Marc Marquez dominates the German MotoGP
SPANISH rookie Marc Marquez earned his second win of the season with victory at the German MotoGP at Sachsenring on Sunday to go top of the championship standings.
The 20-year-old hit the front early and built up his lead to claim victory with Britain’s Cal Crutchlow second and six-times world MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi third.
Marquez’s winning time was 41min 14.653sec over the 30 laps with Crutchlow 1.559s back and Rossi coming home more than nine seconds further back.
With title leaders Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo both absent after collarbone injuries, pole sitter Marquez lost ground at the start to find himself fourth by the first bend.
With title leaders Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo both absent after collarbone injuries, pole sitter Marquez lost ground at the start to find himself fourth by the first bend.
But he hit back, taking the lead from home hero Stefan Bradl along the main straight on the third lap.
Marquez, in his first MotoGP campaign, was following up his Grand Prix of the Americas victory in Texas in April. He has finished on the podium in all seven races he has finished in 2013, his retirement at the Italian MotoGP the only blot.
Victory allowed Marquez to overtake compatriot and Honda teammate Pedrosa, who was forced out after fracturing his collarbone in Saturday’s practice, to go top of the world standings with 138 points – two clear of Pedrosa.
Reigning world champion Lorenzo was ruled out of the race on Friday, when he injured the same left collarbone he broke two weeks ago and underwent surgery on Saturday in Barcelona to reinsert a supporting plate.
”I’m happy, it’s great to win, but you shouldn’t forget that both Pedrosa and Lorenzo weren’t here,” said Marquez.
”I hadn’t expected to control the race like that.”
Both Yahama Tech 3’s Crutchlow and Rossi on the Yahama factory bike complained about losing grip on their rear tyres, but the British rider produced a brave performance after twice crashing in Friday’s practice session.
”I was trying to catch him (Marquez). I had a good start, even though it might not have looked like it. I struggled a bit with the rear tyre,” said Crutchlow who raced with an injured hand.
”I am pleased with the finish position we had here, having come off the floor twice on Friday.
”It’s not been a great weekend and I admit I don’t feel great.”
Rossi, who picked up his first win for three years a fortnight ago in Assen, admitted he had hoped to finish higher.
”I am happy, but I had thought I’d do better,” said the 34-year-old.
”I had a few problems with the rear tyres – we just have to keep working hard.”
RESULTS – German MotoGP, Sachsenring
1. Marc MARQUEZ (Honda) 41m14.653s
2. Cal CRUTCHLOW (Yamaha) +1.559s
3. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) +9.620s
4. Stefan BRADL (Honda) +13.992s
5. Alvaro BAUTISTA (Honda) +21.775s
6. Bradley SMITH (Yamaha) +25.080s
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Ducati) +30.027s
8. Aleix ESPARGARO (ART) +30.324s
9. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati) +45.355s
10. Michele PIRRO (Ducati) +47.142s
11. Hector BARBERA (FTR) +47.824s
12. Randy DE PUNIET (ART) +48.523s
13. Colin EDWARDS (FTR Kawasaki) +54.428
14. Danilo PETRUCCI (Ioda-Suter) +1m00.323s
15. Claudio CORTI (FTR Kawasaki) +1m05.530s
16. Michael LAVERTY (PBM) +1m09.153s
17. Hiroshi AOYAMA (FTR) +1m15.601s
18. Karel ABRAHAM (ART) +1m19.683s
19. Lukas PESEK (Ioda-Suter) +1 Lap
DNF Bryan STARING (FTR Honda) 27 laps
DNF Yonny HERNANDEZ (ART) 1 lap
- Published in MotoGP
German MotoGP: Lorenzo back on top in FP1, Ducati nightmare
German MotoGP: Lorenzo back on top in FP1, Ducati nightmare
Factory Ducati star Andrea Dovizioso has one new chassis this weekend – but it lasted just ten minutes before being thrown down the road in dramatic style at the fearsome turn 11 downhill right-hander, when the Italian lost the front in the cool morning conditions.
Just minutes later team-mate Nicky Hayden, still on the standard machine, saved a massive tank-slapper in almost the same place – using all his dirt track skills to keep control of the bucking machine as it veered onto the grass.
Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone, who has switched to the ‘lab’ bike – newer spec but slightly older than Dovizioso’s frame – then fell through the same section after losing the front at the halfway mark of the 45 minute session.
Iannone’s GP13 flipped repeatedly in the gravel, breaking the swingarm and rear wheel section off!
In the meantime, Lorenzo – who had claimed a shock fifth place in the Assen race, less than two days after surgery – was leading the timesheets. Team-mate Valentino Rossi, winner of the Dutch round, later slotted into second ahead of Honda’s Marc Marquez, a leader early in the session.
Lap times continued to evolve, with Lorenzo setting his best on lap 19 of 20, while Honda’s world championship leader Dani Pedrosa moved into a late second place, just 0.174s from Lorenzo. That bumped Rossi to a close third (+0.194s) and rookie Marquez to fourth (+.350s).
Home star Stefan Bradl made an appearance at the top on his way to fifth for Honda LCR (+0.413s), with Crutchlow sixth for Tech 3 Yamaha and the final rider within one second of Lorenzo.
The Englishman fell heavily at turn one at the very end of the session, sending the triple 2013 podium finisher bouncing through the gravel. Crutchlow was slow to get up but eventually walked away.
Top CRT rider Aleix Espargaro was just 0.594s from Lorenzo on his Aspar Aprilia, with Hayden, Alvaro Bautista (Gresini Honda) and Dovizioso completing the top ten.
Avintia’s Hiroshi Aoyama returned to MotoGP action this morning after suffering finger injuries, including the loss of a fingertip, after falling during practice in Catalunya.
Pedrosa, who leads the standings by nine points from Lorenzo, has won the last three German MotoGPs.
Free practice (1):
1. Jorge Lorenzo
2. Dani Pedrosa
3. Valentino Rossi
4. Marc Marquez
5. Stefan Bradl
6. Cal Crutchlow
7. Aleix Espargaro
8. Nicky Hayden
9. Alvaro Bautista
10. Andrea Dovizioso
11. Randy De Puniet
12. Andrea Iannone
13. Hector Barbera
14. Yonny Hernandez
15. Bradley Smith
16. Michele Pirro
17. Colin Edwards
18. Danilo Petrucci
19. Hiroshi Aoyama
20. Claudio Corti
21. Bryan Staring
22. Michael Laverty
23. Karel Abraham
24. Lukas Pesek
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Valentino Rossi Has the Longest Winning Career in the Premier Class
Valentino Rossi Has the Longest Winning Career in the Premier Class
When it comes to overall wins, Rossi is still well behind the all-time record of 122 victories held by Giacomo Agostini, but if we count the podiums, the Doctor is the rider with the most top 3 placements, with 179 versus Agostini’s 159.
However, the 2013 MotoGP season could bring down Loris Capirossi’s record for the longest time between the first and the last win. Capirossi had 17 years and 49 days between his first and his last GP victories, while Rossi is now at 16 years and 345 days between his inaugural victory in the 125 Czech GP at Brno in 1996 and his latest accolade in the Netherlands at Assen.
If Valentino Rossi wins at Sepang in Malaysia on October 13th, then he will become the rider with the longest win span in the series.
As for the Premier Class, Rossi already has the longest victory span, with 12 years and 355 days spent between his initial 500GP victory at Donington Park in 2000 and the Assen success. With his Dutch victory, Rossi sends Alex Barros down to the second position in this top with 11 years and 204 days, while Phil Read is in the third place with 11 years and 16 days.
Some said the MotoGP was to be boring this year, but it looks like they were so wrong…
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Dovizioso to race new MotoGP Ducati GP13 at the Sachsenring – MotoGP news
Dovizioso to race new MotoGP Ducati GP13 at the Sachsenring – MotoGP news
Andrea Dovizioso will switch to an updated version of Ducati’s Desmosedici GP13 for this weekend’s MotoGP race at the Sachsenring.
The ‘laboratory’ bike has been ridden at select weekends this year by Michele Pirro, and was first offered to the factory riders during a test at Mugello in early June – although Dovizioso was underwhelmed with its improvements and elected not to use it for the recent Dutch TT.
A three-day private test at Misano last week reassured him that the team had made tangible progress with its new bike however.
“We did a good job last week at Misano, so for the first time, Andrea will bring the ‘new’ bike for a race weekend,” team manager Vittoriano Guareschi confirmed.
“It will be very interesting to see how it works at the Sachsenring after the positive impressions he had at Misano.
“As for Nicky [Hayden], he did some good lap times at the test, and he’ll continue with the current bike.
“The Sachsenring is a track where anything can happen, including with the weather, but we head to Germany expecting to do well.”
Dovizioso, who struggled to keep pace with CRT machines and came home a lowly 10th at Assen, said he is looking forward to evaluating the new bike over a race weekend.
“I don’t know how the Sachsenring will be for us; as is the case at many tracks this year, this one will be new for me with the Ducati,” he said.
“It’s a small circuit, but it’s very complicated. I’m not crazy about it, but I’m curious to see how the Desmosedici will go there.
“We knew Assen wasn’t one of the easiest tracks for us, but we certainly didn’t ever expect all the problems we had.
“Still, we go to the Sachsenring as we always do: determined to get the best result possible.”
- Published in MotoGP
Ducati MotoGP & WSBK Test at Misano
Ducati MotoGP & WSBK Test at Misano
These just in from Ducati Corse:
Two further days of testing for Team SBK Ducati Alstare at the Misano circuit
Misano Adriatico (Italy), Thursday 4 July 2013: Team SBK Ducati Alstare was on track at Misano both today and yesterday with its riders Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini for a two-day test session.
Warm and sunny conditions allowed the team to work consistently yesterday while today a rain shower in the early afternoon kept the riders confined to the garage for a couple of hours. Over the two-day period the two Ducati Alstare men were able to complete roughly 150 laps each, recording some interesting times in the process. With work focusing mainly on weight distribution on the bike, riding position, the anti-wheelie system and general set-up, the riders and their technicians are satisfied with the results seen in this week’s testing.
Carlos Checa: “We’ve worked on set-up, my position on the bike, also working to improve some small things with the suspension, the position of the fork etc. I think we’ve worked well but we’ll only see the results once we get to Moscow. I hope we have a good base and that when we arrive in Russia we’ll be able to make small adjustments that will allow me to ride as I have here, and to the best of my ability. I’m very pleased that my shoulder hasn’t really given me any trouble, despite having completed about 1400km on the bike between Imola and Misano, so I hope that chapter is finally closed.”
Ayrton Badovini: “The tests have been positive. Unfortunately we lost some time today due to rain but, apart from that, we’ve worked well and have enjoyed two constructive days. We’ve tried some interesting things, working on the distribution of weight on the bike and with the shock. In the end we found a setting that I like and we confirmed a few things that we’d tried in Imola. I’m happy, though a little tired having ridden on six of the last seven days – I’m heading home now for a bit of a rest!”
Ernesto Marinelli – Ducati SBK project manager: “This test was very important for us. After the difficult weekend in Imola it was essential for Carlos to get back the confidence that he’d lost on the bike and, comforted by the times recorded, I’d say that we’re on the right track. Ayrton continued the positive trend seen in Imola and he too believes that we’re progressing in an encouraging way. We’re aware of how much work is still ahead of us but we – Team, riders and Ducati – are all working flat out. Perseverance should bring us to the finish line.”
Team SBK Ducati Alstare will next take to the track during the upcoming round of the World Superbike Championship that will take place between 19 and 21 July at the Moscow track in Russia.
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Ducati Team concludes test at Misano
The Ducati Team today completed a busy three-day test at Misano. Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden rode on Wednesday and Thursday, whereas Michele Pirro?fresh from his recent substitute rider appearances with Pramac Racing?returned to his role as Ducati Test Team rider, beginning his work on Tuesday and continuing through to today.
Apart from a brief morning rain shower today, the test was marked by good weather, enabling the riders to focus their work, which consisted mainly of carrying out frame comparisons. They also tried some engine developments and looked for a base setup for the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera, which will take place at this track in September.
Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team (105 laps)
“The Misano track is a bit inconsistent for our bike, but coming from Assen, we immediately felt a bit better at this circuit. We worked on the current bike, finding a setup for the Misano race, and then we went ahead with the development of the laboratory bike, trying some new stuff and finding some interesting things. We were able to do nearly two full days of good work, and today we tried a change with the frame. There were some positives, like an improvement with the feeling on corner entry. We must decide what to do; it’s a new part, so we have to understand whether or not we can have it in time for the Sachsenring.”
Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team (158 laps)
“It’s certainly been a useful couple of days. We didn’t make any drastic improvements, but I tried something with a different anti-wheelie solution that worked quite well, and I’m happy about that for the next two tracks, which are maybe the worst two circuits for wheelies on the whole calendar. We lost a bit of time today with the rain, but in the end I did a low 1:34. That’s not a bad lap time, although we’ll certainly have to do better than that when we come here for the race. We did a lot of laps, mainly with the wheelie control and a different fork setting, and we got some good information.”
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Ducati MotoGP team encouraged by Misano test after Assen struggle
Ducati MotoGP team encouraged by Misano test after Assen struggle
Ducati duo Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden felt their troubled team made tangible progress in a three-day test at Misano after its poor Dutch Grand Prix performance.
Dovizioso’s distant 10th place in the race was as good as the Assen weekend got for Ducati, as it struggled not only to match its prototype rivals, but to keep up with the leading CRT bikes in the Netherlands.
But the riders were reassured by the frame developments tried in the Misano test from Tuesday to Thursday this week. Test rider Michele Pirro joined Dovizioso and Hayden for the session.
“The Misano track is a bit inconsistent for our bike, but coming from Assen, we immediately felt a bit better at this circuit,” said Dovizioso.
“We worked on the current bike, finding a set-up for the Misano race, and then we went ahead with the development of the laboratory bike, trying some new stuff and finding some interesting things.
“We were able to do nearly two full days of good work, and today we tried a change with the frame. There were some positives, like an improvement with the feeling on corner entry.”
Dovizioso was unsure whether the upgrades could be raced in next weekend’s German GP.
“We must decide what to do; it’s a new part, so we have to understand whether or not we can have it in time for the Sachsenring,” he said.
The satellite Pramac Ducati team was also testing at Misano, with Moto2 rider Alex de Angelis trying the bike ahead of his MotoGP race return in place of Ben Spies at Laguna Seca.
De Angelis was 1.9 seconds slower than team-mate Andrea Iannone as he got up to speed.
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