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HONDA RACING INFORMATION
ZitatAlles anzeigen2012 FIM ROAD RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX ROUND 14 SEPTEMBER 28/29/30, 2012 ARAGON, SPAIN PREVIEW MOTOGP, MOTO2, MOTO3
HONDA RIDERS BACK ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP TRAIL IN ARAGON
The MotoGP World Championship arrives at its last European stop prior to the Australasian flyaways with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) hoping to get back on track after an unlucky San Marino Grand Prix.
Having won the prior two races, in Indianapolis and Brno, Pedrosa was looking to make it three in a row when he was taken out on the first lap by another rider. It was the first time during Pedrosa’s most consistent season that he failed to finish. And it was only the second time he had been off the podium. Despite his bad luck, Pedrosa remains second in the championship as he arrives in Aragon.
Pedrosa finished second to team-mate Casey Stoner last year in Aragon and also in 2010. That would have made him the favourite this year, if not for his injuries suffered during qualifying for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Stoner remains in Australia continuing to recover from the ankle injuries suffered in the crash just after the summer break. Writing on his personal blog, the two-time MotoGP World Champion said he was hopeful of returning for the Japanese Grand Prix, the first of the flyaway triple-header, though he and his doctors have not set a definite date.
Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda teammate for the weekend is Jonathan Rea, the Irishman whose contract with the Honda World Superbike team was recently extended. Rea made his MotoGP debut in Brno, which was sandwiched between two World Superbike races. By the time Rea finishes the World Superbike season in Magny-Cours the weekend after Aragon, he will have raced five weekends in a row.
Rea celebrated his contract extension by finishing second in the second race in Portimao, his fifth podium of the year. He will carry that momentum to Aragon where he’s looking forward to continuing his education aboard the Repsol Honda RC213V.
Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) finished an emotional and career best third, - his first MotoGP podium - at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, a race held a short drive from the Gresini race shop in the town of San Clemente. The race was the first for the team at the circuit since it was renamed for the former San Carlo Honda Gresini rider.
Bautista had one of his best finishes of the 2011 season at the race in Aragon in what was one of his toughest stretches of the year. Though he is racing in front of his fellow Spaniards, Bautista is not a fan of the technical circuit, where he finds it difficult to arrive at a good setting.
Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) continues his rookie season in Aragon two weeks after being denied his first podium by a slowly deflating tyre in Misano. Bradl was thick in the podium mix in the San Marino Grand Prix before being forced to slow. The German was in a heated battle for third with veteran riders on the 18th of 27 laps when the bad luck hit. And Bradl was at the tail end of the podium contenders up to three laps from the finish of his 100th grand prix start.
San Carlo Honda Gresini CRT rider Michele Pirro has had two solid finishes on the Honda CBR1000RR-powered CRT machine including tenth in the team’s home race in Misano. Pirro went through a character-building stretch of difficulty in July and August that ended with his points-paying finish in the Czech Grand Prix after the team responded to the earlier challenges. Then came the result in Misano, where he joined in the celebration of team-mate Bautista’s podium finish. With constant improvements to his FTR-framed Honda, the only one in the CRT field, Pirro is confident he can put his name among the top CRT riders on a track that he likes and where he made his debut in Moto2.
Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter) has to be considered the favourite in the Moto2 class in Aragon. Not only did he win last year’s
Moto2 race, but he has also won five of the last six Moto2 races this season. That stretch, along with two wins from earlier in the season and a host of other podium finishes, have boosted his championship lead to 53 points with five races remaining.The track is close to his home, which he is certain will draw his growing legion of supporters, as well as friends and family, to motivate him.
Pol Espargaro (Pons 40 HP Tuenti Kalex) finished second to Marquez in the most recent race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli; it was the third time this season he had finished just behind his fellow Spaniard. He’s also beaten Marquez four times, and been on the podium in the past four races, but a pair of non-finishes have damaged his championship aspirations.
His reversal of fortunes could come in Aragon, where he won the inaugural race in the 125cc class in 2010.
Marquez won last year’s battle of Aragon over Andrea Iannone (Speed Master Speed Up). Iannone was in the lead as late as the 13th of 21 laps when he was passed by Marquez, who sped to victory. Iannone also won the inaugural Moto2 race in 2010 by more than six seconds.
Iannone sits third in a championship season in which he has not shown the podium consistency of the top two, though he is the only Moto2 rider to finish every race this year. Of the three championship leaders, Iannone has had the most success at Aragon.
Maverick Vinales (Blusens Avintia FTR Honda) has five wins in the inaugural Moto3 season, a class best that has put him second in the championship.
During one stretch mid-season, Vinales won three races in a row and looked like a lock for the championship. But that period was followed by a pair of non-points finishes surrounding his fifth win. Now he trails in the championship and knows that nothing other than victory, and forcing his title rival into a mistake, will promote his title chances.Aragon will be the third of four home races for the Spaniard, who finished third in last year’s final 125cc GP ever at Aragon.
Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI FTR Honda) and Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Suter Honda) continue to battle for rookie of the year honors in Moto3. The 16-year-olds, one from Italy, one from Spain, both have experience in Aragon, though not in grand prix racing. Rins finished second and Fenati fourth in last year’s 125cc race of the Spanish championship, a race in which the top four riders were covered by .555s. Rins would go on to win the Spanish 125cc title.
Fenati has four podium finishes, including a win in the second race of the season, which has put him ahead of Rins-one podium-with five races remaining. Rins’ has the home field advantage.
His family lives near the circuit, which he has grown more comfortable with after initial struggles.A collection of boldface names is responsible for the ultra-modern Motorland Aragon motorsports complex. Formula One track architect Herman Tilke teamed with former Formula One driver Pedro de la Rosa in designing the layout of the race course.
British architect Sir Norman Foster designed the sprawling complex and infrastructure, which goes far beyond the race track. The complex was designed as both a leisure and cultural facility, as well as a technical center with state-of-the-art research and educational facilities for the motorcycle and automotive industries.Laid out on rolling hillsides, the anti-clockwise circuit is 5.078Km long with 17 bends, 10 lefts and seven rights. The track is tricky and technical, with elevation changes, blind corners, and plenty of lean angle, which means tyre management is a key for the MotoGP riders. As is a robust motor to get down the 968m straightaway that leads to the final sequence, a double-apex left-hand 180.
HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:
“Aragón is a very good race and the circuit is impressive. We went there with the team for a two day test at the beginning of this month and we did a good job. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the Spanish crowd again; it would be great to see the circuit full of people like we had in the previous years. The bike is working well and I'm feeling good; we go there with the same determination as always and motivated to continue riding well and have another good race.”Repsol Honda rider Jonathan Rea says:
“I am now in week four of my five back-to-back races including both SBK and MotoGP, but I am still really excited about this coming race.
Having tested in Aragon on the RC213V a couple of weeks ago, I am feeling more confident coming to this race than I was in Misano. Hopefully I will be able to pick up where I left off after the test as I was really starting to bond with the bike. Aragon has a really long straight which suits the power of the Honda and I am really looking forward to working with the Repsol Honda guys again and building on the experience I have gained to date.”LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl says:
“We already had three days of testing there and I am quite confident ahead of this weekend because we have found a good set-upp and we can hopefully use this advantage. Honestly, it’s not one of my favorite circuits, but at the end it’s not that bad. In Misano we had another good weekend battling for the podium, so I am happy to know I can race up in the pack. There are only five races to go and I am aiming to score as many points as possible to end this season in the top five. That would be a great result for me and the team.”San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista says:
“The team did a great job at Misano in the only dry session we had available to find a good setting for the bike and even improve it from what we had at Brno. I struggled a little bit to get into my rhythm at the start and lost a few positions, but once I felt I could push the bike I was able to recover all the way back up to third. I even tried to attack Valentino (Rossi) for second but my confidence in the front end still wasn't quite 100% so I decided not to risk a crash and to hang on for a podium. At the end I was happy with the result but also with the way the bike was working. It was a special weekend for the whole team and thanks to them I was able to deliver a fantastic result. It was my first podium in MotoGP and we were able to celebrate it all together. Now after the race at Misano I can go into my next home round feeling confident and highly motivated. We didn't have such a good time in the test here after the Barcelona race, but with the steps we have made with the bike since then I hope things are different this weekend.
Aragon hasn't been bad to me over the past couple of years, so I hope that on Sunday I can be involved in the fight for the podium again, although it won't be easy. We'll work hard in practice to find the best possible setting to adapt to the track. Aragon isn't one of my favourites. It has some fast corners, some hard braking and some difficult direction changes as well as a very long straight. It's not easy to find a setting that works around the whole track.”San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Michele Pirro says:
“Misano was a fantastic and exciting weekend with all the events organised for Marco and the result has given me a lot of confidence. We started from scratch at Misano with the goal of making a strong finish to the championship and I am confident we can continue in the same way from here. We have closed the gap to the top CRTs and I am confident that in the next rounds we can be fighting to be ahead of them. I like Aragon a lot and I actually made my debut with Team Gresini here in Moto2 a couple of years ago.”Moto2 RIDER QUOTES
Team CaixaCatalunya Repsol-Suter rider Marc Marquez says:
“MotorLand Aragon is a track which went rather well for me last year and at which I felt very comfortable. Let’s hope that it is the same this time. We’ll try to keep calm and have a good weekend in front of the fans. This track has a very technical first section, but the final sector is also very tricky. It is a circuit where you need to be good at cornering. The circuit is very close to Lleida, so I am sure that my friends, family and supporters will be coming along and that I will give my all to get the best result possible.”Pons 40 HP Tuenti rider Pol Espargaro says:
“The important thing is we are here, we took 20 points more in Misano and we are a little bit farther ahead of Andrea (Iannone) and (Thomas) Luthi. And, sure, we will race at home and I like that circuit. We have to try our best and I’ll the best I can and hope to take 25 points there.”Speed Master-Speed Up rider Andrea Iannone says:
“OK, I’m happy for the next race at Aragon. We want to try to push and try to win. It’s a track where I’ve had some success before. It’s a nice racetrack, a good combination of corners, lots of lean angle, and a long straightaway. It will be important to get a good setting in practice so we can attack in the race.”Moto3 RIDER QUOTES
Blusens Avintia FTR Honda rider Maverick Vinales says:
“The championship has become an uphill struggle and we aren't just depending on ourselves now we need to hope for a mistake from the leader. I am going to attack at the Aragón GP for that reason.
Strategic riding is useless now. I want to win as many races as possible, force (Sandro) Cortese to the limit and finish the season in the best way possible. I like the MotorLand track a lot, although it has a very long straight for which you need a good engine. I hope to have one this weekend and get back to the top step of the podium. Riding at home again motivates me a lot, and I'm sure that the fans will push me to take a great result.”Team Italia FMI rider Romano Fenati says:
“I was happy to finish on the podium in my home race in Misano, a track I know very well. It was thanks to the medical staff, who took care of me after my crash on Friday. Now I’m fully healthy and we head to Aragon, where I already raced in the Spanish championship and I know I can do well.”Estrella Galicia 0,0 Suter Honda rider Alex Rins says:
“I am very excited about this grand prix, because a lot of people will be there for me. The town where my family lives is near the circuit, so I hope to do as well as possible for them. It is a track that I like and I am motivated after taking fourth at Misano. MotorLand Aragon is a track with few slow corners and a high difficulty level. It was hard for me to feel comfortable the first time I rode there, but as time has gone on I have become more familiar with it and now I like it.”