Dani #Pedrosa (@Repsol @Honda Team RC213V) rode a superb Grand Prix in front of his home fans at Catalunya this afternoon, finishing third in only his third race since undergoing major surgery to fix arm-pump problems. Sadly, it was a less successful weekend for team-mate and reigning champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) who slid off on the third lap while challenging early leader and eventual winner Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha).
Dani PedrosazoomDani Pedrosa Scott ReddingzoomScott Redding
The typically thrilling Moto3 race was today fought out between six men, with Honda NS250RW riders monopolizing the podium and taking Honda’s fifth win in seven races.
It has been a long and grueling road for MotoGP star Pedrosa who opted to take a short break from racing following the season-opening Qatar GP to undergo radical surgery to fix arm pump. This problem afflicts many modern-day racers; such are the physical demands of riding a 250 horsepower motorcycle with super-grippy tires and carbon brakes.
The former 125 and 250 World Champion qualified sixth yesterday, less than two tenths off pole position but by the end of the first lap he found himself down in tenth on a hot and greasy track that claimed many victims. From there Pedrosa had to keep a cool head and work hard to make rapid progress through the pack. Step by step he picked off rivals, then moved into third on lap seven, from there focusing on consolidating his podium result. He finished behind Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) and five seconds ahead of Andrea Iannone (Ducati).
Fourth-fastest qualifier Marquez, always a fighter by nature, did everything in his power to chase down Lorenzo who had got the holeshot from pole position. By the end of the first lap he was a quarter of a second behind the leader, then he closed the gap to less than two tenths and during lap three he was right on Lorenzo’s rear wheel. But braking into Turn Ten for the third time he got so close to the leader that he had to straighten up to avoid contact and run off the track, which took him into the gravel trap where he toppled over. His race was over.
Scott Redding (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) had a thrilling duel with Maverick Vinales (Suzuki) for sixth position, just behind Bradley Smith (Yamaha). The Briton and the Spaniard passed and repassed, at one stage both of them running off the track at Turn One. Finally Vinales prevailed.
Two of the three Honda Open riders who started the race finished inside the points. MotoGP rookie Jack Miller (CWM LCR Honda RC213V-RS) finished a best-ever 11th, just behind the factory Aprilia of Alvaro Bautista. Irishman Eugene Laverty (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) was not much further behind in 12th, another personal best. Nicky Hayden (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) fell at half-distance.
Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda RC213V), who had been on pole position pace during yesterday’s qualifying session, was an innocent victim of the first-lap melee, going down at Turn Four.
Luckless Karel Abraham (AB Motoracing Honda RC213V-RS) was unfit to start the race following a heavy tumble yesterday which left him with a badly dislocated toe which required surgery.
Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport Kalex) won a brilliant victory in the Honda-powered Moto2 race, steadily working his way forward from fifth on the first lap to bravely snatch the lead from reigning champion Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex) on the last lap at Turn Five. Zarco held on to score his second win of the year by 0.4 seconds from Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex), who inherited second place when Rabat ran wide at Turn Ten on the final lap. Zarco now leads the title chase by 40 points from Rabat, after achieving six successive podiums.
Rabat, winner here last June, led most of the race after taking over from Sam Lowes (Speed Up Racing Speed Up) who briefly got out front during the early stages. However, Lowes didn’t quite have the pace and soon succumbed to Rabat and then Rins.
Rin also got ahead for a couple of laps, so for much of the race the two Spaniards held sway out front, chased by Lowes, who eventually lost third to the charging Zarco. Rins lost his chance of attacking Rabat when he ran wide at Turn Four on the penultimate lap. Lowes meanwhile held on to finish a strong fourth, just 3.9 seconds down on the winner. It was the Briton’s third consecutive fourth-place finish.
The battle for the lower positions were just intense. Rins’s team-mate Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex) just beat Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten Kalex) for fifth.
The next group was headed by Jonas Folger (AGR Team Kalex), who came back from a first-lap collision that left him 14th. The German was followed Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex), Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten Kalex), Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Racing Kalex) and Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex)
Danny Kent (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) won his fourth victory of 2015 in superb style at the end of an ultra-close battle, confirming he is the master of being in the right place at the right time. The World Championship leader topped an all-Honda podium, with five of the top six riding NSF250RW machines.
In the early stages there were nine men in the leading pack, but as the race went on some riders fell off the pace while others just fell off. For the final few laps it was down to six men: Kent, team-mate Efren Vazquez (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW), Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Gresini Moto3 Honda NSF250RW), Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold Honda NSF250RW), Miguel Oliveira (KTM) and Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW).
Once again, Kent proved himself brilliant at gauging how to get the best out of a frantic pack situation. With two laps to go he was at the back of the lead group, but he timed his forward push to perfection, taking the lead on the final lap to beat Bastianini by 0.035 seconds. Vazquez was mere meters behind, followed by Antonelli, Oliveira and Navarro. Just 0.9 seconds covered the top six.
Andrea Locatelli (Junior Team Gresini Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) finished 12th and Fabio Quartararo (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) 14th.
Round eighth of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship is the Dutch TT at Assen, which takes place on Saturday 27th June.
Jack MillerzoomJack Miller Eugene LavertyzoomEugene Laverty
Honda MotoGP rider quotes
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, 3rd“I’m happy and overwhelmed with emotion! It’s been a tough time and I’ve been fighting so hard, but finally I feel fit again and stronger with every race. Today I had a bad start and I tried not to be nervous, because I knew that the race was very long. There were many crashes at the start and I saw that the track was in a delicate condition, so I took it easy for the first three laps to find a reference for each corner. Then I started to progress quite quickly. I overtook several riders and I finished third. It was impossible to follow Jorge and Valentino, because they were far ahead in terms of performance. We will try to pull back the gap a little for the coming races and see if in testing tomorrow we can find something positive – and understand the situation better. I want to thank all the people who have stood by me: my physiotherapist, my family and friends, Dr. Villamor, Jordi Salo and everyone else who has been supporting me. I also want to thank the fans who have sent me messages of encouragement. It has been a long time, but fortunately today at home I was able to recapture the excitement with this podium. I am very grateful to everyone, especially my team, after backing me during this difficult time, they deserve a little happiness!”Scott Redding, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS, 7th“That was definitely one of my best races of the year and I managed to hold onto the second group for a while and that is really positive for me. My hand started to go a little bit numb after 15-laps and I was struggling to release the brake gently but I am happy to finish the race in a positive mood. The track was obviously very tricky in the heat with so many riders crashing, but my feeling in the first laps was not so bad and I’m happy to equal my best result in MotoGP. We have to build on this now and make sure we can finish regularly inside the top ten.Jack Miller, CWM LCR, 11th“We struggled all weekend, so we really had to work hard for it in the race. I got a good start and got in a not so bad group. In the middle section of the race I got into my rhythm and had a few moments; it was slippery out there, so I really struggled with the front. I’m really happy to bring it home after two DNFs. We are learning this year and crashing out of races it not the way to do it. I look forward to the test here to work on the base set-up to be more ready for places like Assen where you really need front feeling. I’m still a rookie and we have so many options to try.”Eugene Laverty, Aspar Team, 12th“Friday started well but yesterday was tough because I had two falls. We lost some confidence and the direction of our work but this morning we improved the bike for the race, so I am satisfied with our result. In warm- session we found an improvement in the front to gain better grip and to better stop the bike with a full tank. But the best thing has been improving our weak point at the end of races, when the tires start to lose grip, which helped me ride safe throughout the race. Tomorrow we have an important test here, where we will try out some new material.”Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, DNF“I tried to give 100 percent at my home race but I made a mistake trying to push too much, as I wanted to do well – at all costs – and these things can happen. I was going well, trying to conserve my tires behind Jorge, but I made a mistake and as a result I ran wide. When I was in the gravel I saw the wall was very close, so I leaned over a little but I couldn’t stop the bike. I was able to ride back to the garage, but I soon realized the gear lever was damaged and I was unable to shift gears. I want to thank the fans who came out today; the best thing about the day was hearing the cheers from them during the three laps I rode.”Cal Crutchlow, CWM LCR, DNF“I’m not happy because today I had the pace for a podium. I’d had a really good pace all weekend on used tires, but I missed the opportunity through no fault of my own – that’s the second time that’s happened in my last three DNFs. Aleix was trying to be the local hero and that was it. I’m not complaining, it was a racing incident, but I missed a great opportunity when I had a good pace.”Nicky Hayden, Aspar Team, DNF“I got a terrible start, there was something wrong with the launch control from the sighting lap. I ran off at Turn Four, had to pick up the bike and gave it too much gas in the gravel, so the traction control detected a fault and killed the engine. The marshals restarted me, so I was going round on my own when the front folded at Turn Five. It’s a shame because I had a similar pace to [Stefan] Bradl. Thanks anyway to the team, they did a great job here.”Karel Abraham, AB Motoracing, DNS“Unfortunately I could not enter the race today. I underwent full anesthesia surgery yesterday afternoon. Doctors returned my dislocated toe back to its original position and fixed it with some special wires, drilled into the bone. I was back to hospital this morning just to check the injury and wanted to try the race. Later I wasn’t permitted to enter the race because within 24 hours of anesthesia you cannot ride. Plus, I assumed there would be still a problem with putting on my boots. I don’t want to make any predictions now about the next race. We’ll see.”
Moto2 rider quotes
Johann Zarco, Ajo Motorsport, race winner“It’s been a perfect weekend. All the time we kept to our target of preparing for the race, so I was strong enough to target victory. I got pushed wide at the first corner but I kept calm and kept my energy. I knew I could do it and step by step I closed the gap. The team is giving me a great bike so I can be confident, but the season is still very long.”Alex Rins, Paginas Amarillas HP 40, 2nd“That was a hard race because of the high temperatures and because of Tito’s very fast pace. I felt very strong on the bike but I made a mistake when I ran wide at the fourth corner on the last but one lap, so I couldn’t try to take Tito and win. But I am happy with my first podium since Argentina, in front of the Spanish fans, and the best thing is that I learned a lot today by riding so close for so long with Tito.”Tito Rabat, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS, 3rd“I made a good start and pushed as hard as I could for the whole race, because I knew how close the chasing pack were. I had a good rhythm and was comfortable at the front, but I ran wide on the last lap allowing both Zarco and Rins past me. There wasn’t enough of the lap left to mount a counterattack, so I had to settle for third. Overall I’m pretty happy with the work we did this weekend and now I’m looking forward to Assen.”
Honda Moto3 rider quotes
Danny Kent, Leopard Racing, race winner“I’m happy because my strategy worked out really well. It was such a tough race because all riders at the front really wanted the victory today. I knew that I had some advantages in the last sectors of the track. Particularly in the infield I was able to pull away by half of a second, but in the end it was impossible to do so. I tried it several times, but as soon as we entered turn one they pulled me back again. During the last four laps I followed them, thinking to let them do their thing, because I knew my strong points and I’ll bounce back during the final lap. At this time the tires dropped pretty much so I had to be focused anyway. But in the end my strategy worked out really well so I’m pleased with this victory. Furthermore thanks to it we extended our championship lead, which was of course very important too. Congratulations and a big thanks to my team.”Enea Bastianini, Junior Team Gresini Moto3, 2nd“I wanted to attack Kent on the last corner, but in the penultimate corner unfortunately I was not able to shift into fourth gear, losing some ground, and in the end I was not so close to try. Too bad, but I’m glad anyway, these 20 points are important for the championship. Today Kent deserved the victory, he was very fast on track. However we’re getting close, we just have to improve a bit in the slower corners. This is the third second place of the season and from one point of view I feel sorry for never having gotten the victory, but the races are like this… Today I gave my maximum as always, but Kent was faster than me and it was almost impossible to beat him.”Efren Vazquez, Leopard Racing, 3rd“First of all today’s third place is a very important result for me to regain confidence after two difficult races in Le Mans and Mugello. Beyond that maybe we had the chance to win this race but finally I wasn’t focused that much in this point because I just tried to keep my performance on the same level during the entire distance and I also was trying to do my best to finish in the top five which would have been a good result for us. However, during the final lap I made a mistake when I was entering turn one in first position. But in the end we collected 16 points for the championship and we have one podium more in our hands now. I think we recovered well and all is set to continue in this way in the next races. I’m pleased with that, thanks a lot to my crew.”
Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez
MotoGP World Championship Grand Prix 2015
Round 07: Catalunya Race
MotoGP Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
F/O
1 Jorge LORENZO (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) F
2 Valentino ROSSI (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) F
3 Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team) F
4 Andrea IANNONE (Ducati Team) F
5 Bradley SMITH (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) F
6 Maverick VIÑALES (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR MotoGP) F
7 Scott REDDING (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) F
8 Stefan BRADL (Athinà Forward Racing) O
9 Danilo PETRUCCI (Pramac Racing) F
10 Alvaro BAUTISTA (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) F
11 Jack MILLER (CWM LCR Honda) O
12 Eugene LAVERTY (Aspar MotoGP Team) O
13 Loris BAZ (Athinà Forward Racing) O
14 Mike Di MEGLIO (Avintia Racing) O
15 Alex DE ANGELIS (Octo IodaRacing Team) F
* F=Factory option, O=Open category
Moto2 Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Johann ZARCO (Ajo Motorsport)
2 Alex RINS (Paginas Amarillas HP 40)
3 Tito RABAT (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
4 Sam LOWES (Speed Up Racing)
5 Luis SALOM (Paginas Amarillas HP 40)
6 Thomas LUTHI (Derendinger Racing Interwetten)
7 Jonas FOLGER (AGR Team)
8 Franco MORBIDELLI (Italtrans Racing Team)
9 Dominique AEGERTER (Technomag Racing Interwetten)
10 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI (Athinà Forward Racing)
11 Alex MARQUEZ (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
12 Mika KALLIO (Italtrans Racing Team)
13 Simone CORSI (Athinà Forward Racing)
14 Hafizh SYAHRIN (Petronas Raceline Malaysia)
15 Julian SIMON (QMMF Racing Team)
Moto3 Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Danny KENT (Leopard Racing)
2 Enea BASTIANINI (Gresini Racing Team Moto3)
3 Efren VAZQUEZ (Leopard Racing)
4 Niccolò ANTONELLI (Ongetta-Rivacold)
5 Miguel OLIVEIRA (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
6 Jorge NAVARRO (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
7 Isaac VIÑALES (Husqvarna Factory Laglisse)
8 Romano FENATI (SKY Racing Team VR46)
9 Brad BINDER (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
10 Philipp OETTL (Schedl GP Racing)
11 Jorge MARTIN (MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA)
12 Andrea LOCATELLI (Gresini Racing Team Moto3)
13 Niklas AJO (RBA Racing Team)
14 Fabio QUARTARARO (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
15 Maria HERRERA (Husqvarna Factory Laglisse)