtrans Racing Team / KALEX / 40'33.997 / 157.7 / 18.765
9 / Mattia PASINI / ITA / NGM Mobile Racing / SPEED UP / 40'37.498 / 157.4 / 22.266
10 / Sandro CORTESE / GER / Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 40'38.989 / 157.3 / 23.757
11 / Takaaki NAKAGAMI / JPN / Italtrans Racing Team / KALEX / 40'39.156 / 157.3 / 23.924
12 / Marcel SCHROTTER / GER / Maptaq SAG Zelos Team / KALEX / 40'39.719 / 157.3 / 24.487
13 / Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Technomag carXpert / SUTER / 40'43.243 / 157.1 / 28.011
14 / Alex MARIÑELARENA / SPA / Blusens Avintia / KALEX / 40'48.352 / 156.7 / 33.12
15 / Danny KENT / GBR / Tech 3 / TECH 3 / 40'59.141 / 156.1 / 43.909

Pole Position: Nicolas TEROL 1'53.812 160.6 Km/h Fastest Lap: Esteve RABAT 1'54.288 159.9 Km/h Lap 13 Circuit Record Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 1'53.956 160.4 Km/h 2011 Circuit Best Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 1'53.296 161.3 Km/h 2011

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TILL DATE:
1 REDDING 215, 2 ESPARGARO 195, 3 RABAT 171, 4 KALLIO 143, 5 NAKAGAMI 130,
6 AEGERTER 122, 7 ZARCO 113, 8 TEROL 108, 9 LUTHI 94, 10 TORRES 83, 11 CORSI 74,
12 SIMEON 71, 13 SIMON 57, 14 DE ANGELIS 46, 15 PASINI 42.

MOTO3
RACE: (20 laps = 101.560 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / Alex RINS / SPA / Estrella Galicia 0,0 / KTM / 40'04.214 / 152 /
2 / Maverick VIÑALES / SPA / Team Calvo / KTM / 40'04.640 / 152 / 0.426
3 / Alex MARQUEZ / SPA / Estrella Galicia 0,0 /
KTM / 40'16.591 / 151.2 / 12.377
4 / Luis SALOM / SPA / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 40'20.630 / 151 / 16.416
5 / Miguel OLIVEIRA / POR / Mahindra Racing /
MAHINDRA / 40'20.710 / 151 / 16.496
6 / Philipp OETTL / GER / Tec Interwetten Moto3
Racing / KALEX KTM / 40'25.753 / 150.7 / 21.539
7 / Jonas FOLGER / GER / Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3
/ KALEX KTM / 40'29.469 / 150.4 / 25.255
8 / Romano FENATI / ITA / San Carlo Team Italia /
FTR HONDA / 40'31.925 / 150.3 / 27.711
9 / Arthur SISSIS / AUS / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 40'32.102 / 150.3 / 27.888
10 / Efren VAZQUEZ / SPA / Mahindra Racing /
MAHINDRA / 40'33.191 / 150.2 / 28.977
11 / Alexis MASBOU / FRA / Ongetta-Rivacold / FTR
HONDA / 40'33.815 / 150.2 / 29.601
12 / Brad BINDER / RSA / Ambrogio Racing /
MAHINDRA / 40'33.962 / 150.2 / 29.748
13 / Jack MILLER / AUS / Caretta Technology - RTG
/ FTR HONDA / 40'38.047 / 149.9 / 33.833
14 / Niccolò ANTONELLI / ITA / GO&FUN Gresini
Moto3 / FTR HONDA / 40'38.064 / 149.9 / 33.85
15 / Livio LOI / BEL / Marc VDS Racing Team /
KALEX KTM / 40'52.192 / 149 / 47.978

Pole Position: Alex RINS 1'58.571 154.1 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Philipp OETTL 1'59.681 152.7 Km/h Lap 3
Old Circuit Record Lap: Danny KENT 2'01.351 150.6 Km/h 2012
Circuit Best Lap: Alex RINS 1'58.571 154.1 Km/h 2013

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TILL DATE:
1 SALOM 259, 2 RINS 250, 3 VIÑALES 247, 4 MARQUEZ
149, 5 FOLGER 129, 6 OLIVEIRA 115,
7 MILLER 79, 8 MASBOU 69, 9 VAZQUEZ 62, 10 KHAIRUDDIN 60, 11 SISSIS 59,
12 KORNFEIL 56, 13 BINDER 50, 14 FENATI 48, 15 AJO 43.

NEXT EVENT: ROUND15, OCTOBER 13, SEPANG MALAYSIA.

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Auf Sport 1 zu sehen (Danke Jürgen für´s Bild) - er hat ihm das Kabel abgefahren.