@Honda #MotoGP #rider Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) suffered a setback to his hopes of fighting back to a third straight title in today’s British Grand Prix, crashing out while fighting for the lead after 12 of 20 laps.
Dani PedrosazoomDani Pedrosa Dani PedrosazoomDani Pedrosa
Second factory rider Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) survived the difficult conditions to take a second successive fifth place.
Notoriously treacherous Silverstone weather interrupted the start of the MotoGP race, delayed by 20 minutes as rain fell. It began in full wet conditions over full distance, and the rain grew heavier towards the end.
By lap two, winner Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) had taken a lead he would hold to the end; but Marquez was on his back wheel. The pair circulated in close company for more than half the race as Marquez awaited his chance.
But luck went the other way for the reigning double MotoGP World Champion at the start of lap 13. Marquez slipped off at the first corner and was unable to re-join the race. At the past few Grands Prix the former 125 and Moto2 champion had staged an exciting fight-back after a difficult start to the year, however, today’s tumble leaves him a difficult but not insurmountable 77 points behind championship leader Rossi.
With the Ducatis of Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso taking the other podium places, erstwhile championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) was fourth, after a long battle with fifth-placed Pedrosa. The older factory Honda rider is also on the come-back trail, after missing three races for surgery, and today’s 11 points reduced the gap to fifth overall as he gradually climbs up the championship order.
With visibility poor and the track slippery, the early laps were fraught as riders battled to get clear of the spray.
Scott Redding (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V), one of two satellite team riders also campaigning the Factory Option Honda, was swamped in the early laps, but the Englishman came through strongly in the later stages to finish a career-best sixth.
The conditions brought disaster to the similarly mounted Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V), on only the third lap. He had started strongly and was poised to join the podium battle when his team-mate Jack Miller (LCR Honda RC213V-RS) misjudged his braking for one of the track’s few slow corners. Miller collided with Crutchlow, and the team-mates were out of the race.
Three other riders campaign the Open-spec Honda, and Honda’s 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) was the best today, with 12th place moving him ahead of Miller in the championship table.
His team-mate Eugene Laverty (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) finished 17th, and Czech racer Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RC213V-RS) 19th, in his second race back from injury.
The all-Honda Moto2 race was the first of the day, and the riders acted as pioneers for the fickle weather. Runaway title leader Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport Kalex) judged the conditions best, with a fifth win of the year to further extend his massive overall lead.
The race started wet, but before half the 18 laps were run the track had dried, and over-stressed wet weather tires were already shedding chunks of rubber.
Zarco had bided his time and nursed his tires in the early laps as top rookie Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex) held the lead, then moved past and immediately drew comfortably clear, taking a record 11th podium finish for the class.
Rins fought hard to escape from defending champion Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex), who came back from a heavy crash yesterday and finally got the better of class-rookie team-mate Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex). Double race winner Jonas Folger (AGR Team Kalex) was fifth.
Home race pole qualifier Sam Lowes (Speed Up Racing Speed Up) was swamped in the early laps, but fought back through for sixth, finally outpacing wet-weather specialist Anthony West (QMMF Racing Team Speed Up), the Australian’s best finish of the season. Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex) was close behind, and in the last lap earlier front-runner Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten Kalex) overcame his tire problems to regain ninth from Ricky Cardus (Tech 3 Tech 3).
Zarco’s continuing domination stretched his points lead to 85 over new second-place man Rins, with Rabat three more points behind.
Moto3, the last and wettest race of the day, brought a sixth win and an extended championship lead to the best of Honda’s dozen contenders, Danny Kent (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW).
Honda took five of the top six positions in a crash-strewn race, with only 20 finishers of 36 starters. The interloper up front was second-placed Jakub Kornfeil (KTM) who finished narrowly ahead of Brno winner Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold Honda NSF250RW), who had come storming through from 17th on lap one.
A long way behind, Fabio Quartararo (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) managed to fend off Indy winner Livio Loi (RW Racing GP Honda NSF250RW) for fourth; with John McPhee (SaxoPrint RTG Honda NSF250RW) a close sixth.
Efren Vazquez (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) was ninth, and Alexis Masbou (SaxoPrint RTG Honda NSF250RW) 11th, making two more Hondas in the points.
Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Gresini Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) hurt his championship chances by crashing out, after having closed up on Kent over the last two races. First-time pole qualifier Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) slid off on the first lap.
Kent’s maximum score lifted him 70 points clear of non-finisher Bastianini, who lies second overall.
The next race is the San Marino & Rimini Riviera Grand Prix in two weeks.
Scott ReddingzoomScott Redding Nicky HaydenzoomNicky Hayden
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team: 5th“To be honest, it was not a good day. I had a strange feeling with the bike in the rain; we did not have much grip and it was very delicate to ride. I made a mistake at the start because I didn’t get off the line well, and after that I never found a good pace either. I tried to do my best but the feeling was not good; I’m quite unhappy with the last few results. We will try to push harder at the next race at Misano to see if we can catch up, and be higher up the order than in recent races.”Scott Redding, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS: 6th“I always said that if I could get my best result here I’d be happy. I know that a lot of people crashed in the race but this is how it is sometimes. I struggled in the beginning; I just didn’t quite have the feeling I needed. Maybe I was a bit stiff and tense but I just couldn’t find the grip and the guys around me were able to drive away from me out of the turns. But after eight or nine laps I finally found a good rhythm and started to take more risks as I got the feeling with the bike back. Then I started to close in on Bradley, Aleix and Pol and when I got past I didn’t feel too bad at all. I wasn’t too comfortable in the rain this morning, but I took a risk in the race and it paid off. Overall, I’m happy with today’s result.”Nicky Hayden, Aspar Team: 12th“It’s never easy in those conditions. In the end I think we were all very lucky that it did actually rain and we didn’t have to start that race with mixed weather. At any track these conditions are never good but this track is so long and fast that I don’t think anyone was looking forward to going out with carbon brakes and slicks. I had a pretty good race: 12th wasn’t great and I lost two places in the last laps but in the middle of the race I had a really good pace going. Two factory bikes passed me literally with a lap to go. A top ten would have been great but the track changed towards the end and these electronics made it very difficult.”Eugene Laverty, Aspar Team: 17th“We had a bit of wet practice but I didn’t find a good feeling. I really struggled with it this morning and then in the afternoon. I’ve never pushed that hard in the rain. That was probably the best wet race I’ve ever ridden. I pushed in every corner but we lost so much on exit. I was gaining in corner entry but on exit I had no grip and the bike was nervous. I know I pushed the bike to the limit … but to ride that hard and not be in the points... We have to change something!”Karel Abraham, Cardion AB Motoracing: 19th“Everything was wrong today. The track was slippery. The rear part of the bike was not stable at all when accelerating and all riders were faster when leaving turns. The bike was nervous a lot and the vibration made my foot even more painful. The only conclusion is that we made it through the finish line and without a crash. That’s all. I hope everything will be OK in Misano.”Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team: DNF“The World Championship situation was already complicated before this Grand Prix, and now it is even more difficult, but it is also true that this was a race where we had to take a risk. I felt I had the race under control and I crashed out. It means zero points, but the fact that we were back up at the front again was the positive side of today.”Cal Crutchlow, LCR: DNF“Obviously I’m really disappointed, we could have done a great race today. I thought I had the pace to be with the winner. I felt really comfortable this morning in the rain and I felt really comfortable in the race, but these things happen. Jack is young, he was near to the front in a MotoGP race and made an ambitious move. He made a mistake, he apologized and I have accepted his apology. I’ve done it before and I’m sure I will do it again – this is racing, but obviously I was very disappointed. I came in and we changed the bike, but as soon as I went out of the pit lane I crashed immediately because it was a dry setting on that bike and there is a big, big difference.”Jack Miller, LCR: DNF“I’m happy with the weekend, but of course not happy with the result of the race. I want to say a big sorry to Cal for taking him out, but we were both pushing hard. I didn’t actually mean to overtake him, I was just trying to hold Espargaro off on the brakes and accidently went too deep and touched him. It was an accident, but all in all it was a good weekend as we found some settings with the bike we became more comfortable with and I’m looking forward to Misano.”
Moto2 rider quotes
Johann Zarco, Ajo Motorsport: 1st“It has been a very positive weekend, with the learning we have done. I had a crash on Friday and luckily I was not injured, but it taught me that you always have to be careful when you are fighting for the title, because the season is not over yet. Qualifying went pretty well, because even though I was not first, I was very fast. In the race we had very different conditions because of the rain, but I felt good. The goal was to finish the race, but when the track was drying out I felt more comfortable than the other riders. I saw that Rins was sliding a lot, so after eight laps I took the lead, tried to escape and it worked perfectly. Another 25 points is fantastic. I have to thank the team, because the tires held up well and my feeling was perfect. Let’s see if we can continue like this at Misano.”Alex Rins, Paginas Amarillas HP 40: 2nd“For sure today the conditions were really difficult but I enjoyed it a lot. I love the slides! When I see a MotoGP rider on TV I always think, ‘wow!’ At the beginning of the race I tried to put down my rhythm and to open a little gap but when Johann passed me I said, ‘I can’t push more.’ When Florian Alt passed me on slicks I thought that the podium was gone. I pushed more and more. I’m happy because from the moment that I wanted to open the gap to Tito I started to open it. Anyway, I’m happy Misano is next and I feel strong.”Tito Rabat, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS: 3rd“I’m happy because yesterday I had a very bad crash and it was lucky that nothing was broken. In this morning’s warm-up I had a very good feeling but in the race, once the track started to dry, I thought it was a little bit dangerous with the drying line and it was difficult to get feedback from the bike. In these conditions Johann has always been good and Alex was pushing a lot and has been performing well this weekend. Today I enjoyed the race and I only made one mistake, when the front tire closed at the chicane when I was trying to pass Rins. After that I pushed as hard as I could on the last lap for third. I’m happy with the work that the team are doing and we can now look forward to Misano.”
Honda Moto3 rider quotes
Danny Kent, Leopard Racing: 1st“The conditions were difficult all race but towards the end it got worse, so you had to be very careful. There was definitely no time to take it easy. I tried to stay calm as Isaac [Vinales] pulled away, and after I took the lead I had to remain focused all the way down to the line. I was sliding a lot, but I managed to stay on the bike. It’s an amazing feeling to win your home round in front of this cheering crowd out there but also my whole family is here and so many friends came to see me winning. The atmosphere is amazing too and it’s the same dream for every rider if you would like to win at any track of the calendar, of course it’s your home Grand Prix which I’ve achieved today. The championship is still open. We won 25 points today but on the other side we lost 21 points during the last two races. So you can win points as fast you can lose them. We need to keep working hard until the very last race of the series.”Niccolo Antonelli, Ongetta-Rivacold: 3rd“The feeling with my Honda is really good, so I hope to also do a good race in Misano. I will arrive there from two podiums and I’m really happy. I will try to continue like this. It’s a great moment for me and my team. In the championship I’m sixth now so I’m not battling for a really good position – but I hope to get into the top five in the standings overall.”Fabio Quartararo, Estrella Galicia 0,0: 4th“It was a very difficult race, because my visor misted up. It was my mistake, because I had never ridden in the cold and rain, and so had never needed a different visor. I now know why it is necessary, because I had to open my visor all the time to see and by the end my eyes hurt a little. I think the position I got is the best I could have aspired to today, because Antonelli was very strong and I could not pass him. I’m happy, because despite the conditions I had a good pace. I want to thank the team because they have done a great job all weekend.”
Eugene LavertyzoomEugene Laverty
MotoGP World Championship Grand Prix 2015
Round 12: Great Britain Race
MotoGP Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
F/O
1 Valentino ROSSI (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) F
2 Danilo PETRUCCI (Pramac Racing) F
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Ducati Team) F
4 Jorge LORENZO (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) F
5 Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team) F
6 Scott REDDING (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) F
7 Bradley SMITH (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) F
8 Andrea IANNONE (Ducati Team) F
9 Aleix ESPARGARO (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR MotoGP) F
10 Alvaro BAUTISTA (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) F
11 Maverick VIÑALES (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR MotoGP) F
12 Nicky HAYDEN (Aspar MotoGP Team) O
13 Hector BARBERA (Avintia 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 Alex MARQUEZ (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
5 Jonas FOLGER (AGR Team)
6 Sam LOWES (Speed Up Racing)
7 Anthony WEST (QMMF Racing Team)
8 Sandro CORTESE (Dynavolt Intact GP)
9 Thomas LUTHI (Derendinger Racing Interwetten)
10 Ricard CARDUS (JPMoto Malaysia)
11 Marcel SCHROTTER (Tech 3)
12 Randy KRUMMENACHER (JIR Moto2)
13 Dominique AEGERTER (Technomag Racing Interwetten)
14 Takaaki NAKAGAMI (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia)
15 Axel PONS (AGR Team)
Moto3 Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Niccolò ANTONELLI (Ongetta-Rivacold)
2 Enea BASTIANINI (Gresini Racing Team Moto3)
3 Brad BINDER (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
4 Efren VAZQUEZ (Leopard Racing)
5 Jorge NAVARRO (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
6 Romano FENATI (SKY Racing Team VR46)
7 Danny KENT (Leopard Racing)
8 Miguel OLIVEIRA (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
9 Jakub KORNFEIL (Drive M7 SIC)
10 John MCPHEE (SaxoPrint RTG)
11 Jorge MARTIN (MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA)
12 Francesco BAGNAIA (MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA)
13 Andrea MIGNO (SKY Racing Team VR46)
14 Juanfran GUEVARA (MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA)
15 Philipp OETTL (Schedl GP Racing)
