HUSQVARNA’S KENT FINISHES 6th IN MOTO3 GP OF JAPAN

Husqvarna rider Danny Kent rounded off his weekend on the Japanese circuit of Motegi by finishing in sixth place after an all-out battle for the podiums in the final lap of the Moto3 GP of Japan.

The British Husqvarna factory rider was strong all weekend on the Motegi Twin Circuit. He was very fast throughout practice sessions and qualifying and started on pole, the first for the brand after launching into Moto3 at the beginning of the current season.

While fellow Husqvarna rider Niklas Ajo crashed out in the opening corner, Kent settled in to do battle with KTM’s Jack Miller for the lead in the first five of the 20-lap race. Meanwhile battle lines were being drawn between a pack of six very fast riders that would ensue right to the final dash for the line.

In the heat of the battle Kent was bumped back to seventh at the half way mark but soon began to work his way back into contention for a podium place. He turned up the heat in the final two laps and was challenging Miller for the lead going into the final straight, then the two riders made slight contact when Miller had to go wide after accidentally slipping his bike into neutral at Turn 11. Kent rides the Husqvarna FR 250 GP machine.

Kent remained positive after what had been a strong weekend for the British rider, saying:“We started the race well. To be fair, it was a very good race up until Turn 11 of the last lap. We made a good start and led the race for the first four laps. Then I dropped back a little, down to seventh place, and tried to conserve my tyres for the last two laps. On the last lap I passed four riders and regained a good position. On the straight I tried to overtake Jack (Miller) but he had the inside and I clipped the grass. Then I saw Marquez on the outside and I tried to close the door on him, but I was too far inside. I could neither brake well nor turn the bike in. It was a mistake on my part.”

Riders now travel south to the Australian circuit at Phillip Island for Rd. 16 or the 18-round championship that concludes in Valencia at the beginning of November.

Moto3 GP of Japan Rd. 15 at Motegi
Results

1. Alex Marquez, ESP, Honda 39:26.830
2. Efren Vazquez, ESP, Honda, 39:27.187
3. Brad Binder, RSA, Mahindra, 39:27.314
4. John McPhee, GBR, Honda, 39:27.502
5. Jack Miller, AUS, KTM, 39:27.502
6. Danny Kent, GBR, Husqvarna, 39:28.626
7. Romano Fenati, ITA, KTM, 39:32.757
8. Enea Bastianini, ITA, KTM 39:32.855
9. Niccolo Antonelli, ITA, KTM, 39:33.357
10. Alex Rins, ESP, Honda, 39:33.516
DNF Niklas Ajo, FIN, Husqvarna

Championship standings after Rd. 15 (of 18)

1. Marquez, 231
2. Miller, 206
3. Rins, 194
4. Fenati, 174
5. Vazquez, 174
15. Ajo 45

Manufacturer’s standings after 15 of 18 rounds

1. Honda, 323
2. KTM 314
3. Mahindra 149
4. Husqvarna 123

More, from a press release issued by KTM:

MILLER FINISHES FIFTH IN MOTEGI AFTER TOUGH LAST LAP BATTLE

Red Bull KTM’s Jack Miller of Australia lost out in the final stages of Rd. 15 of the Moto3 World Championship at Motegi, Japan after a hard fought 20-lap race and a costly mistake in Turn 11. After accidentally slipping his bike into neutral, Miller had to settle for fifth place.

Alex Marquez took the victory from fellow Spaniard Efren Vazquez with South African Brad Binder taking third.

Miller, a Red Bull athlete got away very fast from the second row of the grid and had already vaulted into the lead in the first seconds of the race while clashes at the back of the field already knocked out a number of riders. The Australian, who led the world championship points right through to Rd. 13, then had a tough battle on his hands with Husqvarna’s pole man Danny Kent.

Kent and Miller, who rides the KTM RC 250 GP held onto the lead for the first four laps but by then it was clear that there were at least six contenders for the podium who consolidated into a tight-knit group at the front.

Miller continued to control the front for the majority of the race although Marquez of Spain looked increasingly threatening. Meanwhile Kent, who had dropped back to sixth place in the middle of the race was also challenging for the lead as riders entered the final lap. By then it was clear that the deciding move would come in the closing corners.

Then, in the closing seconds of the race, Miller made an error at turn 11 when he accidentally put his bike into neutral and had to go wide to avoid a collision. Marquez reacted with lightning speed and went on to take the race.

Jack Miller: it was a shame about the mistake I made in the last lap because our pace was still very good and I led for a large part of the race. I went in too strong going into the corner on the final lap, I tried shifting down as fat as possible for I made a mistake, which meant I passed the braking point.”

Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Ajo Team Manager: “Everything seemed right until the last lap. Jack (Miller) was at the front and was doing very well, looking very strong. But in this category a lot can happen. On the back straight you have to brake very late. Jack made a small mistake with the gears and so went a bit long. Then, after the contact with Danny (Kent), many riders passed him. The situation would have been great if we had won, but in the end we let a lot of points slip on the last lap. We are still positive, hungry and confident that we can win the title.”

Miller’s teammate Karel Hanika of the Czech Republic put in a workman-like race to finish twelfth after working his way up from twenty third on the starting grid to add four championship points to his tally.

Miller now trails Marquez by 25-points in the title chase with only three rounds to go. The championship now moves to Australia and the Phillip Island circuit for round 16 before returning to Sepang in Malaysia for the penultimate round. The championship finishes in Valencia Spain at the beginning of November

Moto3 GP of Japan Rd. 15

At Motegi

Results

1, Alex Marquez, ESP, Honda 39:26.830

2, Efren Vazquez, ESP, Honda, 39:27.187

3, Brad Binder, RSA, Mahindra, 39:27.314

4, John McPhee, GBR, Honda, 39:27.502

5, Jack Miller, AUS, KTM, 39:27.502

6, Danny Kent, GBR, Husqvarna, 39:28.626

7, Romano Fenati, ITA, KTM, 39:32.757

8, Enea Bastianini, ITA, KTM 39:32.855

9, Niccolo Antonellu, ITA, KTM, 39:33.357

10, Alex Rins, ESP, Honda, 39:33.516

Other KTM

11, Isaac Vinales, ESP KTM 39:33.818

12, Karel Hanika, CZE, KTM 39:45.543

13, Francesco Bagnaia, ITA, KTM, 39:45.587

16, Eric Granado, BRA, KTM 39:51.618

18, Hafiq Azmi, MAL, KTM 40:06.984

Championship standings after Rd. 15

1, Marquez, 231

2, Miller, 206

3, Rins, 194

4, Fenati, 174

5, Vazquez, 174

6, Alexi Masbou, FRA, Honda, 140

Other KTM

7, Vinales, 121

8, Bastianini 116

12, Jakub Kornfeil, CZE, KTM 78

14, Bagnaia 45

16, Antonelli, 44

18, Hanika, 28

29, Granado, 2

Manufacturer’s standings after 15 of 18 rounds

1, Honda, 323

2, KTM 314

3, Mahindra 149

4, Husqvarna 123

5, Kalex KTM 5

6. FTR KTM 4

From a press release issued by Tuned Racing:

Streets of Willow – Counter Clockwise

Rosamond, CA

9 Podiums for Tuned Racing Riders at Moto West Grand Prix

With 4 wins, 4 seconds, and a third, Tuned Racing riders were on the podium in all their races Sunday at Moto West Grand Prix’s penultimate round at Streets of Willow.

Jason Aguilar set the fastest lap of the weekend with a 1:15.199 on his Tuned Racing Yamaha R6. photo courtesy of Marshall Valentine

Jason Aguilar stepped up on Sunday morning qualifying with the Top Qualifying Time of 1:15.775, a personal best, followed by Bryce Prince. The first race of the day saw Jason Aguilar extend his lead in the 600 Superstock Class Championship with a win. The Open Superbike race was a great battle between Bryce Prince and Corey Sarros, with Sarros taking the win and Bryce second. Mike Pond finished second place in 750 Superbike.

The Formula 1 race turned into a 2-way battle as Bryce Prince and “Aussie” Dave Anthony battled the entire race, with Dave taking the win, Bryce second, and Jason Aguilar filling out the final podium spot. 600 Superbike saw Tuned Racing go 1-2 with Bryce first and Mike second. Mike Pond brought home his first win of the day in 750 Superstock. In the final race of the day, Open Superstock, Jason Aguilar recorded the fastest lap of the race weekend, a 1:15.199, to take the win.

Bryce’s strong results elevated him to1st Place in the Overall Championship, with commanding leads in 600 Superbike, Open Superbike, and Formula 1 Championships. Bryce will have the chance to earn the Number 1 plate at the Season Finale next month at Big Willow.

Tuned Racing thanks all of our sponsors for their support:

Tuned Industries, Graves Motorsports, Dunlop Tires, Solarmax Technology, Galfer Brakes, Worxxx Performance and Machine, Drive Systems USA, Torco Advanced Lubricants, OFD Racing, Motoyard.com, Let’s Ride Trackdays, Zero Gravity Racing Corporation, Dynojet, VNM Sportgear, EFSigns.com, SBKPaint.com, Optimal Racing Bodywork, SpeedAngle, Shorai Batteries, ACT Leathers, NEXX-USA, Onyx Oil Service and Scott’s Plumbing.

Jason Aguilar also thanks his personal sponsors: RS Taichi, Moto Liberty, AXO, Vortex Racing, Impact Safe-T Armor, Spider Grips, HT Moto, GPR Stabilizers, Troy Lee Designs, and Chicken Hawk Racing.

More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:

Japanese MotoGP™ debrief with Shinji Aoki

Tuesday, October 14 2014

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard; Rear: Extra-soft, Soft & Medium (Asymmetric)

Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo secured his second win in a row at last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix as Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez finished in second place to secure his second-straight MotoGP™ crown.

Conditions for the start of the Japanese Grand Prix race weekend were warm, but cool ambient temperatures and cloud cover drastically lowered track temperatures on Sunday, with a peak recording of just 27°C recorded during the race.

Q&A with Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department

How did the much cooler temperatures on Sunday compared to the previous days effect tyre performance during the race?

“We always have to be prepared for a wide variety of riding conditions and ambient temperatures when we design our tyre allocation for a race, especially for Motegi which at this time of year can be affected by adverse weather conditions. Our front tyre allocation for this year now includes three slick compound options and so this allows us to cover all our bases in terms of matching compound selection to cooler or warmer temperatures.

“For the asymmetric rear slicks, this circuit is severe on the centre section of the tyre in the numerous acceleration zones, but compared to the majority of other circuits we use relatively soft compounds on the shoulders at Motegi and this gives our tyres the ability to work in a wide range of conditions. What was really pleasing to see at Motegi was that the riders able to effectively use all of our slick tyres in the allocation, while showing incredibly quick pace throughout the weekend. A new qualifying lap record, race lap record and overall race time record at our home Grand Prix is an encouraging result for Bridgestone at our home race. This shows that no matter what the weather conditions, our tyres can provide very good performance.”

For the race all twenty-four riders selected the medium compound front slick. At a circuit which places so much emphasis on braking, why was this option preferred over the hard compound front?

“Of course the need for good braking performance at Motegi is an important consideration, but this is not only down to the front tyre it also requires good balance between the front and rear. We had feedback from some riders that for pure braking performance, the hard compound front slick showed excellent potential, however the medium compound front slick still offered good braking performance with better cornering performance than the hard option. Many riders also felt that they could achieve a better front-back bike balance using the medium front slick with the softer option rear slicks as well. Another factor which made the medium compound front slick the preferred option for the race instead of the hard front was the track temperature, which at the start of the race was thirteen degrees cooler than FP4 on Saturday.”

Apart from the layout of the Motegi circuit which places a lot of emphasis on braking and acceleration, are there any other characteristics about the circuit which influence tyre development for this circuit?

“The stop-and-go layout of the circuit is the main factor when we develop tyres for the Japanese Grand Prix as it places a lot of stress on the centre section of the front and rear tyres, but another consideration is the type of tarmac used at Motegi. The asphalt mix at Motegi provides a very high grip level, but it is also quite abrasive so we need ensure our tyre allocation for this race provides good performance and safety over twenty-four very tough laps. If you look at the lap times of race winner Jorge Lorenzo during the race, the difference in lap time between his quickest lap and the last lap of the race was only 0.6 seconds, so we definitely met our objective of ensuring our tyres were fast, consistent and durable.”