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HONDA RACING INFORMATION
2013 FIM Roadracing World Championship Grand Prix Round 3 of 18, Grand Prix of Spain, Jerez de la Frontera
3/4/5 May, 2013
Preview: MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3HONDA SHARES MotoGP LEAD AS SEASON RESUMES AT JEREZ
After a thrilling flyaway start in Qatar and Texas, the MotoGP World Championship returns to racing routine this weekend at the classic Jerez circuit – the first of three races in Spain, and the start of the gruelling European season in the heartland of the series.
The Circuito de Velocidad, just outside Spain’s sherry capital Jerez de la Frontera, has become the traditional European opener as the series gets down to serious week-in week-out business.
As such it regularly draws huge, race-starved crowds – more than 180,000 over the three days last year.The track twists back and forth in hilly ground making natural grandstands for fervent Spanish fans, who have shared in many exciting races and many successes for Honda, including a clear win last year for defending champion Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V).
This year, joint championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) comes home with a fast-growing reputation after he claimed his first MotoGP victory at only his second attempt.
His win at Austin added another new record for the 20-year-old – he undercut former Honda triple champion Freddie Spencer to become the youngest-ever premier-class GP winner. Spencer’s record had stood since 1982.Marquez joined the Repsol Honda team as Moto2 champion, having secured the 125cc crown two years earlier ... but the rider from outside Barcelona has yet to claim a win at the Andalucian circuit, and will hope to change that on Sunday.
For Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V), Jerez has always been special. In the last seven years with the factory team in MotoGP, Dani has never finished off the rostrum, adding five second places and one third to his 2008 victory.
Dani is fresh from his latest rostrum finish, second at Austin, and well placed in what promises to be an epic battle for the title. He currently lies third overall, with compatriot Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) sharing the points lead with Marquez.
The race presents a fresh opportunity for Honda’s other two prototype riders.
Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini
RC213V) lies sixth overall after finishing sixth and eighth at the opening two races; but hopes to get closer to the front now that a finger injury sustained in a pre-season testing crash at Jerez has fully healed. Former 125 World Champion Bautista is the only MotoGP rider using Showa suspension, combining a crucial development role with his quest for results.German former Moto2 champion Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) has a little ground to make up, after crashing out of the first round in Qatar.
He made a good re-start at Austin, claiming a solid 11 points after a strong ride to fifth place.MotoGP rookie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) will have the benefit of prior track knowledge, after joining pre-season tests at Jerez ... making his learning task that much easier. The Australian claimed his first MotoGP finish in Texas, adding valuable track miles on his CBR1000RR-powered CRT machine. Step by step he is gaining experience as he draws closer to the furious CRT battle.
In the Honda-powered Moto2 class, close and fierce racing is guaranteed. The championship positions after two rounds demonstrate: while Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) has a slender lead of four points, five more riders are jostling behind him, within a span of just two points.
Many of the fans’ hopes will be riding with Qatar winner Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex), who followed up in Texas with zero points after sliding out in the early stages.
Others reliably in the front group are Redding’s team-mate Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), third in Texas; second-placed Tito Rabat ((Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex)) and first-time race winner Nico Terol (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2), former 125 World Champion.
All Moto2 machines use Honda engines supplied by the organisers to ensure not only close but also reliable racing.
In the Moto3 class, now in its second year in place of the traditional 125s, Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR-Honda) led the Honda charge at Austin, the Australian teenager finishing a fighting sixth in a thrilling sprint-race restart after the first running was red-flagged.
South African Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing
Suter-Honda) is the top Honda rider in the championship, by just one point after a top-ten in Texas boosted his four points from Qatar. Then three on level pegging; Miller joined by Briton Danny Webb (Ambrogio Racing Suter-Honda) and France’s Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR-Honda).All are confident the technical nature of the Spanish circuit will play to the strengths of their agile and responsive Honda-powered 250cc four-stroke racers.
The Circuito de Velocidad has become an important part of the MotoGP series after almost three decades years of continuous use not only for GPs but also as a major test circuit. First used in 1987, it has been on the calendar ever since as host to the Spanish GP, except in 1988 when it ran under the Portuguese flag. In 2002 the layout was modified to add further variety, and the paddock buildings modernised.
In that 26-year span, Honda has won the premier class 17 times, almost three times as many victories as the next-best.
Overlooked by a soaring tower named for one of the famous Jerez sherry houses and with the start-finish straight straddled by a glassed-in circular “UFO”, the very technical track is 4.423 km (2.748 miles) of almost continuous corner sets. There are five to the left and eight right-handers, and a short straight of just over
600 metres (0.38 miles). The lap finishes with a hairpin overlooked by grandstands – frequently the scene of decisive last-lap battles.
Honda MotoGP Rider Quotes
Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez says:
“The Austin race is a weekend I will never forget and I would like to thank you all for all your support and kind messages! Now we arrive back to Europe and it's important to keep our feet on the ground and remain focused. All the other riders have much more experience than me in these circuits and we will need to work hard. I’m looking forward to racing in front of the Spanish fans for the first time on a MotoGP machine in Jerez and we will try our hardest to get the best result. If we can achieve a podium then it would be great! Our goal is to keep learning and finish each race.”Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:
“Even though I missed out on the victory in Austin, we take many positives from the weekend.
I am happy as we have reduced the gap to the leaders and I have recovered the good feelings that we had pre-season. Now we head to Jerez, which is one of my favourite circuits to race at.
The atmosphere there is amazing and the fans are very passionate. The weather wasn’t good for us in testing there a month ago, but it’s a track we know well. We will look to continue with the momentum we left Austin and work hard from the first practice session to give ourselves the best chances for the race.”GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista says:
“We worked really hard through the weekend at the last Grand Prix at a new and difficult circuit to find a compromise with the setting, but we improved the bike every time we went out. By the end of qualifying I had a great feeling but unfortunately it wasn’t quite the same in the race and in the later laps I was unable to open the gas where I wanted. From that point I just focused on bringing the bike home and scoring as many points as we could after a nice battle with Dovizioso. Now we go to Jerez, which is a very special Grand Prix that feels like the true start to the championship. It is my home Grand Prix, it’s a great place and I love the circuit. Lots of my friends and fans are coming down to Jerez and the atmosphere will be incredible. We have a lot of data for the track, which should allow us to be competitive from the start, so we will be working hard to find maximum confidence with the bike. I really want a good result in front of my fans! It is a technically complete track with slow and fast corners, hard braking zones and some fantastic direction changes. It will be crucial to find a good compromise for the chassis and suspension and the electronics play a very important role at this track. I took my first ever win at Jerez so it is a place that holds great memories for me.”LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl says:
“I am really looking forward to the first round in Europe. We have tested the bike there in March gathering useful data for the race weekend and I was comfortable with the bike’s overall package.
I am happy to be back in Europe because we return to the standard time schedule, and the atmosphere especially in Spain is very warm. After my DNF in Qatar I was happy to battle with the guys in the front in Austin which is a very technical race track. So I think we will arrive in Jerez with a good base and high motivation to maintain our position in the top five.”GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Bryan Staring says:
“I was happy to complete full race distance in MotoGP for the first time at Austin because I was able to learn a lot. It means we go to Jerez on the back of a positive experience and we know we have the opportunity to take another big step forward in terms of my adaptation to this class.
Every time I go out on the bike I get a better feeling for the bike and the main thing right now is to complete laps and follow the instructions of the team. Jerez is an incredible circuit and this is my first chance to race in front of the amazing crowds that MotoGP attracts in Europe. I am feeling confident and can’t wait to get out on track.”
Moto2 Rider Quotes
Marc VDS Racing Team rider Scott Redding says:
“Jerez promises to be a tough weekend, one of the toughest of the season. A lot of riders are fast at this track and the Spanish riders in particular are always keen to do well at home.
After just two races the championship is just names on a piece of paper, but at least it shows we’ve started strongly and that we can be in the hunt for the title. If I’m in with a shout of winning races then I’ll go for it, but this year it’s not about winning every race, it’s more about scoring points every weekend. That’s what we did in Texas and that’s how we’ll continue. If I can come away from Jerez still leading the championship then I’ll be satisfied.”Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 rider Nico Terol says:
“It was hard to take in my first Moto2 win in Texas, but I have enjoyed it a lot at home with my people. Perhaps it took longer than expected, but I knew that sooner or later it had to come.
We had a lot of time doing a great job, but it didn’t all come together at the races. Now we have achieved a win, and that makes me feel much more motivated, yet with confidence through the roof. The victory was a huge reward, now we have to keep working hard to not lower the level. We have seen that we can win races, so the goal should be to try for podium positions every weekend. Now we go to Jerez, aiming for the highest level. We have a lot of information from the pre-season tests, where we were among the best every day, in both dry and wet conditions.”Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex rider Tito Rabat says:
“I have been really looking forward to Jerez, and to race in front of the Spanish fans. The first two races had different results for me, but at the same time they were similar – racing outside Europe, with the schedule changed and the tracks in complicated situations. Jerez has always been good to me, and I hope to keep on track, to keep at the top, and to add another good result to my Austin podium.”Honda Moto3 Rider Quotes
Ambrogio Racing rider Brad Binder says:
“You don’t need big top speed at Jerez so we expect it to be much better there. I’ve got to say thanks so much to the team. The bike is handling like it’s on rails. Jerez is one of my favourite tracks of the whole season, so I expect to do well there.”Caretta Technology rider Jack Miller says:
“It shouldn’t be so bad because the straights aren’t so long. I’m hoping we can get some better bits for the engine and keep the results coming.
The big thing Honda is working on is the intake and injector system. Plus we are working on aerodynamics with a modified fairing – just little things we can do on our own.”Ongetta-Rivacold rider Alexis Masbou says:
“We can improve a lot, I think. Jerez has less long straights than COTA, so I think the gap to the front will be a lot less and I hope we can fight with the top four. We must work very hard on the settings to take advantage of our chassis and try to get back into the front group.”
