Another Double-Top for Honda as Marquez Wins Again

[totalmotorcycle]

Another Double-Top for #Honda as #Marquez Wins Again


#Repsol Honda RC213V riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa repeated their one-two result at today’s Czech Republic GP at Brno, finishing in the same order as at Indianapolis one week ago, and improving their championship standing over third-placed Jorge Lorenzo.

Marc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team), Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team)zoomMarc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team),
Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team) Marc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team)zoomzoomDani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team)
The trio were spread by almost six seconds at Indy. Brno was much closer, and fierce from the first lap to the end. Marquez's Honda was 0.313 seconds ahead of team-mate Pedrosa, with Lorenzo less than two seconds behind – a feast of action for more than 142,000 fans packing the hillsides of the fast and scenic 5.403km (3.357-mile) circuit.

The battle raged throughout a thrilling 22 laps, during which spots of light rain brought out white flags (giving permission to change bikes if necessary) and hiked the tension even higher.

It stayed dry, however, as the Hondas battled with long-time leader Lorenzo's Yamaha.

The defending champion seized the lead from the second row of the grid, with third qualifier Marquez and fourth-fastest Pedrosa on his back wheel. The pre-eminent trio soon outpaced the pursuit, but remained locked in battle.

Marquez waited until the 16th lap before mounting his attack. He succeeded with a forceful move, only for Lorenzo to fight back in front two laps later. But it lasted only one lap before the 20-year-old reigning Moto2 champion reversed the positions finally.

Now it was Pedrosa's turn, and he too was successful in disposing of his long-standing rival. He closed right up on Marquez again, but ran out of time to mount a final attack.

It was star rookie Marquez's fourth win in a row, and his fifth this season. The last rider to win four consecutive races was Valentino Rossi in 2008, his last championship year, and the feat has never been achieved by a class rookie, none of whom has won five races either. Marquez has finished on the rostrum at every race this year bar one, crashing out of the Italian GP while lying second.

Marquez now has a cushion of more than one race win with a World Championship lead of 26 points over Pedrosa. The older rider had led the table until the German GP, where he was put out of the race after breaking his collarbone in practice – leaving the way open for the first of Marquez's consecutive victories.

Since then Pedrosa has been racing injured, bravely maintaining his own lead over Lorenzo in spite of the pain. He is 18 points clear, and his condition is improving race by race, in spite of an intensive restart to the season after the summer break. Brno was the middle of three races in three weekends, with the British GP at Silverstone next weekend. After the race Pedrosa said that this was the first time since he crashed that he could fight in the race rather than simply enduring the pain to finish.

Alvaro Bautista was the next-best Honda rider, finishing fifth, less than a tenth of a second behind Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) after the pair had duelled for much of the race – a repeat of their battle a week before at Indianapolis.

The Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V rider had qualified second, and was trading blows with Rossi to the end. The multi-champion only regained fourth on the final lap, with Bautista attacking to the end. The Spanish racer has a dual role with Honda, also race-developing Showa suspension and Nissin brakes, the only rider to use the Japanese equipment made by Honda associates.

German LCR Honda RC213V rider Stefan Bradl was sixth, after a lonely ride. Bradl claimed a career-best pole and second place two races ago at Laguna Seca, but found grip and confidence elusive at the difficult Brno circuit.

Australian grand prix first-timer Bryan Staring (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) was 20th on the Honda CBR1000RR-powered CRT machine, fighting to the end with Czech ART rider and former Moto2 GP winner Karel Abraham.

Tension lasted from the first lap to the last in the 20-lap Moto2 race. First-time winner in the all-Honda-powered class was Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), breaking away only in the last two laps from a seven-strong group.

Kallio had led from the third lap from pole qualifier Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex), but had plenty of opposition as first Nico Terol (Aspar Team Moto2) took over for three laps; and later Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing). With three laps to go Kallio regained the lead, and by the finish managed to stay almost six-tenths of a second clear.

Nakagami was second, for a second race in a row, and Luthi third.

Inches behind the battle continued to the flag. Title contender Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) managed to hang on to fourth ahead of Frenchman Johann Zarco (Came Ioda racing Project Suter) and Terol; with Indianapolis winner Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) still close at the finish.

The race was a struggle for points leader Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), fighting in the front group until half distance, before dropping back with tyre chatter issues. He hung on for eighth, fending off a strong attack from Simone Corsi (NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up) and Sachsenring winner Jordi Torres (Aspar Team Moto2), who lost touch on the final lap.

Redding's points lead shrank from 26 to 21 as Espargaro slowly closes up, with seven rounds remaining.

Moto2 machines use identical race-tuned Honda CBR600 engines supplied by the organisers to guarantee close and reliable racing. In the Moto3 class, Honda faces rival manufacturers KTM and Mahindra.

Brno brought the best result of the year to the Honda hordes, with experienced French rider Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda) qualifying on the front row, and finishing a close sixth, barely three seconds behind a close top five after catching and running with the leaders. Masbou is suffering from a broken scaphoid in his left wrist, the legacy of an old injury, and pain at the end meant he narrowly lost touch.

Masbou had displaced Australian Jack Miller (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda) from the front row in practice, and finished ahead of him in the race, and now equals him in the World Championship, where they each have 56 points as the most successful Honda riders.

Miller finished a gritty seventh in the race, losing touch with the leaders in the later laps. The teenager broke his collarbone at Indianapolis a week ago, had surgery the next day, and was racing despite the inevitable pain. He made a flying start from the second row, and was up to fifth before tyre grip issues forced him to slow.

Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 FTR Honda) was tenth in the next big group disputing eighth place; with Alessandro Tonucci (La Fonte Tascaracing FTR Honda) a close 12th, after displacing fast-starting John Mcphee (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda) on the final lap.

Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing Suter Honda) is third in the championship, but crashed out at Brno after another rider fell under his wheels. The Honda chase was left to Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda), 18th, with Alan Techer (CIP Moto3 TSR Honda) and Matteo Ferrari (Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR Honda) right on his back wheel in 19th and 20th.

The next race is the British GP at Silverstone in one week.

Alvaro BAUTISTA (GO&FUN Honda Gresini)zoomAlvaro BAUTISTA (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) Stefan BRADL (LCR Honda MotoGP)zoomStefan BRADL (LCR Honda MotoGP)

MotoGP
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: race winner“I'm so happy! Before we came here I didn't expect to win, because Jorge and Valentino had both tested at Brno recently and Dani is always so fast here and won the race last year. It is a completely different track from those at which we have raced before, and these 25 points feel different to Indianapolis. This was a very hard fought win and I enjoyed myself a lot. The battle with Jorge was really good and we are pleased with the victory. Thanks to all the team.”Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2nd“I am very happy with the result, generally speaking, because after all the problems with my injury and the doubts we've had at the last few races, we took a big step forward with my mental preparation today. We were more ready to win here, despite not being 100 percent. Unfortunately, our strategy was not the best. I had problems overtaking throughout the race, because I couldn't brake late and was always the third rider in the trio at the front. I think that I made my final attack one lap too late. If I had passed Jorge one lap earlier, maybe I would have been in with a chance of the victory. In any case, we had the right attitude of attacking until the end and gaining ground on Marc. I just needed another lap in order to catch him. We will try again next time. I want to thank the team for the great job that they did this weekend.”Alvaro Bautista, GO&FUN Honda Gresini, 5th“Once again I had the chance to finish ahead of Rossi, but I ended up just 0.077 behind him at the line. However, I am happy because we had a good race and ran a fast pace that was better than in practice. I had a lot more confidence in the bike today. It was a nice battle with Rossi and maybe he just had a little more than I did at the end. We're going in the right direction, continuing with what we started at Laguna Seca two races ago; this is very important. Last year we didn't have a great feeling at Brno, but this year we went well which confirms that things are getting better. We hope to continue like this, because that way I can carry on enjoying myself alongside the Team, Honda, GO & FUN, Showa and Nissin.”Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 6th“The sixth position is not that bad considering the whole weekend but I really wanted to be faster. We could not improve the bike as I would like because I had many problems with the edge grip on right and left sides of the rear tyre. I had to fight to pick up the bike to get a little bit of drive out of the corner to accelerate. I tried many things to save the rear tyre during the race but here, with these long corners, you have to carry the corner speed and, at the beginning, I was behind Rossi and Smith and I saw they could carry more corner speed. We wanted to stay with Rossi and Bautista but I was not capable to keep that speed. Let's move to Silverstone to keep working.”Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini, 20th“We went a little better than in practice and we suffered a little less with the chattering problem, but the result was not what we were hoping to achieve this weekend. Unfortunately at the end the tyre performance dropped off and I was unable to ride as I had in the first part of the race. It is a shame, because after the problems in practice we were not able to get a good race result.”
Moto2
Mika Kallio, Marc VDS Racing Team, race winner“My last win was five years ago at Donington, so this has been a long time coming. It's hard to explain how it feels to win again. Even if I don't show it on the outside, on the inside it was a great feeling, especially on the last lap when I knew I could win. It was a hard race, but I knew if I could get to the front and then make no mistakes in the last two laps then the win was on, so that's what I did. Exiting the last corner I could see the chequered flag and I thought; ‘I've done it'. It was such a great feeling. The team has worked hard all season, everything came together for us this weekend and the race went exactly to plan. It doesn't get much better than that.”Takaaki Nakagami, Italtrans Racing Team, 2nd“Yesterday I had a really good feeling on bike and I was confident after qualifying on pole. Today the conditions were really different, and I was just not comfortable. The race was difficult. At the beginning I could lead, but then it was a struggle. At the end I just did not have the strength to overtake Kallio. I am a little bit disappointed, but in another way it was a good race. I take the positive things, and we will see what happens at the next race.”Thomas Luthi, Interwetten Paddock Moto2, 3rd“I am happy – it was a good day. After qualifying eighth place, I knew I could go faster as the race pace is not so high. At the beginning there were some tough moves, and once I had to drive over the kerbs. After two three laps I realised that I can make good pace, because I was good on the brakes. I started to overtake, and the more I moved forward the clearer and more orderly was the race. In the warm-up this morning, we managed to improve our set-up, but we still had problems with tyre chatter. This eventually was my undoing, because Mika attacked in the corners where I had problems. I led two laps at the end, but it was not quite enough. But there is a clear upward trend and I can fight again. That is what we can take the next race in Silverstone.”
Moto3
Alexis Masbou, Ongetta-Rivacold, 6th“It was the first time I could start with the front group – this has been our problem at every race so far. So I thought: ‘Okay, now we need to show we can do a good race'. The first part I was cool, stayed with the group, saved the tyre. After the mid-point I was behind another rider and we lost touch a little, but I could get past and close up again. That was okay, and I thought I could gain more places … but at the end the pain in my wrist was too much. Even without that, with the fast uphill straight, I am not sure it could have been different.”Jack Miller, Caretta Technology RTG, 7th“The race was good and I was with the leaders, but I was having to do too many short bursts, dropping back then catching up again. With ten laps gone the tyre was just destroyed, and it was a matter of trying to finish. My collarbone was quite good – it hurt a bit, but didn't affect me. It was all down to tyre wear. We chose the soft option, so I think we need to be a bit smarter with tyre choice. But I'm happy to get some points.”Niccolo Antonelli, GO&FUN Gresini Moto3, 10th“I am fairly satisfied. In the race I think I could even have finished in a better position, but I preferred not to take the risk. It was more important to bring the bike home and finish the race, so I rode a more prudent race. I hope that this brings us the confidence to do well at the next one.”

Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team), Marc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team)zoomDani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team),
Marc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team)

MotoGP World Championship Grand Prix
Round 11: Czech Republic

MotoGP


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Marc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team)
2 Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team)
3 Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha Factory Racing)
4 Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha Factory Racing)
5 Alvaro BAUTISTA (GO&FUN Honda Gresini)
6 Stefan BRADL (LCR Honda MotoGP)
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Ducati Team)
8 Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati Team)
9 Andrea IANNONE (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing)
10 Aleix ESPARGARO (Power Electronics Aspar)
11 Colin EDWARDS (NGM Mobile Forward Racing)
12 Michele PIRRO (Ignite Pramac Racing)
13 Danilo PETRUCCI (Came IodaRacing Project)
14 Hiroshi AOYAMA (Avintia Blusens)
15 Randy DE PUNIET (Power Electronics Aspar)

Moto2


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Mika KALLIO (Marc VDS Racing Team)
2 Takaaki NAKAGAMI (Italtrans Racing Team)
3 Thomas LUTHI (Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing)
4 Pol ESPARGARO (Tuenti HP 40)
5 Johann ZARCO (Came Iodaracing Project)
6 Nicolas TEROL (Aspar Team Moto2)
7 Esteve RABAT (Tuenti HP 40)
8 Scott REDDING (Marc VDS Racing Team)
9 Simone CORSI (NGM Mobile Racing)
10 Jordi TORRES (Aspar Team Moto2)
11 Xavier SIMEON (Maptag SAG Zelos Team)
12 Danny KENT (Tech 3)
13 Dominique AEGERTER (Technomag carXpert)
14 Mattia PASINI (NGM Mobile Racing)
15 Toni ELIAS (Blusens Avintia)

Moto3


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Luis SALOM (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
2 Maverick VIÑALES (Team Calvo)
3 Jonas FOLGER (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3)
4 Alex RINS (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
5 Alex MARQUEZ (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
6 Alexis MASBOU (Ongetta-Rivacold)
7 Jack MILLER (Caretta Technology - RTG)
8 Jakub KORNFEIL (Redox RW Racing GP)
9 Miguel OLIVEIRA (Mahindra Racing)
10 Niccolò ANTONELLI (GO & FUN Gresini Moto3)
11 Efren VAZQUEZ (Mahindra Racing)
12 Alessandro TONUCCI (La Fonte Tascaracing)
13 John MCPHEE (Caretta Technology - RTG)
14 Arthur SISSIS (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
15 Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN (Red Bull KTM Ajo)