- Offizieller Beitrag
HONDA RACING INFORMATION
ZitatAlles anzeigen2014 FIM Roadracing World Championship Grand Prix Round 16 of 18, Australian GP, Phillip Island
17-19 October, 2014
Preview: MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3
HONDA’S HEROES AIM FOR TRIPLE CROWN DOWN UNDER
One week after Repsol Honda RC213V rider Marc Marquez secured a classic second successive World Championship at home in Japan, Honda riders head to Australia, with yet more targets within clear sight.
One is the Constructors’ Championship. Honda currently leads its closest rival Yamaha by 60 points, and already has one hand on a fourth consecutive win. With only two races remaining after the Australian round and only each marque’s top finisher taken into account, a lead of 50 points will be enough to secure the coveted championship.
There is also the Teams’ Championship, where both riders’ scores are taken into account. Repsol Honda currently leads Yamaha by 85 points. The maximum possible score is 45 points at each race; Honda needs to add five to its advantage to secure MotoGP’s coveted triple crown with two races to spare.
Yet another is second place in the rider’s championship, to give the factory-backed team a resounding one-two result. Second Repsol Honda RC213V rider Dani Pedrosa has held the position for much of the season, but is engaged in a fierce contest with Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Rossi is now equal on points, and Lorenzo only three behind.
The battle adds spice to the closing rounds of what has been an exceptional grand prix season.
Already the youngest-ever champion after a triumphant debut in 2013, Marquez has been dominant in his second MotoGP year. The 21-year-old from Cervera, Spain, had suffered a broken leg in a training accident only weeks before the start of the season in Qatar in March.
Nothing daunted, he won the first ten races outright, and added an 11th victory at round 12 in Silverstone, England. The only hiccup until then was when he placed fourth – his first ever MotoGP finish off the top-three podium – at the intervening round in the Czech Republic.Marquez demonstrated that he was still human at the next two rounds: slipping off while disputing the lead at Misano, and again two weeks later when leading a brutally difficult rain-hit race at Aragon. On each occasion he remounted, finishing 15th and 13th respectively to preserve a perfect points-scoring record.
The errors prolonged the title chase, but did not change its inevitability. Marquez rode to a secure second place in last weekend’s Japanese GP at the Honda-built Motegi circuit, gaining an invulnerable lead of 82 points, with a maximum of 75 remaining to be won.
Marquez has now won two titles still at younger age than the previous youngest-ever, Honda’s 1983 champion Freddie Spencer. He set another youngest-ever record for winning back-to-back championships, undercutting 1962 and 1963 champion Mike Hailwood. Marquez also has the 125cc and Moto2 championships in his portfolio.
His Phillip Island record includes not only a controversial disqualification for a procedural error in last year’s race, robbing him of a chance to tie up the championship early, but also a race win on a 125 in 2010, and successive Moto2 podium finishes in the following two years.
Pedrosa, former 125cc and double 250cc World Champion, has a long and strong record at the seaside circuit south of Melbourne, with a 250cc win in 2005, and two top-three finishes in MotoGP, including second last year.
This season has shown the experienced 29-year-old campaigner’s strength. He was the first rider other than Marquez to win a race, and has added three second places and five thirds to boost his score. Pedrosa suffered arm-pump problems that required corrective surgery at the start of the European season, but recovered well. He will be striving to make the most of the last three rounds to secure his title position.
Two independent satellite teams also campaign the class-leading RC213V MotoGP prototype.
Former Moto2 champion Stefan Bradl lies ninth overall, after a season including two fourth places in four top-five finishes. The German has twice been second at Phillip Island, once on a
125 and once in Moto2, and finished sixth in his first MotoGP season in 2012. But last year he missed the race after suffering a freak ankle injury at the preceding round; and is eager to make amends this year in his aim for a first top-three finish of the season.Spanish former 125cc champion Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Gresini Honda RC213V) has stood on the rostrum this year, with third at the French GP, but six non-finishes have dented his score, and he lies 11th overall, aiming squarely at the top ten. He has a race win in 125 in 2006, a pair of second places on a 250, and was fifth in MotoGP for the past two years.
Bautista and his GO&FUN team-mate Scott Redding have a special role, race-developing Showa suspension and Nissin brakes for Japanese companies closely associated with Honda; and Redding is the most successful of four riders campaigning the new-this-year Honda RCV1000R.
This for-sale production racer is a close replica of the factory RC213V.Redding, in his first MotoGP season, is 13th overall after a strong debut, with a best result of seventh among four top-ten finishes. A title contender in Moto2 last year, his chances were ended with a crash before the Phillip Island race, but his previous record at the track include two rostrum finishes in Moto2.
Drive M7 Aspar RCV1000R rider Hiro Aoyama is 14th overall, with a best finish of eighth. The experienced Japanese rider claimed the last ever 250cc World Championship for Honda in 2009, and was third in the Australian 250 GP in 2006.
Drive M7 Aspar RCV1000R team-mate Nicky Hayden, Honda’s 2006 World Champion, is two places lower after a season interrupted by a lingering old injury to his right wrist. During the summer break the American underwent radical surgery, missing four races before returning to score points in the last two rounds. Hayden numbers three rostrum finishes at Phillip Island in his record, and held the circuit lap record from 2008 until it was broken by Marquez last year.
A fourth RCV1000R is ridden by Czech law graduate Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), with the Brno trackside resident chalking up eleven points-scoring finishes so far this year, including top Open-category finisher at San Marino. He has three MotoGP top-ten finishes at Phillip Island, but missed last year’s race through injury.
All machines in the intermediate Moto2 class are powered by Honda, with race-tuned CBR600 engines fitted to a variety of prototype chassis. Engines are provided to competitors by the series organisers, and Honda power ensures close and reliable racing.
This year’s title is contested between Tito Rabat and Mika Kallio, both riding Kalex machines for the Marc VDS Racing Team, with a third rider Maverick Vinales (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Pons Kalex) gaining ground.
Spaniard Rabat holds the upper hand. He is 38 points ahead of his Finnish rival, after seven wins and eight pole positions so far. Kallio has recorded three race wins and a string of strong finishes to keep his title hopes alive.
Vinales, also from Spain, is the reigning Moto3 champion, and has won two races in his debut season. A strong second place last weekend at Motegi has boosted his chances, and he is now only 32 points behind Kallio.
The Japanese race was won by Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Sitag Suter). The Swiss former 125cc champion’s first victory of the year moved him to within two championship points of his compatriot Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert Suter), who claimed his first win in Germany but failed to score points at Motegi.
French ace Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham
Caterham-Suter) lies sixth overall, after three third places, two in the last three races. Zarco was fourth in Japan, in a season of steadily improving performances.The next place is held by Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing Kalex), but the experienced Italian has been out since suffering a serious wrist injury at round 12 at Silverstone, and will be absent also from the Australian GP.
Fast rookie Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) is eighth overall, after eight top-ten finishes, with a best of fifth at the Aragon round which closed the European season. He is five points ahead of class rookie Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Pons Kalex); with former
Moto3 champion Sandro Cortese completing a lively top ten.In the Moto3 class, Honda leads the most closely fought championship of the series with the new-this-year Honda NSF250RW. Six of the 250cc four-stroke singles face rivals from KTM and Mahindra, and Honda gained the points lead two races ago at Aragon. But the margins are small, and at Phillip Island last year the top seven
Moto3 bikes crossed the line in 1.104 seconds.Top Honda rider Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia
0,0 Honda), younger brother of Marc, increased his advantage with his third win of the year at Motegi. Should he go on to secure the championship, having two brothers victorious in the same year would be another first for Honda and the Marquez family. Marquez was fourth in Australia last year, half-a-second away from winner, his Estrella Galicia 0,0 team-mate Alex Rins.He faces strong opposition, not only from long-time leader Jack Miller (KTM), who will be racing at home in Australia, but also from fellow-Spaniard Rins, last year’s race winner.
Rins has claimed two wins this year, but was an unlucky tenth in Japan after another rider collided with him in the first corner.Yet another Honda race winner, Indianapolis victor Efren Vazquez (SaxoPrint-RTG Honda) has a mathematical chance of the title, tied on points in fourth overall with Romano Fenati (KTM); while Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold Honda) is sixth.
Scotsman John McPhee (SaxoPrint-RTG Honda) scored a career-best fourth at Motegi, and is 13th overall in his second season. The sixth NSF250RW is ridden by Malaysia’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Ongetta-AirAsia Honda), lying 19th.
The dramatic seaside Phillip Island circuit has hosted the Australian GP 19 times, with Honda victorious on 11 of those occasions.
The sweeping layout covers 2.764 miles (4.448 km) through a variety of mainly fast bends. With Marquez’s lap record standing at 181.7 km/h, it is the fastest circuit on the calendar. Popular with riders and fans but prone to bouts of squally weather, it offers a stern challenge.
Last year’s race was marred with tyre wear problems on an abrasive new surface, causing both MotoGP and Moto2 races to be shortened, and with an unprecedented compulsory pit stop halfway through the MotoGP event for riders to switch to bikes with fresh tyres. Control tyre suppliers Bridgestone have made special tyres following tests earlier this year, including for the first time an asymmetric (dual-compound) front.
The first Australian GP was in 1989 at the circuit south of Melbourne, won by Honda’s Wayne Gardner. In 1991 it moved for six years to Sydney’s Eastern Creek circuit, returning to its original home in 1997.
MotoGP Honda rider quotes
Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez says:
“What we achieved in Japan a few days ago is still sinking in! To win the championship in my first two years is a real dream and I must thank all my family, my team, Honda and Repsol for all their commitment and dedication. Now we can relax a little, but not too much! I still want to win races and finish the season on a high. Phillip Island was a bit of a nightmare for me last year so I have a score to settle. I like the track, it’s a lot of fun, so let’s hope the weather is nice so we can really enjoy the weekend.”Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:
“The race in Japan was a little frustrating so I’m looking forward to getting to Phillip Island and putting it behind me. Obviously we tested there earlier in the year but we’ll have to see how are the conditions now, some months later.
The goal is of course to take second place in the championship and I will be pushing 100 percent to achieve this. The layout is exciting to ride and the races are always fun, but let’s hope there are no issues like in 2013.”LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl says:
“Like everyone I really enjoy this circuit, with its fast rhythm, and I have had good results here in the past. One question is always the weather, so we hope it stays fine and calm. Our motivation is high for these last races with the team. One problem I need to solve: I am always fast in free practice, but I have trouble in matching the other riders’ improvement for qualifying. I will be concentrating on that aspect this weekend.”GO&FUN Gresini Honda rider Alvaro Bautista says:
“At Phillip Island we are going to race on a very different track compared to Motegi, with a lot of fast corners where you need a very stable bike.
Unfortunately, if we continue to struggle with rear grip, it will be very hard to be fast on that kind of corner, because you need a lot of feeling to do it, and at the moment I can’t really feel the rear tyre. Two important aspects of this race will be the weather, because usually it rains in this period, and the tyres: after the problems we had in 2013. We will need to evaluate in the best possible way the behaviour of the new compounds available this year. Obviously, we will keep working to try to fix the rear grip issues, otherwise it will be very hard to make better results than the one achieved at Motegi.”GO&FUN Gresini Honda rider Scott Redding says:
“Normally Phillip Island is one of my favourite
tracks: it’s fast and I think that it will be fun to ride there with a MotoGP bike. We have to see when we get there how the bike is acting because usually there is a lot of wind, so it’s going to be difficult. At Motegi I had some problems to stop the bike under braking, and this was worst at the beginning of the race, with the full tank, therefore we need to try and find a solution for this Grand Prix.”Drive M7 Aspar Honda rider Hiroshi Aoyama says:
“Our team motivation is high at the moment. I like Australia and the circuit is quite special – very high speed, but also some small corners.
Sometimes it’s windy, and sometimes so cold. I hope we have good weather, that stays stable, then I think I can make a good race. We are in good shape at the moment. There is only one long straight, and this can help us, and the tight corners are the strong point of our bike. We will look for the best set-up, and I hope for a better result at Phillip Island than Motegi.”Drive M7 Aspar Honda rider Nicky Hayden says:
“I was glad to get the first two races out of the way after my surgery, and go to Australia. I always look forward to Phillip Island. As a track, it has everything. I love it there, and it’s a good track for me because it goes left, like the dirt-tracks I grew up on. Also there is not so much braking, which means less strain on my wrist. The left-hand corners also help that.
It’s harder on it pushing into right-hand corners ... so let’s see.”Cardion AB Motoracing Honda rider Karel Abraham says:
“After the disappointment of my brake problems at Motegi, I’m looking forward to a trouble-free race at Phillip Island. There is not much hard braking there, and we will be back to standard brakes, rather than the big discs, so hopefully the mystery problem won’t come back. I like the
track: I had one of my best 250 results there in 2009, and always in the top ten in MotoGP, though I missed the race last year. As always, the aim is to be top production Honda.”
Moto2 rider quotes
Marc VDS Racing Team rider Tito Rabat says:
“Together with a few other riders we tested at Phillip Island earlier this year for Dunlop, but I don’t think that gives us any advantage, as the front runners in Moto2 all know the circuit. I like the Phillip Island track, but then I also like Motegi and we had some problems there. It means we will have to work hard once again on Friday, to find a good setting on the bike because, like always, the goal is to be in a position to win on Sunday.”Marc VDS Racing Team rider Mika Kallio says:
“We had some problems in Japan and Phillip Island is a circuit where you have to have a good feeling and complete confidence in the bike and tyres, otherwise you’re in trouble. We have some ideas now about a possible solution to the issues we had at Motegi, but we’ll need to try these on Friday in free practice to see if we’re going in the right direction. If we can get the feeling that I need then I believe we can be competitive this weekend. Last year we had some problems with the tyres in Australia, but it was clear at the test we did at the beginning of the season that Dunlop have addressed this. Conditions at the test were slightly different to what we’re expecting this weekend, but the lap times were good and the tyres worked well over race distance.”Paginas Amarillas HP 40 rider Maverick Vinales says:
“I hope I can be fast at Phillip Island. Last year in Moto3 I was second by only three thousandths, but I have never ridden a Moto2 bike there. But for sure we have now a really good level. I think that my team and me are really strong. I hope to be on top there again.”
Moto3 Honda rider quotes
Estrella Galicia 0,0 rider Alex Marquez says:
“For me, this is one of my favourite circuits.
For Jack Miller, he is at home, with all the support of the Australian fans. It is a really important weekend for us, and I will try to win the race again, as in Motegi. Whatever happens, I need to stay in front of Miller and Rins, then we will see what happens in Malaysia.”Estrella Galicia 0,0 rider Alex Rins says:
“We go to Phillip Island ready to give everything plus it’s a circuit that is good for me and has fast corners that benefit us, so I will do my best to get on the podium. One goal is to get a good grid position, although often this is not enough.”SaxoPrint-RTG rider Efren Vazquez says:
“It is my favourite circuit for sure, and the main thing is to go there and enjoy the race and enjoy the weekend. This championship is coming to an end, and I want to make the most of the last three races. A good result at Motegi has boosted my confidence after some disappointing races. I will work hard through every session, and then get the best possible result.”