Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich - Red Bull Ring

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Free Practices

Precious P9 for Scott in #AustrianGP FP2. In the time attack Petrux did not find grip on the rear.

The Friday’s free practices at the Red Bull Ring have given positive sensations to Octo Pramac Racing, despite the lack of feeling with the rear sof tyre, which did not allow Danilo Petrucci to be competitive in the FP2 time attack. On the other hand a very positive Friday for Scott Redding.

The English rider has started the FP1 in the best manner, by making a series of fastest laps that permitted him to find a good feeling already from the beginning. After the 8th lap time of the morning (only 2 tenth of a second behind the first row), Scott has repeated himself in the afternoon exploiting the soft tire in the time attack and ending with a lap time of 1’24.765 that means 9th place and hypothetical direct qualification to Q2.

Also Danilo Petrucci has started the Fp1 in a positive way and after the first run with the standard fearing, he tried the new version finding some good benefit (7th lap time). During the FP2 the feeling with the new fearing looked to be positive again and the race pace of the rider from Terni was very competitive. However, in the last run Petrux did not find extra grip with the soft rear tire, finishing in 14th position, only 76 thousandths of a second from the top 10.

14th – Danilo Petrucci - 1'24.935
"I don’t understand what happened in FP2. We need to check the data. In the middle of the practice, with the used tires, the pace was good. Then with the new tires I did not find any extra grip. It was a shame because I was happy with the bike this morning. The fearing? I felt some benefit in breaking even if in acceleration I continue to struggle with the wheelie. We have to work on this also because we have seen that Dovizioso has made positive steps forward".

9th – Scott Redding - 1'24.756
"I am very happy about how things went today. I lapped fast from the start, finding a steady pace. After Brno I came back on track with the goal of improving lap after lap. Small things but if we combine them together can make important results. We focused on small details to improve. We also worked on the tires although when I tried the medium I felt the front locking. We will try again tomorrow".

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ENCOURAGING PROGRESS FOR FIRST DAY IN AUSTRIA


Team Suzuki Press Office – Aug 11.

Andrea Iannone: 17th - 1'25.218 +1.172
Alex Rins: 22nd - 1'25.452 +1.406

The first day of practice at the Austrian GP demonstrated the development work started in Monday’s testing in Brno. Riders Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins were able to benefit from the new settings and continue to focus on the race preparation, albeit without proper attempts to the time attack. At the end of the today’s session Iannone is in 17th place in the combined classification (1'25.218), while Rins is in 22nd (1'25.452).

In the morning session, the technical progress made in Brno’s testing paid off immediately, with both riders consistently improving in their performances. Iannone worked hard with medium tyres to pull off a good pace and set his best time at 1'25.608, earning him 14th position in classification, the last of the 14 riders closing in on the one second gap. Rins for his part made the most of the session by getting familiar with the track, managing to make consistent progress while putting his GSX-RR in 23rd place with 1'26.014.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“With Andrea we managed to further improve the machine, continuing on from the positive work we did on Monday in Brno. The settings gave him more confidence. In the afternoon we focused on race pace and the times have been pretty positive and consistent. Moreover, we wanted to test a further setting modification; when Andrea decided to come in for the time attack it was quite late and we decided not to change the front tyre but only the rear, in order to save time in the garage and give him more time on track. We couldn’t then properly take advantage of the rear soft tyre this time. We are happy of the pace and we still have room for improvement in the classification. Alex consistently improved as well; he’s finding his own pace which is good for him. This is his first time on this track that is pretty peculiar, so having made some progress is a positive sign. Tomorrow we will try to finalize a good setup as quickly as possible, one that would allow him to improve his position.”

Andrea Iannone
“The test in Brno gave us some improvements, but overall we’ve been improving since the beginning of the year. Today I felt positive, especially considering that we only went with a medium tyre and we didn’t try the time attack with the soft. In the afternoon the pace was good with worn tyres. Tomorrow it will be important to take advantage of the soft tyres. Today we tried a new one only at the rear and not at the front, which means we can still improve. We also still have some margin in the setup. We are improving and I think tomorrow we can aim at getting direct access to the Q2 and also hope for a top ten qualifying.”

Alex Rins
“This is a very distinctive track compared to the others. I think we can improve a lot in different areas of the circuit. We especially have a lot of margin to improve in the braking where I'm losing the most time in a lap. Anyways, it is just my first day here and I'm trying to find out how to achieve the best performance. We are working really hard and I think tomorrow we can get a step ahead.”

GP of Austria – Combined classification of Day 1:
1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team - 1'24.046
2. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - 1'24.280 +0.234
3. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team - 1'24.474 +0.428
4. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 1'24.522 +0.476
5. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team - 1'24.616 +0.570
6. Hector BARBERA, Reale Avintia Racing - 1'24.631 +0.585
7. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team - 1'24.649 +0.603
8. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda - 1'24.668 +0.622
9. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - 1'24.726 +0.680
10. Scott REDDING, OCTO Pramac Racing - 1'24.765 +0.719
11. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - 1'24.780 +0.734
12. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 1'24.859 +0.813
13. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - 1'24.883 +0.837
14. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing - 1'24.925 +0.879
15. Danilo PETRUCCI, OCTO Pramac Racing - 1'24.935 +0.889
16. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 1'24.992 +0.946
17. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1'25.218 +1.172
18. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - 1'25.270 +1.224
19. Mika KALLIO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 1'25.320 +1.274
20. Jack MILLER, EG 0,0 Marc VDS - 1'25.335 +1.289
21. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - 1'25.369 +1.323
22. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1'25.452 +1.406
23. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS - 1'25.616 +1.570
24. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 1'25.664 +1.618

 

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Positive start to the weekend for the Repsol Honda Team at the Red Bull Ring Circuit

The opening day of the Austrian GP was marked by mild temperatures and mixed weather conditions which, as far as the MotoGP practices were concerned, allowed for a completely dry FP1 session and just spoiled the early stages of FP2; a previous light rain shower left damp patches in a few corners, meaning that Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, like the majority of the MotoGP riders, waited about 15 minutes before taking to the track.

As a result, the Repsol Honda riders were able to carry out positive work on the setup of their RC213Vs for the Red Bull Ring Circuit, both feeling comfortable all day. Dani set the third-fastest time both in the FP1 and FP2 sessions, while Marc was fifth-fastest in the morning and sixth in the afternoon (seventh combined), having chosen to not fit a new tyre at the end of the second session.

Dani Pedrosa 26
3rd / 1'24.474


“Today we worked well. We thought we would have to deal with rainy conditions but luckily we were able to start in the dry, and overall we had more dry track time available than expected. We’re happy because the first feeling was good and generally we felt better than the last year. We still have work to do on the bike’s setup and on the mapping. We must improve our race pace and make a good tyre choice for Sunday, but so far we’re happy with how we started the weekend.”



Repsol Honda Team

Marc Marquez 93
7th / 1'24.649


“We’re satisfied with how it went today. We started the weekend with a completely different setup from last year and it worked quite well. We’ve definitely made a step forward with the acceleration and with the general settings of the bike. Of course we must wait and see how it goes tomorrow, as we have a few details we still need to work on. The others also will improve, but so far we’re happy with what we’ve done and with our race pace. At the end of FP2 I decided to continue with a used medium rear tyre in order to focus on preparing well for Sunday. The weather forecast shows possible rain conditions for tomorrow morning, but I decided to take that gamble because I wanted to prepare well for the Sunday race.”



Repsol Honda Team

 

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11TH PLACE FOR IANNONE, 16TH FOR RINS AFTER AUSTRIAN GP

Team Suzuki Press Office – Aug 13.

Andrea Iannone: 11th - +20.101
Alex Rins: 16th - +32.912

The Red Bull Ring’s tough circuit in Austria saw Andrea Iannone struggling to capitalize on the improvements made at the weekend for today’s race, and as a consequence finishing in 11th place. Team mate Alex Rins finished his race in 21st, taking important steps on his path of development.

The morning warm-up saw increased temperatures compared to previous days, and both riders busy finalizing their enhanced setups for the race. Both have been consistent in the race’s pace test, with Iannone in 12th place with 1'24.834 and Rins in 20th with 1'25.151.

In the race, both riders had a good start, but Rins had the bad luck of being hit by another rider at the very beginning of the first lap, so lost some time. He then set himself on a superb pace that allowed him to recover. He was able to reach 16th place, although not able to get into the points. Iannone hard fought in the early stages of the race to keep close to the leading pack, but as the race continued his pace slackened and he fell back a few places, until ending the race in 11th position.

Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager
“We stopped in Brno for a testing day after the race. Both riders tested new items that worked very well and this means we managed to improve. Then here in Austria, Andrea started well at the weekend, with direct access to Q2, tenth place in qualifying, and also the pace with race tyres was not so bad. We were expecting a better result from the race. Unfortunately, despite these improvements, the performance was not good enough. We also made important improvements this weekend. We have to continue working and hopefully we will get better results in the next race at Silverstone, where we won last year. About Alex, he’s been unlucky at the beginning of the race, but then he was able to carry out a solid race. I believe this has been an important experience for him as a young rider.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We knew this would not be an easy track for us and we were prepared for a tough race, but honestly after the previous day’s success we were expecting a better result. But to the contrary but we encountered some areas we have to improve when we believed we could be closer to the top of the board. It’s nothing new actually, and it’s something we are already working on. However, with Andrea we saw an improvement with his touch on the bike compared to previous races, which is positive. We couldn’t do better than 11th place, but I hope we are establishing the basis for further improvement in the near future. Alex unfortunately made contact with another rider at the first corner which caused him to lose time, but then he set a good pace. I believe this race has been very useful for him as a learning experience. The final position is what it is, but it’s been another step – important, I’d say – in his growth process. We are now looking forward to Silverstone, a nice track where last year were very, very competitive.”

Andrea Iannone
“To me this weekend has been positive, despite the final position not being satisfactory. We made some improvements and we lowered the gap. At many moments of the weekend we were close to the competitiveness that we would like to have. We know we struggle more in the race. We suffer with the drop in tyre performance, but we are working on that and I see positive feedback from Suzuki. The solution is achievable but not as immediate as we’d like, so we have to put up with it and keep on. I can see that I am not the only one in this and they all are making an effort to try to improve. This is something I really appreciate and I will do my best to give them what they deserve. We need to be patient, but in these last two races we learned so much; this will be useful. Here in Austria we suffered a lot with the tyre drop, maybe with the electronics we can solve the problem, and also with some improvements in the chassis or setup. At the same time we improved the braking considerably, which was a crucial point for me. This means that little by little we are getting there.”

Alex Rins
“It's been a complicated race. The start went well, but then I was in the middle of a group in which I lost some positions. When I started to recover, one rider hit me and I went off the track. While making up the distance I think I was pushing too much and I was not able to keep the tyre as I would have liked. I was able to overtake a few places and finish the race. That, under the circumstances, was the main objective. At this track we have suffered a little more than we expected, but to sum up, I am satisfied with the steps that we have taken even though the result is not what we expected at the beginning of the weekend.”

GP of Austria – Race classification:
1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team - 39'43.323
2. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team - +0.176
3. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team - +2.661
4. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team - +6.663
5. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - +7.262
6. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - +7.447
7. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - +8.995
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - +14.515
9. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing - +19.620
10. Mika KALLIO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - +19.766
11. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - +20.101
12. Scott REDDING, OCTO Pramac Racing - +25.523
13. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - +26.700
14. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - +27.321
15. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda - +28.096
16. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - +32.912
17. Hector BARBERA, Reale Avintia Racing - +34.112
18. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - +36.423
19. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS - +42.404
20. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - +52.492

MotoGP World Standing 2017:
1. Marc MARQUEZ, Honda - 174
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati - 158
3. Maverick VIÑALES, Yamaha - 150
4. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha - 141
5. Dani PEDROSA, Honda - 139
6. Johann ZARCO, Yamaha - 99
7. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati - 79
8. Jonas FOLGER, Yamaha - 77
9. Cal CRUTCHLOW, Honda - 76
10. Danilo PETRUCCI, Ducati - 75
11. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Ducati - 52
12. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia - 43
13. Jack MILLER, Honda - 43
14. Loris BAZ, Ducati - 38
15. Scott REDDING, Ducati - 37
16. Andrea IANNONE, Suzuki - 33
17. Karel ABRAHAM, Ducati - 25
18. Tito RABAT, Honda - 23
19. Pol ESPARGARO, KTM - 21
20. Hector BARBERA, Ducati - 21
21. Alex RINS, Suzuki - 12
22. Bradley SMITH, KTM - 8
23. Michele PIRRO, Ducati - 7
24. Mika KALLIO, KTM - 6
25. Sam LOWES, Aprilia - 2
26. Sylvain GUINTOLI Suzuki - 1

 

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Movistar Yamaha Seal Sixth and Seventh Place in Spielberg Race

Race
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi had the throttle fully open at the NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, as they contended in a seven-rider fight at the front in the early stages of the race. The teammates lost some time, running wide in turn 1 in separate incidents, but they put their heads down to collect crucial championship points, taking sixth and seventh place respectively.

Viñales had a good start and held on to his fourth place going into the first corner. He briefly made a move on Rossi on lap 3, but couldn‘t make it stick. He was eager to have another go in turn 1 on the next lap, but ran wide and fell back to seventh place.

The young Spaniard didn‘t let the small error upset his rhythm and, with 15 laps to go, he was back behind his teammate, ready to join the seven-rider fight for the lead. As Rossi went wide in turn one, Viñales moved up to sixth. On lap 17 the young gun was ready to take on Johann Zarco. He was looking threatening behind the satellite rider for the remainder of the race, but was not able to squeeze his number 25 bike past the Frenchman, and crossed the line in sixth place, 7.447s from the front.

Starting the race from seventh on the grid, Rossi slotted into fifth place storming towards turn 1, and quickly fought his way to fourth past his teammate. He withstood the pressure Viñales put on him in the opening laps, as he chased the leading trio.

The Doctor reached the back of Marc Marquez‘s bike on lap eight, bringing Zarco with him, but encountered a set-back. A block pass from the fellow Yamaha rider pushed the Italian back to sixth behind the chasing Dani Pedrosa. Running wide in turn 1, with 15 laps to go, Rossi soon fell back behind Viñales to seventh. He was eager to follow his teammate, but was unable to keep up a consistent pace in the high 1‘24s and low 1‘25s, and decided to focus on bringing home his bike in seventh place, 8.995s from first.

Today's race results see Viñales move back to third in the championship standings, 24 points behind the leader and 9 points ahead of Rossi. The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team holds second place in the team rankings, with a 22-point margin to the front. In the Constructor championship, Yamaha holds the top spot. They are on equal points with Honda, each having earned 211 in total and both scored four GP wins, but Yamaha earned one more second place so far this season.

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team will have a private test at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli next week on Sunday, August 20th. After that the team will be back in action in two weeks‘ time for the Octo British Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit.


Maverick Viñales
Position: 6th - Championship: 3rd - Points: 150
"I suffered from a big drop in grip of the rear tyre for almost the entire race. When I went wide as I was fighting with Valentino, I just tried to calm down, make the tyre work until the end, but it was totally impossible. Not only with other manufacturers, but also with Zarco, it was really difficult to keep following them. We have to work really hard if we want to fight for this championship. I like Silverstone a lot, it is one of the best tracks on the calendar. I always like going there, I really like the lay-out. I will go for the best result possible, trying to be on top."


Valentino Rossi
Position: 7th - Championship: 4th - Points: 141
"Today the problems started after ten or twelve laps. Unfortunately, we stressed the rear tyre too much, so the rear tyre dropped a lot and we lost a lot of performance and speed. From that moment on it was very difficult to control the bike and I also made a mistake on the brakes. I didn‘t have the pace in the second half of the race, I suffered too much from a lack of grip. It‘s a shame because we worked a lot, but it looks like it's the same problem as we had in Jerez and Barcelona. When we use the rear tyre too much, the bike becomes slower and more difficult to ride in the second half of the race. For sure we have to work a lot mechanically and also on the electronics to improve this problem."


Massimo Meregalli
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - Team Director
"We had anticipated that this would be a challenging race, that would be hard on the tyres. We decided to go with the hard rear spec this morning, but in the end this didn‘t pay off as we had hoped. The start of the race went well: both Maverick and Valentino were able to compete at the front of the field, but after 10 laps they started to suffer from a lack of grip from the rear tyre. It was unfortunate that this cost us some valuable points in the championship challenge, but the riders did well to hold on to sixth and seventh place and bring home the best results possible under these circumstances. The team will work hard to find a solution for the issue before the race at Silverstone, at the private test in Misano next weekend."

 

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Zarco concludes Austrian GP as top Yamaha – Luckless Folger forced to retire

Johann Zarco rocked the Austrian hills and delivered a highly impressive performance to clinch 5th and the top independent honours in the memorable round 11 fight. The French star began the Grand Prix from the rear of the second row and immediately fought in the leading group when it began. He broke the race lap record on the 6th lap and superbly held off a late charge from Maverick Viñales before powering across the finish line to record his sixth top five result in his rookie year.

On the other hand, Jonas Folger’s fight came to a premature end after a technical issue forced the rapid German, who is celebrating his 24th birthday today, to pull into the pits and retire on the third lap. Ahead of the race, Folger determinedly eyed up a top six finish and he began from 13th on the grid. The young gun undertook a rocket start and fought through the first laps before his unfortunate retirement.



Johann Zarco
Position: 5th - Championship: 6th - Points: 99
"It was a good Sunday and I’m very happy with what we achieved. This morning, the warm up was difficult for me and I was a bit worried about how things would be in the race. Yet, this afternoon, the temperature was high and it was the warmest that it has been throughout the weekend and so the soft compound was the best tyre option. However, it had a great feeling but we were still a bit unsure about what would happen in the GP. Anyway, I am pleased about the start and I was able to fight in the first lap. Then I felt really strong after the fifth lap but it was too tricky to overtake. When I claimed 5th position, the tyres dropped a bit so I tried to manage it. I wanted to catch Lorenzo in 4th however, it was not possible today, and at the same time, I wanted to keep hold of 5th because Viñales was behind me and he was pushing. In the end, it was a perfect finish and I am so happy to be back in the top five. This result is great for the championship as well as my confidence and battling with the leading guys is very exciting."



Jonas Folger
Position: DNF - Championship: 8th - Points: 77
"I have to admit that it was a really hard weekend for us and there were many ups and downs. We tried a new chassis but we were unsure if it was better or not at this circuit, and I think in the end I was not getting confident with the track. However, I felt good in the warm up, even if my position was quite low because I was using old tyres. Plus, my qualifying performance was not so bad if we look at the lap time. Therefore, I was feeling confident for the race, but then we experienced a technical issue and I had to retire. This is a shame because I think that we could have done a great job and taken some valuable championship points. Now, we have to analyse what happened so that it won’t occur again."



Hervé Poncharal
Monster Yamaha Tech3 - Team Manager
"It was an incredible battle at the front of the field and the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team is proud to have been part of that fight until half way through the race. Johann did an incredible job and got past both Yamaha riders, even though it was tough, and he also broke the race lap record. Maverick and Valentino were both using the hard compound tyres and our rider was running with the soft so I thought that the second part of the GP could have been challenging, but Johann did incredibly well to preserve his tyres and keep both of them behind him. He was the best independent rider by far and also the leading rookie by even more of a distance. We are pleased with a top five finish and he completed the weekend as the first Yamaha which means that we have gained 11 points for the constructors' championship which will help Yamaha. I am proud of what Johann did today because it was tough and the pressure from Maverick and Valentino was so intense. As for Jonas, I feel very sorry for him. After the big disappointment in the Czech Republic, the weekend was a bit more difficult for him here but he had a great start and I think he would have been inside the top 8. Unfortunately, he encountered a brake issue, which was really strange. We are working with Brembo at the moment to work out what happened because this has never occurred before. Today is Jonas’ birthday and we were hoping that he could have scored a good result to celebrate his day, but sadly, this didn’t happen which is a big shame. We know that he is on form and I want to wish him a happy birthday and I hope he’s going to forget this disappointment quickly. Silverstone is coming so let's hope that our two guys will be fighting for top positions there. Thanks to the whole team because it was a tough way to restart the championship after the summer break but now we have a few days to relax so that we can come back stronger."

 

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Andrea Dovizioso scores a fantastic win in the Austrian Grand Prix to move into second place in the championship. Jorge Lorenzo had a good race to finish fourth

Andrea Dovizioso powered to a spectacular and truly memorable win in the Austrian GP, held today at the Red Bull Ring circuit near Spielberg. The Ducati Team’s Italian rider, who started from the front row of the grid after going second quickest in qualifying, rode a masterful race to always stay in the leading group, and he took over at the front on lap 18. Andrea was then passed by Marquez but was back in the lead again on lap 22 and he held on to that position until the chequered flag, despite a last-ditch attempt by the Spanish rider in the final corner.

Thanks to the 25 points’ haul for today’s win, his third of the season, Dovizioso has moved into second place in the overall championship standings, reducing the gap from leader Marquez to 16 points.

Jorge Lorenzo had a good race to finish fourth at the line. The Spanish rider got a great start from the front row and took the lead on the opening lap, followed by Marquez and Dovizioso. Jorge stayed in the lead of the race for eleven laps, but was then passed by Dovizioso and the two factory Honda riders, but he defended his fourth place right until the chequered flag. Thanks to today’s result, Lorenzo now lies seventh in the championship with 79 points.

MotoGP will return to the track again in a couple of weeks’ time at the Silverstone circuit in the UK on the weekend of August 25-27.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1st
“It was a crazy race, but to be honest the whole weekend was incredible, and in particular the final curve of the last lap, but I managed to remain clear headed and was aware that Marquez was going to try and pass me. It was a very difficult situation because if Marc had closed the door coming out of the corner, he would have forced me out and passed me. Instead I was able to resist his attack and I went on to win! I’m very satisfied with the way we managed the entire weekend with my team: understanding the right choice of tyres was really difficult but we did it. We had a great race, we’re making up points in the championship, and we’ve got all the right cards to fight for the title.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 4th
“I think that this was my best race of the year: I started from the front row, I led the race for 11 laps, and I finished the GP just over six seconds down on the winner. This time we were a bit lacking in power, because from the third lap onwards I had to change the mapping to keep the fuel consumption under control, and above all I was losing a lot on the straights to my rivals. The rear tyre also deteriorated on the right side and I was unable to keep touch with the leading group. Things are going better at every race, I’m riding more convincingly and I’m able to get more out of my bike. We’re missing very little, just a couple of tenths, to be able to fight for the win and so we must be satisfied. Congratulations to Andrea, because he deserved to win what was a very difficult race.”

Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“Andrea did a really fantastic race, both from a tactical and sporting point of view, and his win came in an incredible manner, especially in the last two corners. I’m still full of adrenalin! Well done to Dovi, who did a perfect race, and it was a good job also by Jorge, who led for the first eleven laps and finished the GP with a good fourth place.”

 

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Honda’s Marquez increases title lead with thrilling second place

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) increased his World Championship lead with a never-say-give-up ride to second place in today’s Austrian Grand Prix at the sun-blessed Red Bull Ring.

The hard-riding 24-year-old Spaniard and race-winner Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) spent much of the race fighting over every millimeter of the mountainside circuit, each of them finding an advantage in one corner only to lose it in another. The final few laps were breath-taking, with the pair separated by mere tenths of a second, Marquez’s tire choice spoiled somewhat by today’s warmer track conditions.

The finish was the best of the year so far: Dovizioso led by a meter or two into the final double right, only for Marquez to try a fearless move around the outside. He was ahead for a moment but Dovizioso had the better line through the final corner. But still Marquez didn’t give up; he was so hard on the throttle accelerating onto the final straight that he had his RC213V sideways on the curb. However, Dovizioso had the best drive and won the sprint to the finish line by just 0.176 seconds.

Pole-starter Marquez was smiling afterwards, having enjoyed the contest, and having increased his championship advantage to 16 points over newly second-overall Dovizioso, whose win took him past today’s sixth-place finisher Maverick Vinales (Yamaha). Three-times MotoGP World Champion Marquez has good reason to be happy – in a season during which many riders are struggling to record consistent results he has so far achieved three race victories and four further podiums.

The Marquez/Dovizioso duel over the final laps was super-thrilling, but Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) deserves similar plaudits for his excellent ride to third place from eighth on the grid. The 31-year-old took time getting heat into his tires, but once confident he charged through the pack and during the final stages of the race caught the leading pair at an astonishing rate. For a while it seemed like he might have enough speed to win the race.

With five laps to go Pedrosa was right with the leaders, but at the crucial moment he ran short of the grip he needed to challenge for victory. At the flag he was just over two seconds behind Marquez to achieve his seventh podium in nine races and give Repsol Honda another double podium, its sixth from the first 11 races, which increases the team’s advantage at the top of the teams championship. Marquez’s second place also makes Honda equal leaders of the constructors’ world championship, alongside Yamaha.

Pedrosa passed Vinales, fellow factory Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi, independent Yamaha rider Johann Zarco and early leader Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati) during his impressive comeback

Today’s MotoGP race was an altogether more complex challenge for Honda’s three independent-team riders. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V) had high hopes of racing with the lead pack after qualifying a close ninth fastest. The Briton was run off the track by other riders on several occasions. He was also the only rider to choose Michelin’s hard-compound front, for his aggressive corner-entry style. Thus he had his work cut out to score the final championship point in 15th place.

Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) was inside the points when he slid off with nine laps to go. Team-mate Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) finished 19th.

Grand Prix racing now heads north west to Silverstone in Britain, the country that hosted the first World Championship Grand Prix, on the Isle of Man, in June 1949.

Marc Marquez 93
2nd


“I wouldn’t have slept well tonight if I didn’t try to go for the win in the last corner! But it wasn’t possible. Today Dovi had just a little bit more than us and it was difficult to overtake him. I tried my best all race, really gave it my all, and I lost the rear many times. It was a great battle, and Dovi deserved this victory as he rode very well. We got this second place and it’s good. I’m very happy with these 20 points at this track where I had struggled a lot last year. It’s an important result for the championship. We’re working well; step-by-step, we found a good base that allowed us to be there, and to be consistent in every situation. Today I was able to try that move at the end because I was feeling good with the bike. It will be important to continue like this and to try and be on the podium at every race.”



Repsol Honda Team

Dani Pedrosa 26
3rd


“I’m very, very happy with how this weekend turned out and with this podium finish, as we had struggled a lot in the practices, had to go through Q1, and finally qualified just eighth on the grid. But it turned out in the race that I was faster than we were expecting. I still had some issues with the front locking and the rear spinning, but our race strategy worked very well. I wasn’t too aggressive in the beginning; I took my time with a full tank, saving some fuel, and then step-by-step I increased my pace until I closed the gap to the front of the race, also because Marc and Dovi were battling and disturbing each other. Unfortunately, when I caught them I had so much spinning that the rear tire overheated and I had no more grip and drive. I wanted to stay with them and try to fight with them but even though I couldn’t, I’m happy with this podium and proud of my team and of the work we did here.”



Repsol Honda Team

Cal Crutchlow 35
15th


“I think the hard front tire was the right choice for me, even though we had some problems throughout the race, but 15th was a disappointing result. I rode through the pit lane last year, for a jump start, and still finished with more points. We didn’t find a great setting all weekend and the problem was I lost 12 seconds in six laps and that was it. I got run off the track three times and got hindered at the start. Once I was riding alone at the end of the race I felt really good, I had good pace, but we had a problem up until lap 18 as well which didn’t help. But no excuses, I didn’t ride great all weekend either, but I could have finished in the top eight today, I felt. My aim was to finish in the top six, but I was nine places off that so we’ll just have to look forward to the next one and try our best again.”



LCR Honda

Tito Rabat 53
19th


“I am disappointed because even though I knew it would be difficult to get points in the race that was my target. On the first lap I tried to go around Pol Espargaro but he went long because he had no brakes so I lost time and distance to the group and then rode alone to the finish. Now it is important to keep our heads up in this difficult moment and focus on the remaining races.”



EG 0,0 Marc VDS

Jack Miller 43
DNF


“The race was going really well when I crashed on lap 20. I had really good pace early in the race but then I started to lose some rear grip, it felt like the tire was overheating in the final sector, I had a couple of warnings that I was losing grip into turn nine. Then it stepped out under braking and then overloaded the front and I tried to hold it up on my elbow but to no avail. A disappointing end but I had a strong race until that small mistake. Now I’m looking forward to Silverstone and being in top form.”



EG 0,0 Marc VDS