2011-07-03 15:09
Honda riders finished second and third in the first hot race of the year before a Sunday crowd of 83,748 in the sunlit Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, which was won by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha).
Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) finished his home grand prix in second place with team-mate Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V) finishing third. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli was pipped at the line by Ben Spies (Yamaha) for fourth place.
Dani Pedrosa, the third member of the Repsol Honda squad, finished a courageous eighth in his return to racing. Pedrosa had been sidelined for six weeks since breaking his right collarbone in the French Grand Prix at Le Mans. The Spaniard endured two surgeries on the collarbone before returning to the track.
Pedrosa knew his fitness would be an issue, especially in the heat, but he was encouraged that he hadn?t lost any of the speed which had taken him to podium positions in the three races he completed at the beginning of the season.
Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) finished 11th, one race after replacing Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda team, with Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP) 15th.
Stoner bolted from the pole position into the lead and controlled the pace while Lorenzo slotted in behind and Dovizioso gave chase from third.
The Australian grew the lead to 2.326s ending the 12th lap, while Lorenzo and Dovi battled over second.
Stoner?s lead began to dissipate in the second half of the race as he began to have rear tyre problems. On the 18th lap Lorenzo passed Stoner, who by now was struggling to get the power of his Repsol Honda RC212V to the ground.
Stoner next came under attack from Dovizioso, who passed him in the first turn of the final lap to take second, equalling his best finish of the season.
By finishing third, Stoner kept alive an enviable record of podium placings at every race he?s finished this year. Dovi?s second was his fourth podium in the last five races.
After eight of 18 rounds, Stoner continues to lead the MotoGP World Championship. The Australian has 152 points to 133 for Lorenzo. Dovizioso is a strong third with 119.
Honda also leads the Constructor championship and the Repsol Honda Team leads the Team championship.
Simoncelli and Spies battled throughout on a hot day and under track conditions they?d not experienced for race distance. Simoncelli hung with the leaders for the first seven laps before losing touch. Eventually he and Spies would begin a battle that would last to the finish line.
?Super Sic? was in front starting the final lap, but by the time they got to the stripe Spies had edged in front of him by.096s. Still, Simoncelli equalled his best finish of the season in his home race.
Aoyama struggled with his physical conditioning a week after a violent crash in the Dutch TT. Aoyama picked up speed in the second half of the race, slotting into a secure 11th place, where he would finish. The San Carlo Honda Gresini and Repsol Honda teams were staying on at Mugello to test their RC212Vs for the second half push.
Elias was a victim of the lack of dry set-up time. The Spaniard never found the proper set-up for his LCR Honda MotoGP RC212V during practice and qualifying and made a gamble on the front end during the race. Though it was a valiant effort, the change didn?t give the expected response and he struggled to come home 15th, and score a single championship point.
Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol, Suter) held off a charging Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing, Kalex) and Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3) to win a thrilling Moto2 race on their Honda-powered machines in the brilliant Mugello sunshine.
Marquez shot into the lead from the start, Smith going with him as Bradl made his way through the field after starting seventh on the grid. The German was in third by the second lap.
Then followed a battle among the lead three, who would soon be joined by Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2, Motobi) and Andrea Iannone (Speed Master, Suter) to make up a leading quintet.
Bradl took the lead on the eighth lap by going up the inside of Marquez in the first turn starting the eighth lap. His reign would last three laps before Marquez made a similar pass to re-claim the place starting lap 11. All the while the positions of the top five were in a state of constant flux, with very little advantage going to any of the leaders.
Marquez led the way until the 17th lap when he made a mistake in San Donato, the looping first turn right. Bradl snuck underneath to lead again, but only for a lap before Marquez again drafted by on the brakes into turn one.
With three laps to go the top three seemed to be getting away as de Angelis got a second wind and passed Iannone, whose was slowing dramatically.
Smith made his way past Marquez in the final left-hander heading onto the front straight, but Marquez sped past just as they crossed the line, Bradl was third.
Starting the final lap Marquez led with Bradl up the inside of Smith to take over second. The order didn?t change for the rest of the lap, with Bradl waiting for the run to the flag to make his move. But Marquez knew this and used his speed advantage to power across the stripe for his second Moto2 win in a row, and second win in a row here in Mugello.
Bradl continues to lead the championship with 147 points to 95 for Marquez and 79 for Smith.
The teams now have a free weekend before for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship at the Sachsenring in Germany on July 22-23.
MotoGP rider quotes
Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 2nd
?Mugello is always a special event and the feeling on the podium is unbelievable. Today I was the first and only Italian rider on the podium and this makes the result even more special. The support of the fans was incredible, they were all pushing for me and they motivated me a lot especially when I was tired because of the heat and this track which is so physically demanding. This morning we fine-tuned the set-up to have more stability with the front and I had a good feeling. We made a good start and we were able to be consistent for the whole race despite the fact there was not so much grip and the tyres were spinning. In the first part of the race I had some good battles with Jorge (Lorenzo) for the second position. Then, at the end of the race, overtaking Casey (Stoner) gave me the second place. I could see Casey was spinning a lot but he was very strong in some corners so I couldn?t pass him where I wanted, in the end I managed it on the last lap. This second position is so important for the championship, because I earned some good points and reduced the gap. Casey and Jorge are really strong but we have shown that we are there, the season is long and we just need to believe it. I want to thank the team and all the people around me. We have a winning bike and we are working hard in all areas?
Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 3rd
?I can’t say I’m totally happy with the result today. We started the race very strong and everything felt fantastic on the bike, however, we had a problem with the tyres after a few laps. We believe this was related to incorrect tyre pressures for today’s track temperature and we should have probably reduced them a little compared with what we used in warm-up because as soon as the tyres got up to a certain pressure, I lost all the grip in the rear and this led to me starting to close the front. I think this is why we were able to be so fast in the beginning of the race, as the tyres were able to warm up very quickly, but then the tyre overheated and I lost all the grip. I’m disappointed as our potential to win today was high, I thought I might still have potential to fight with Jorge and Andrea, but Jorge came past and he was too fast for me. Then Andrea came past and I thought I could respond, but I didn’t have any traction. It’s still a podium, and important points but I’m here to win races.?
Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 5th
?It was a very tough race because it was really hot and the track conditions were new to us so I didn’t have the same feeling as in practice. The front three were able to set a slightly faster pace, I was able to hang on for six or seven laps but after that I lost touch. I tried to fight off Spies at the end but he was faster than me through the final corner and managed to take the inside line to pass me. Anyway, I am happy because it was a hot and long race. It was a positive weekend overall because the most important thing for us was to finish the race. The strange thing is that when the racing is close at the front and there is only nine seconds covering the top five I seem to stay upright but when they are more strung out and I have the opportunity to make positions up I have some kind of disaster!?
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 8th
?I’m very happy with my performance and the result was worth it in the end, even if I’m still far from 100% fit. Historically in the past, when I have tried to go back racing after an injury I wasn’t able to finish the race and today I managed to. I see that even being out for a quite a long period of time, I haven’t lost the speed, so I’m sure that I’ll back on top when my physical condition improves. At the start of the race, I had a problem with the clutch and I couldn’t operate the gears for a lap and a half, so I lost everything in this moment. I lost many places and when the clutch started working again I tried to get into rhythm and find my pace, even though I was very tired very soon. I was improving step by step and caught the group ahead consisting of Valentino (Rossi), (Hector) Barber� and (Alvaro) Bautista. However, by that time I already had no energy to push any harder. I am extremely tired now, I gave everything I had and to take eighth position and eight points in my conditions, together with this clutch problem is quite a good result in my view. I’m satisfied with my race pace, I didn’t think I would be able to lap in the high 1’49′s, low 1’50′s during the twenty three laps, so I’m happy about this. Congratulations to Jorge (Lorenzo) for his good race and many thanks to my fans and doctors for helping me to be back.?
Hiroshi Aoyama, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 11th
?Unfortunately this weekend was a tough one for me because I am still struggling with the injuries from Assen. My starting position wasn’t good and that made the first half of the race more difficult but I managed to pick my pace up in the second half. Tomorrow we have a day of testing and I hope we can find something that improves my feeling with the bike compared to today.?
Toni Elias, LCR Honda MotoGP: 15th
?Yesterday I was the last one after the practice, thus I thought I could have risked with a different front setting for the race. But it was a wrong decision and during the race I have paid for that. Even today I took another exciting start from the last row but in the second lap I immediately felt that the front was unstable. I made a big effort to finish the race but obviously this is result is very frustrating for me and the team.?
Moto2 rider quotes
Marc Marquez, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol ? Suter: race winner
?It was a very tough race. At the beginning, with a full tank, it was difficult to set a good pace, but afterwards we were able to recover the confidence we had in the practice sessions and that helped a lot. I thought that it would be a race between (Stefan) Bradl and me and that if we set a pace of 1 minute 53 seconds we would be able to take some advantage over the rest. It did not happen that way, we rode in ’54 and Bradley (Smith), who took a step ahead from the practice, was also with us. When I saw that (Alex) De Angelis was also there, I decided to push a little to try and make the group smaller for the end of the race. It was not to be, but I was able to do a very good lap in the end, my best lap in all the race. I am very happy for me, for my team and for Suter, because to achieve such a hard-fought victory always makes you feel very proud.?
Stefan Bradl, Viessmann-Kiefer Racing – Kalex: 2nd
?Yeah, for sure to be back on the podium is perfect for me. The qualifying we had some problems; I think everybody knows but we don?t talk about it any more. No, I?m happy, because I did a good start. The first lap was a bit crazy. I thought from the beginning I had the speed, but these guys in front were pushing very hard and anyway I tried to catch (Marc) Marquez, but he was very fast and out of the last corner I had no chance. So I?m happy with this second place and thanks to my team because we are doing a great job.?
Bradley Smith, Tech 3 Racing-Tech 3: 3rd
?It just silences all of our problems. I?ve got to say a big thanks to the man that modified my chassis between Assen and here because that was definitely an awesome job by him, it definitely gave us a big step. Also got to say a big thanks to Clinica Mobile, because been struggling a lot throughout the season with a few problems with my arms and they definitely helped me get through the race today. As for the race, it was just awesome to be able to run with Stefan (Bradl) and Marc (Marquez) , who?s always been a class ahead of everyone. To run with the Kalex and Suter with my Tech 3 bike was awesome. I tried my best. I tried to get up underneath Marc to give myself the best possible chance and we were running at a fast pace on that last lap, but just couldn?t quite get back to them. So big thanks to my team again, because without them none of this would?ve been possible. They?ve created an environment for me that I can just go out, race as hard as I can. Last three podiums in a row is definitely proof of that, so big thanks to them and I look forward to going to Sachsenring.?
RESULTS
MOTOGP
RACE: (23 laps = 120.635 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Yamaha Factory Racing / YAMAHA / 41’50.089 / 173.016 /
2 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 41’51.086 / 172.947 / 0.997
3 / Casey STONER / AUS / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 41’51.232 / 172.937 / 1.143
4 / Ben SPIES / USA / Yamaha Factory Racing / YAMAHA / 41’59.069 / 172.399 / 8.98
5 / Marco SIMONCELLI / ITA / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 41’59.165 / 172.392 / 9.076
6 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 42’16.539 / 171.212 / 26.45
7 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP / DUCATI / 42’18.834 / 171.057 / 28.745
8 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 42’22.132 / 170.835 / 32.043
9 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 42’23.510 / 170.742 / 33.421
10 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 42’24.813 / 170.655 / 34.724
11 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 42’27.448 / 170.478 / 37.359
12 / Karel ABRAHAM / CZE / Cardion AB Motoracing / DUCATI / 42’34.053 / 170.037 / 43.964
13 / Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 42’37.743 / 169.792 / 47.654
14 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / Pramac Racing Team / DUCATI / 42’38.929 / 169.713 / 48.84
15 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 43’05.288 / 167.983 / 1’15.199
Pole Position: Casey STONER 1’48.034 174.778 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Jorge LORENZO 1’48.402 174.184 Km/h Lap 17
Old Circuit Record Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1’49.531 172.389 Km/h 2010
Circuit Best Lap: Casey STONER 1’48.034 174.778 Km/h 2011
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE:
1 STONER 152, 2 LORENZO 133, 3 DOVIZIOSO 119, 4 ROSSI 91, 5 HAYDEN 77, 6 SPIES 74,
7 PEDROSA 69, 8 AOYAMA 56, 9 EDWARDS 53, 10 SIMONCELLI 50, 11 BARBERA 44,
12 ABRAHAM 37, 13 ELIAS 35, 14 CRUTCHLOW 32, 15 BAUTISTA 30.
MOTO2
RACE: (21 laps = 110.145 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol / SUTER / 40’02.941 / 165.015 /
2 / Stefan BRADL / GER / Viessmann Kiefer Racing / KALEX / 40’03.012 / 165.01 / 0.071
3 / Bradley SMITH / GBR / Tech 3 Racing / TECH 3 / 40’03.360 / 164.986 / 0.419
4 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / JIR Moto2 / MOTOBI / 40’05.032 / 164.871 / 2.091
5 / Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Speed Master / SUTER / 40’07.536 / 164.7 / 4.595
6 / Thomas LUTHI / SWI / Interwetten Paddock Moto2 / SUTER / 40’15.962 / 164.125 / 13.021
7 / Simone CORSI / ITA / Ioda Racing Project / FTR / 40’16.033 / 164.121 / 13.092
8 / Max NEUKIRCHNER / GER / MZ Racing Team / MZ-RE HONDA / 40’16.350 / 164.099 / 13.409
9 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Pons HP 40 / PONS KALEX / 40’17.080 / 164.05 / 14.139
10 / Kenan SOFUOGLU / TUR / Technomag-CIP / SUTER / 40’17.360 / 164.031 / 14.419
11 / Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Technomag-CIP / SUTER / 40’18.013 / 163.986 / 15.072
12 / Xavier SIMEON / BEL / Tech 3 B / TECH 3 / 40’20.937 / 163.788 / 17.996
13 / Randy KRUMMENACHE / SWI / GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Ra / KALEX / 40’21.514 / 163.749 / 18.573
14 / Yuki TAKAHASHI / JPN / Gresini Racing Moto2 / MORIWAKI / 40’22.661 / 163.672 / 19.72
15 / Jules CLUZEL / FRA / NGM Forward Racing / SUTER / 40’23.298 / 163.629 / 20.357
Pole Position: Marc MARQUEZ 2’05.312 150.679 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Stefan BRADL 1’53.362 166.563 Km/h Lap 21
Old Circuit Record Lap: Andrea IANNONE 1’55.647 163.272 Km/h 2010
Circuit Best Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 1’53.241 166.741 Km/h 2011
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE:
1 BRADL 147, 2 MARQUEZ 95, 3 SMITH 79, 4 CORSI 76, 5 LUTHI 66, 6 DE ANGELIS 66,
7 IANNONE 64, 8 TAKAHASHI 58, 9 SIMON 49, 10 KRUMMENACHER 39, 11 ESPARGARO 38,
12 PIRRO 37, 13 RABAT 37, 14 SOFUOGLU 34, 15 NEUKIRCHNER 32.
125cc:
RACE: (20 laps = 104.9 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / Nicolas TEROL / SPA / Bankia Aspar Team 125cc / APRILIA / 39’51.815 / 157.888 /
2 / Johann ZARCO / FRA / Avant-AirAsia-Ajo / DERBI / 39’51.982 / 157.877 / 0.167
3 / Maverick VI�ALES / SPA / Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing / APRILIA / 40’00.194 / 157.337 / 8.379
4 / Efren VAZQUEZ / SPA / Avant-AirAsia-Ajo / DERBI / 40’00.306 / 157.329 / 8.491
5 / Hector FAUBEL / SPA / Bankia Aspar Team 125cc / APRILIA / 40’00.409 / 157.323 / 8.594
6 / Luis SALOM / SPA / RW Racing GP / APRILIA / 40’14.723 / 156.39 / 22.908
7 / Sergio GADEA / SPA / Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing / APRILIA / 40’15.804 / 156.32 / 23.989
8 / Miguel OLIVEIRA / POR / Andalucia Banca Civica / APRILIA / 40’31.953 / 155.282 / 40.138
9 / Alberto MONCAYO / SPA / Andalucia Banca Civica / APRILIA / 40’32.582 / 155.242 / 40.767
10 / Jakub KORNFEIL / CZE / Ongetta-Centro Seta / APRILIA / 40’33.013 / 155.214 / 41.198
11 / Marcel SCHROTTER / GER / Mahindra Racing / MAHINDRA / 40’33.070 / 155.211 / 41.255
12 / Sandro CORTESE / GER / Intact-Racing Team Germany / APRILIA / 40’35.814 / 156.319 / 43.999
13 / Simone GROTZKYJ / ITA / Phonica Racing / APRILIA / 40’37.987 / 154.898 / 46.172
14 / Jasper IWEMA / NED / Ongetta-Abbink Metaal / APRILIA / 40’50.791 / 154.089 / 58.976
15 / Danny KENT / GBR / Red Bull Ajo MotorSport / APRILIA / 40’51.540 / 154.041 / 59.725
Pole Position: Johann ZARCO 1’58.988 158.688 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Johann ZARCO 1’57.783 160.311 Km/h Lap 9
Old Circuit Record Lap: Bradley SMITH 1’58.009 160.004 Km/h 2010
Circuit Best Lap: Johann ZARCO 1’57.783 160.311 Km/h 2011
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE:
1 TEROL 153, 2 ZARCO 114, 3 VI�ALES 106, 4 FOLGER 101, 5 CORTESE 98, 6 VAZQUEZ 90,
7 SALOM 65, 8 FAUBEL 65, 9 GADEA 61, 10 KENT 39, 11 KORNFEIL 31, 12 MARTIN 30,
13 OLIVEIRA 30, 14 MONCAYO 23, 15 GROTZKYJ 19.
NEXT EVENT: ROUND 09 SUNDAY JULY 19 SACHSENRING, GERMANY
Source: Honda Pro Image
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