Magnificent Marquez Rules at Aragon

[totalmotorcycle]

Magnificent @Marquez Rules at #Aragon


Magnificent Marc Marquez (#Repsol #Honda RC213V) stamped his authority on today’s Aragon Grand Prix, recovering from an early near-miss to retake the lead and win the race by almost three seconds. His first victory since July’s German Grand Prix extended his lead in the Riders World Championship to 52 points, at the same time increasing Honda’s advantage in the Constructors World Championship to 13 points. There are now four races left of the 18-event championship.


Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez
This has been a great weekend for Honda, with Marquez topping three out of the four free practice sessions, taking pole position in qualifying, leading this morning’s warm-up session and then winning the race. The only outing he didn’t dominate was Friday afternoon’s FP2 session, when Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) set the pace.

Pedrosa, winner at Misano two weeks ago, finished today’s race in sixth place while struggling with front-tire issues. The former 125cc and 250cc World Champion crossed the line less than four seconds behind Czech GP winner Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V).

The combined result of Marquez and Pedrosa also keeps the Repsol Honda team ahead in the Teams World Championship. And to complete Honda’s Aragon joy, the first race of the day – the highly competitive Moto3 event – was won by Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW).

Marquez came out best of the frantic first few laps of the MotoGP race, but then lost the front on lap three, saving a crash with his cat-like reactions. That scare dropped the 23-year-old Spaniard to fifth place, but he stayed cool, calm and collected and step by step made his way back towards the front, making a series of astonishing passes in the middle of the turn 14/15 chicane.

He finally took the lead from Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) at that same point at half-distance. From there he was able to make the break and establish an unbeatable lead, getting the maximum from his tire choice: a hard/asymmetric front and hard rear. This was the youngster’s 28th MotoGP win and, remarkably, his first success on Spanish asphalt since his victory in the 2014 Valencia Grand Prix.

Crutchlow, a three-time podium finisher in recent GPs, had another excellent Sunday, battling hard with Pedrosa and several other rivals for much of the race, before finally moving ahead into fifth and consolidating his position as top independent-team rider. The Briton’s latest result promotes him to fifth in the World Championship standings, ahead of factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso.

Pedrosa battled with Crutchlow during the early stages until a front-tire issue forced him to ease his pace. He came home in sixth to preserve his fourth place in the overall Riders World Championship.

Honda’s 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nick Hayden (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) did himself and Honda proud by taking the final point for 15th, in a one-off ride substituting for the injured Jack Miller. Hayden currently competes in the World series for the Ten Kate Honda team.

MotoGP’s only rookie Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) had another tough day. He was just ahead of temporary team-mate Hayden when he crashed out.

Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 Kalex) totally dominated the Honda-powered Moto2 race, leading from halfway through the first lap all the way to the finish to beat Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0.0 Marc VDS Kalex) by more than three seconds.

But the younger Marquez brother was delighted with second place, because this was the former Moto3 World Champion’s first podium result in Moto2. And the 20-year-old won the position at the very last corner, fighting back on the inside to retake the runner-up spot from hard-charging team-mate Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0.0 Marc VDS Kalex). At the flag the pair were just 0.032 seconds apart.

Silverstone winner Thomas Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten Kalex) was a close fourth, comfortably ahead of Assen winner Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex).

Although there was no doubting the brilliance of Lowes’ second victory of the season (after his first at Jerez), much of the attention during the race was focused on the battle for sixth place which involved World Championship contenders Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex) and Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport Kalex), with Misano winner Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Team Kalex) between them. Rins won the three-way duel ahead of Baldassarri, with Zarco just behind in eighth place.

That result reduced Zarco’s championship advantage over Rins to just one point with four races to go; just a few races ago the Frenchman had been more than 30 points ahead. Lowes’ latest success also makes him an outside championship contender once again, albeit 40 points behind Zarco.

Simone Corsi (Speed Up Speed Up) and Brno winner Jonas Folger (Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex) completed the top ten in the race, in which all riders use identically prepared CBR600 engines.

Young Spanish star Navarro got race day off to a thrilling start with a stunning victory in a breath-taking Moto3 encounter. The 20-year-old Spaniard was one of three NSF250RW riders in the top-four finishers who were covered by less than two tenths of a second!

The race was superbly entertaining from start to finish, with positions changing at every corner as riders used their lightweight Moto3 machines to stunning effect around the twisting section of the Aragon track that meanders up and down the hill near the pits.

Until the last few laps the lead pack consisted of up to 11 riders; then Navarro, Brad Binder (KTM), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) broke away to dispute the lead among themselves.

At the start of the last lap the Honda men were first, second and third, but Binder fought back to grab second, crossing the line just three hundredths of a second behind Navarro to become the first World Champion of motorcycle racing’s 67th Grand Prix season.

Navarro and Binder were joined on the podium by Bastianini, who finished just seven hundredths of a second. Seventeen-year-old Di Giannantonio was fourth, just five hundredths off the podium!

Teenage rookie Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) was in the lead group until the final stages. He finished seventh, just 1.9 seconds behind Navarro. Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold Honda NSF250RW) picked up two points in 14th.

The MotoGP circus reconvenes at Motegi for the Japanese Grand Prix on October 16th, with the Australian and Malaysian races following on consecutive Sundays. The season concludes at Valencia, Spain, On November 13th.


Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez Cal Crutchlow, Dani PedrosazoomCal Crutchlow, Dani Pedrosa

Honda MotoGP Rider Quotes
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 1st“I’m very happy to have taken the win at a home Grand Prix, and one of my favorite races. I was waiting for this GP, it was a ‘red point’ on the calendar for me, as I saw it as one where I wanted to attack and where I could win the race. It was an important victory, but nothing is finished yet. I said yesterday that something can always happen in a race, and it was a miracle that I didn’t crash today when I almost lost it in turn 7. That was when I decided to relax a little and go back to my mentality from practice of riding precisely and braking in the right places. All this made for a more entertaining race, with many overtaking moves at the start, and a second part in which I was able to open a gap to Valentino [Rossi], which was important. He had gone several races gaining points on us, and we wanted to stop that trend, because otherwise it would boost his morale and perhaps create doubts for us. Now we leave Aragon with a larger advantage and more convinced ahead of the flyaways. I was very happy on the podium, but the most emotional moment for me today was when [brother] Alex scored his first Moto2 podium. That was really special for me.”Cal Crutchlow, LCR Honda: 5th“I knew if I didn’t start from the front row then I’d get stuck behind a few guys and that’s what happened, so I lost a few positions. And once you’ve lost the front guys here, you’re never getting it back. It took me a long time to battle through the group I was with – I passed Dani three times, I think, but each time I blew the corner. Also, it took me a long time to get the rear tire to work, I couldn’t get any drive for the first few laps and that made me overheat the front on the brakes. I’m happy enough – it wasn’t a bad race but it wasn’t a great, great race. I wanted more!”Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 6th“Unfortunately, we didn’t have a good result today, as we had a very difficult race. I didn’t have grip since the beginning of the race; I couldn’t exit the corners with good speed, and that turned out to be my biggest problem in the opening laps. I couldn’t open the throttle out of the corner and I lost ground on the front guys. I tried to manage in the best way possible, but a few laps later I started to have an issue with front tire as well. I started feeling a vibration, and when I finished the race it was clear there was some problem there. I tried to fight with Crutchlow but I had to slow down my pace. It was a shame but now we must look forward.”Nicky Hayden, EG 0,0 Marc VDS: 15th“I would have to say that the race was my best part of the weekend. I underestimated on Friday how long it would take to get up to speed with the package, particularly with the Michelin tires and certainly the front tire. I started too far behind on Friday but in the race I was able to have a battle with Pirro, Barbera and Laverty who were all two seconds faster than me on the first day. I got a good start and really enjoyed battling with a few guys and the more laps I made the better I felt. I wish it was like World Superbikes and we got another chance to line up because I think with the experience gained I could do a better job. But all of us on the grid think like that. I’d hoped I’d come here and be more on the pace on Friday but that didn’t happen. I knew it was a just a one-off ride and I knew it was going to be extremely difficult with no testing but I came and gave it my all. It has been a good experience and I want to thank Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS for this opportunity. I was proud to work with such a great team.”Tito Rabat, EG 0,0 Marc VDS: DNF“My confidence wasn’t that high for the race after the crash in the cool conditions this morning in the warm-up. I made a bad start and I was pretty cautious in the first two laps because I was worried about a lack of feeling from the front tire. Once I got in my rhythm I felt quite comfortable and was improving my pace but once again I lost the front and crashed. It is very disappointing because I could have finished inside the points today. It is clear we have to make some changes to improve the feeling with the front because I crashed losing the front three times in Misano and the same again here in Aragon. It means something is wrong and we have to keep working to find a solution because I am running out of leathers!”
Honda Moto2 Rider Quotes
Sam Lowes, Federal Oil Gresini Moto2: 1st“To get pole and the win is really enjoyable – I worked hard all weekend, doing lots of long runs. In the race I got to the front as soon as I could and tried to get into a good rhythm. I’ve had some problems in the last races, I’ve made too many mistakes, which I accept. Now I feel confident on the bike and the other top guys haven’t had super-fantastic results at the last races. I’m still 40 points behind Johann, so that’s a big difference, but we had a good test recently and we’ll go into the last few races to do our best and have some fun.”Alex Marquez, Estrella Galicia 0.0 Marc VDS: 2nd“I am really happy to finally be on the podium now in my second season in Moto2, last year was not easy for me. I know that a result like this can really build my confidence so this is an important moment for me. At the beginning of the race I felt really good and was able to follow the pace of Sam Lowes. At the end I was struggling a little with rear grip and it was difficult but I was prepared for Franco when I saw him inside on the final corner. I want to thank the team for believing in me; I know it is not easy when a rider has had a lot of crashes. Now I want to keep this level for the next race in Japan.”Franco Morbidelli, Estrella Galicia 0.0 Marc VDS: 3rd“I had just one chance to try and overtake Alex and it was at the final corner on the last lap and it was a great feeling to arrive to him because I was far behind early in the race. My start position was not the best and this was a pity because I had the race pace but I’m happy because this result shows the team is capable of being constantly at the top level.”
Honda Moto3 Rider Quotes
Jorge Navarro, Estrella Galicia 0,0: 1st“Today we had the typical Moto3 race at MotorLand, where slipstreaming plays an important role and the group at the beginning of race is very large. On the first few laps I tried to push and even gained a slight advantage over my rivals, but I saw that it was not enough and decided to slow down my pace, waiting for others to pass me so that I could save the tires. At the end, with five laps to go, I decided it was time to attack as the group grew and [Brad] Binder began to push hard. I pushed as well and I went with them, following my strategy of going onto the back straight in second. There, [Brad] Binder surprised me, because he passed both me and Bastianini, but on the last corner I said to myself that this race was ours, and got through. Achieving victory at ‘home’ is huge. It was a fun race and I congratulate Brad Binder on his title. He has worked hard and is having a great season.”Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing Moto3: 3rd“In the early laps of the race I was in the lead along with Navarro and we pushed a lot in an attempt to pull a gap on the other riders. I noticed on the big screen that we were opening a little gap, so I followed Jorge without disturbing him, letting him do his pace. Binder and other riders, however, managed to come back in, so at that point I decided to relax and to preserve tires, still trying to remain always in the top three positions to avoid risking too much. I knew that Binder was very fast on the long straight before the final corner, but on the last lap I saw that behind me there was Navarro, so I pushed hard to try to gain a few meters, thinking that perhaps Jorge would not be as fast as Binder. Binder managed to pass me and Jorge at the end of the straight though, taking an outside line. I gave my best taking the inside line, but I was already at the limit with the bike that was moving a lot and so it was not possible to win. Too bad, we are often fighting for victory but for some reason we have not yet managed to take one this season: we must continue to work hard to succeed!”Fabio Di Giannantonio, Gresini Racing Moto3: 4th“We rode a fantastic race, I would say perfect: too bad only for the final lap! Honestly my strategy was not the best, so I found myself a bit too far to launch a final attack to the three riders in front of me and as a result we had to settle for fourth place. I’m really happy for this result, but missing out on podium leaves a little bitter taste in the mouth. At the start I was in traffic, but I was able to emerge and set up my rhythm: taking the reference of the leading group in front of me I could ride fast, with lap times similar to those obtained in qualifying, therefore in a few laps I was able to reach them. At that point I decided to stay calm to have some rest and save tires. In the end I really gave all, but it went like this and as I said we are still happy with the result and for the excellent performance.”
Sam LoweszoomSam Lowes

MotoGP World Championship Grand Prix 2016
Round 14: Aragon Race
MotoGP Class


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Marc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team)
2 Jorge LORENZO (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
3 Valentino ROSSI (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
4 Maverick VIÑALES (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR)
5 Cal CRUTCHLOW (LCR Honda)
6 Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team)
7 Aleix ESPARGARO (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR)
8 Pol ESPARGARO (Monster Yamaha Tech 3)
9 Alvaro BAUTISTA (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini)
10 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini)
11 Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Ducati Team)
12 Michele PIRRO (Ducati Team)
13 Hector BARBERA (Avintia Racing)
14 Eugene LAVERTY (Pull & Bear Aspar Team)
15 Nicky HAYDEN (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)

Moto2 Class


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Sam LOWES (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2)
2 Alex MARQUEZ (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
3 Franco MORBIDELLI (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
4 Thomas LUTHI (Garage Plus Interwetten)
5 Takaaki NAKAGAMI (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia)
6 Alex RINS (Paginas Amarillas HP 40)
7 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI (Forward Team)
8 Johann ZARCO (Ajo Motorsport)
9 Simone CORSI (Speed Up Racing)
10 Jonas FOLGER (Dynavolt Intact GP)
11 Xavier SIMEON (QMMF Racing Team)
12 Mattia PASINI (Italtrans Racing Team)
13 Sandro CORTESE (Dynavolt Intact GP)
14 Hafizh SYAHRIN (Petronas Raceline Malaysia)
15 Marcel SCHROTTER (AGR Team)

Moto3 Class


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Jorge NAVARRO (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
2 Brad BINDER (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
3 Enea BASTIANINI (Gresini Racing Moto3)
4 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO (Gresini Racing Moto3)
5 Joan MIR (Leopard Racing)
6 Jorge MARTIN (Gaviota Mahindra ASPAR)
7 Aron CANET (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
8 Gabriel RODRIGO (RBA Racing Team)
9 Juanfran GUEVARA (RBA Racing Team)
10 Philipp OETTL (Schedl GP Racing)
11 Andrea MIGNO (SKY Racing Team VR46)
12 Fabio QUARTARARO (Leopard Racing)
13 John MCPHEE (Peugeot MC Saxoprint)
14 Niccolò ANTONELLI (Ongetta-Rivacold)
15 Bo BENDSNEYDER (Red Bull KTM Ajo)