Red Bull Grand Prix Of The Americas/MotoGP Race Results From COTA

Red Bull Grand Prix Of The Americas/MotoGP Race Results From COTA

© 2014, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas/FIM MotoGP World Championship

Circuit of The Americas

Austin, Texas

April 13, 2014

Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires):

1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 21 laps, 43:33.430

2. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), -4.124 seconds

3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), -20.976

4. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), -22.790

5. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), -22.963

6. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), -26.567

7. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), -28.257

8. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), -45.519

9. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (FORWARD YAMAHA), -47.605

10. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), -49.111, jump start/ride-through penalty

11. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (HONDA), -60.735

12. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), -63.954

13. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), -67.333

14. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), -87.972

15. Hector BARBERA, Spain (FTR-KAWASAKI), -92.376

16. Michael LAVERTY, UK (PBM-APRILIA), -92.543

17. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (ART-APRILIA), -99.176

18. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (FTR-KAWASAKI), -111.962

19. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), -2 laps, DNF, crash

20. Colin EDWARDS, USA (FORWARD YAMAHA), -4 laps, DNF, retired

21. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (DUCATI), -9 laps, DNF, pitted, crash

22. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), -12 laps, DNF, crash

23. Broc PARKES, Australia (PBM-APRILIA), -13 laps, DNF, retired

World Championship Point Standings (after 2 of 18 races):

1. Marquez, 50 points

2. Pedrosa, 36

3. Rossi, 28

4. Dovizioso, 27

5. Aleix Espargaro, 20

6. Iannone, 15

7. TIE, Bradl/Hayden, 13

9. Smith, 11

10. TIE, Pol Espargaro/Crutchlow, 10

12. TIE, Redding/Aoyama, 9

14. TIE, Edwards/Hernandez, 7

16. Lorenzo, 6

17. Abraham, 5

18. Petrucci, 2

19. TIE, Barbera/Parkes, 1

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Repsol Honda dominate in Texas with perfect weekend for Marquez

Marc Marquez has completed the perfect weekend in Austin, having led every session, taken pole (with a new lap record), recorded a new fastest race lap and crowned it with a victory this afternoon. His teammate, Dani Pedrosa, also contributed to the fantastic Repsol Honda spectacle with a strong second place 16.8 seconds ahead of third place finisher Dovizioso.

Starting on pole for the 11th time in just 20 MotoGP starts Marc, as last season, was once again the only rider to choose the hard rear Bridgestone tyre. He had his best start in the premier class, only beaten in the first corner by Lorenzo who made an uncharacteristic jump start – forcing him into the pit lane for a drive through penalty – and promoting Marc back up to first by the end of the first lap.

Once out in front, he never looked back. He set a new race lap record on lap three with a time of 2’03.575 (beating his time of 2’04.242 in 2013) and went on to win the race comfortably, apart from a final corner scare on the last lap when he briefly lost concentration, and finished four seconds in front of his teammate. Dani, starting from second on the grid, was also unfazed by Lorenzo’s mistake and slipped in behind Marc as the Repsol Honda duo ran away from the race leaving them untouchable.

With this result, Marc has become the first rider to win the first two races of the year from pole in the premier-class since Repsol Honda’s Mick Doohan in 1995. Repsol Honda riders have now won the last nine MotoGP races in the USA. The last non-Honda MotoGP winner in the USA was Jorge Lorenzo, at Laguna Seca in 2010.

TEAM QUOTES

Marc Marquez

1st – Championship Standing: 1st – 50 points

“I’m very happy! I got a really good start, but when I saw Jorge overtake me off the line at first I was a little worried, but then I saw that he had jumped the start. It was a different race to previous ones because I led from start to finish; although it might seem easier that way, it is tough because you have to maintain concentration. It was a perfect weekend and gives us plenty of confidence, although we are aware that the coming races will be different. I know that the race was a little boring for the fans, but sometimes these types of races are good for a rider. Let’s hope that the next one is more exciting!”

Dani Pedrosa

2nd – Championship Standing: 2nd – 36 points

“It was a tough race as Marc was that little faster than me and although I tried to improve with every corner, it was too difficult to gain ground on him and the distance between us increased with every lap. In the end, he was too far away from me. I didn’t have anyone behind me either, so I just kept up my pace as best I could. I learnt a few things in this race and we will try to apply them and make the maximum improvement possible, in order to be able to put up more of a fight next time”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

Grand Prix of the Americas

Unfortunate End to Texas Grand Prix Weekend for Movistar Yamaha

Austin (Texas), 13th April 2014

Today’s Grand Prix of the Americas at the COTA circuit in Austin, Texas proved to be a difficult one for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders with Valentino Rossi taking eighth and teammate Jorge Lorenzo taking tenth.

After a less than perfect start that saw him drop from sixth on the grid to ninth, Rossi re-grouped and started to work his way back through the pack. Displaying his trademark efficiency the nine-time world champion made short work of the opening laps, passing Andrea Dovizioso, Stefan Bradl and finally Cal Crutchlow for fourth in turn seven. Rossi then began to close down Andrea Iannone and looked confident of scoring a podium finish until a sudden loss of grip on the right side of the front tyre left him unable to keep his pace, dropping him to eighth which he held to the line.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo experienced his second Grand Prix weekend to forget today, making a jump start at the beginning of the race and receiving a ride-through penalty as a result. He pitted immediately at the end of the opening lap and re-joined at the back of the field in 23rd. The four-time world champion then showed his dedication and professionalism, working hard to move back through the pack to earn his first championship points of the season. As he crossed the finish line he did so in tenth position, less than four seconds from Rossi in eighth.

The eighth place finish gains Rossi a further eight points to give a total of 28, dropping him to third on the overall standings. Lorenzo’s tenth place earns his first championship points of the season, putting him in 16th with six points.

The championship stays outside of Europe for round three, moving south for the Gran Premio de la República Argentina on 27th April.

Valentino Rossi

8th / +45.519 / 21 laps

“We destroyed the front tyre completely on the right side. I had the same problem during the weekend but less than this. This morning we made a good step and with a used tyre I could do all the warm up so we were quite positive. Unfortunately after seven or eight laps the front was gone and I had to go three seconds slower. It’s a pity because we could do another podium which was the target here in Austin, unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”

Jorge Lorenzo

10th / +49.111 / 21 laps

“I wasn’t thinking and was distracted and I made a big mistake in the start. I just tried to push at the maximum afterwards to get the best result but the race was almost over for me. I want to say sorry to the team as I destroyed my race, but at least I didn’t crash because it was a difficult situation with the tension and it was easy to make a mistake and get injured. The good thing is that I finished the race and got my first points in the championship but clearly it wasn’t our weekend.”

Massimo Meregalli

“Unfortunately Valentino completely destroyed the right side of his front tyre after a few laps. We had suffered already this weekend with this and made some changes to the set up, this morning we could do 16 laps with the tyre still looking good so we thought the problem was solved. It’s a shame because as a result we lost the podium here in Texas, where we knew from the beginning it was going to be a tough race. As for Jorge, no matter how hard you prepare for a race weekend there are some things that cannot be anticipated. We all know he is one of the hardest working riders here and very rarely makes a mistake. He did a good job to make the best of it afterwards. I want to thank all the team for another weekend spent working extremely hard to overcome challenges and make a competitive bike for the race, we are looking forward to Argentina to come back even stronger.

More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Racing:

Abraham opens weekend in Austin with eighteenth position

The Czech rider Karel Abraham remains in the eighteenth position after first day of Grand Prix of Americas in Austin, Texas. The time 2:07,053 means a loss of 3,563 seconds to the fastest Marc Marquez and to the closest rider on the same bike to Hiroshi Aoyama a loss of just 12 thousandths of second.

Karel Abraham

“There is a tough racing weekend in front of us. Redding and Hayden are really fast, but we are going to do everything to catch up them. I still have to consider my shoulder because here in Austin there’s a lot of left turns and it limited me a little bit. We focused on testing of tyres today. We are at the beginning but I believe that we are on the right way”

Marco Grana

chief mechanic, Cardion AB Motoracing

“Today we focused on testing of tyre mixture and we begun work on the setting of the bike. Bridgestone gave us a new type of soft tyres, but for now, we found as better option the tyre from the last year. The key for us is to find appropriate setting of rear of the bike; with front we are quite satisfied. For tomorrow we have as a goal to get to the time around 2:06 and get closer to Hayden and Redding, so we could fight for points in the race. Of course we have to consider to Karel’s shoulder. The circuit in Austin is not ideal, there‘s a lot of left turns that put a strain of the injured shoulder.”

More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:

Podium in sight for Iannone

The Pramac Racing Team just ended a great weekend. In the North American round all the goals were reached. Andrea Iannone gave everything possible crossing the finish line in seventh position. Yonny Hernandez gets in the points with the a thirteenth placement.

Andrea Iannone – Pramac Racing – starts off the race gaining third place from the first lap, The Maniac constantly keeps a fast pace pulling out a gap between him and the group behind him. The performance loss due to the degradation of the front tire in the last 6 laps did not allow him to maintain the position, that would been worth the podium, Andrea crossed the finish line in seventh place, however, the best personal performance in the top class .

Yonny Hernandez – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – had a good start, gaining a few positions throughout the race fighting in the group from the tenth to thirteenth position with riders of experience. The Colombian reached his goal, ending in the points, crossing the finish line in thirteenth place .

Andrea Iannone ( Pramac Racing)

“I am satisfied with today’s result , but I could have done better if i didn’t have the tire problem. I pushed to the limit till it was possible, the grip of the front tire suddenly got worse making it too dangerous to push. I do not understand why it lost so much grip, during the practice session we used the same compound and didn’t have this problem. This is my first good race in MotoGP after a difficult year for Ducati, we are getting stronger! I thank the members of my team for the great job this weekend and Ducati for support.”

Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing)

“It was a good race I’m happy with my result! I was close to Hayden and Aoyam for most of the twenty laps, they have a lot of experience , and it was a good opportunity that helped learn a lot. I’m glad I achieved my goal again! I thank the team for the hard work done.”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:

BRADL GETS A POSITIVE 4th AT COTA AFTER A STRONG BATTLE FOR THE PODIUM

Austin, 13 April: the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas got underway at 2pm local time in hot but uncertain conditions (with a 40% chance of rain) with Marquez gaining his second seasonal victory followed by Pedrosa and Dovizioso. LCR Racer Stefan Brad, who started from the third spot on the grid, was a great competitor and made the most of his RC213V to get the third place on the podium but some front tyre problems prevented him to finish the 21-lap race behind the Repsol duo.

Stefan: “First of all this race was a bit strange because of the jump-start of Lorenzo and in the beginning I struggled a bit to find my pace. I had to battle with Rossi and Ducati riders in the first laps and it took me some time to get out of that for finding my speed. After that I could go but honestly we had a big problem with the front tyre as it dropped down too fast. I had to slow down and it was impossible for me to catch Dovizioso. The tyres performances throughout the weekend was good but in the race we had a very big problem and I think it’s the same for many riders right now. I smelled the podium today and it’s difficult to accept the defeat but we can be happy anyway because we did a very good job”.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Marquez untouchable at Austin for second successive win

MotoGP™ World Champion Marc Marquez utterly dominated the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas race, taking victory by a four second margin from his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) completing the podium

Marc Marquez utterly dominated the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas race, taking victory by a four second margin from his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) completing the podium.

A jump start ruined the race for Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) and he finished 10th after a ride through penalty. Lorenzo took the holeshot after a bizarre error from the former World Champion and he rode through pit lane at the end of the first lap, leaving Marquez clear at the front. Pedrosa tried to stay with Marquez, who was the only ‘Factory’ rider to run the hard rear tyre, but the youngster sped away to become the first rider to win the first two races of the year from pole in the premier-class since Mick Doohan in 1995.

A first podium for Dovizioso as a Ducati Team rider was great news for the Italian factory, though there was some bad news for them too as Cal Crutchlow crashed out and injured his right hand, having earlier pitted due to tyre problems.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) missed the podium by just under two seconds after winning a battle for fourth with Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3), whilst Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) was sixth.

Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) dropped back to seventh having been third in the early stages, whilst there were problems too for Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) as he hunted the podium in the early stages and faded to eighth in the second half of the race.

Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) was ninth at a track that he has admitted is not his strongest, whilst Lorenzo rounded out the top ten after his mistake at the start.

Nicky Hayden (Drive M7 Aspar) finished as the top ‘Open’ Honda rider and top American in 11th – whilst his compatriot Colin Edwards (NGM Forward Racing) was unable to finish his home race. Crashes for Alvaro Baustista and Scott Redding also ruined GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s weekend.

Honda riders have now won the last nine MotoGP races in the USA and the last non-Honda MotoGP winner in the States was Lorenzo, at Laguna Seca in 2010.

Moto2™: Viñales charges to win at round two

The Moto2™ race at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas brought victory for Maverick Viñales (Pons HP 40) in just his second appearance in the intermediate class, with Esteve Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) second and Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) third

Moto3™ World Champion Viñales rode brilliantly from sixth on the grid, holding his nerve in an incident-packed ‘dry race’ which was slightly delayed by rain in Texas, the Spaniard eventually crossing the line four seconds ahead of Rabat.

Aegerter took the final podium spot a further three seconds back with Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) crashing out of the rostrum hunt at the end of the penultimate lap having earlier led the race.

There was chaos at the first corner when the race got underway as a crash hindered the race of many riders, with Josh Herrin (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing), Mattia Pasini (NGM Forward Racing), Axel Pons (AGR Team), Nico Terol (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2), Sam Lowes (Speed Up) and Luis Salom (Pons HP 40) all involved. Of that group only Herrin, Terol and Salom were unable to finish the race and all riders were ok.

Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing) crashed out on lap two taking Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team) with him, though the latter remounted to finish 23rd. There were crashes too for Louis Rossi (SAG Team), Lorenzo Baldassarri (Gresini Moto2) and Jonas Folger (AGR Team), though they too escaped injury.

Behind the front three Mika Kallio Marc (VDS Racing Team) missed the podium by just over a second, whilst Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing) also made the top five.

Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2), Anthony West (QMMF Racing Team), Alex De Angelis (Tasca Racing Moto2) and Tech 3 pair Marcel Schrotter and Ricard Cardus completed the top ten.

Moto3™: Miller takes second victory of the season

The Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas brought victory in the Moto3™ race for Jack Miller, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider being joined on the podium by Romano Fenati and Efren Vazquez

The Grand Prix of the Americas brought victory in the Moto3™ race for Jack Miller, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider being joined on the podium by Romano Fenati and Efren Vazquez.

A crash for Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) on the final lap ruined his day when he was in the hunt for the podium, leaving Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) and Vazquez (SAXOPRINT RTG) to chase the rampant Miller to the finish line, with the Australian ultimately outpacing his rivals.

After winning at Qatar Miller now has maximum points from the first two rounds and he deservedly won from pole after leading for most of the race.

Behind the podium finishers an off colour Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) finished fourth by a seven second margin from the front, with Jakub Kornfeil (Calvo Team) following the Spaniard across the line in fifth.

The experienced Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold) was sixth, with Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46), Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo), John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG) and Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) all in the top ten.

There were early crashes for Arthur Sissis (Mahindra Racing), Andrea Locatelli (San Carlo Team Italia) and Matteo Ferrari (San Carlo Team Italia), with Locatelli rejoining to finish 25th.

Hafiq Azmi (SIC-Ajo KTM) crashed and rejoined for 24th, whilst Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team) crashed out at turn 19 on lap 8 with Niccolo Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN) going down at the same corner a lap later. Antonelli was taken to the medical centre by ambulance to be checked over after the race.

Luca Grünwald (Kiefer Racing) jump started and faced a penalty, riding through pit lane to rejoin but finishing 23rd. There were late retirements meanwhile for

Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing) and Gabriel Ramos (Kiefer Racing).

More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:

Marquez makes it back-to-back victories at Circuit of The Americas

Round 2: Americas MotoGP™ – Race

Circuit of the Americas, Sunday 13 April 2014

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

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

Weather: Dry. Ambient 26-27°C; Track 32-33°C (Bridgestone measurement)

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez capped off a perfect weekend at Circuit of The Americas by winning his second successive Americas Grand Prix ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa.

The race started in dramatic fashion after Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo jumped the start and as a result had to relinquish his race lead and enter the pits to serve a ride-through penalty. This gifted the race lead to Marquez who was able to consistently lap in the 2’03 time bracket to quickly build a gap over the rest of the field. At the chequered flag Marquez crossed the finish line 4.124 seconds of Pedrosa in second place, while Andrea Dovizioso finished in an impressive third place to score his first podium with Ducati.

Intermittent rain fell earlier in the day but track conditions were dry for the race, although track temperatures were considerably lower than yesterday. The peak track temperature during the race was 33°C, ten degrees cooler than yesterday afternoon. The medium compound rear slick was the preferred race option, with sixteen of the twenty-three riders on the grid selecting this option, while six Open-class riders selected the soft compound rear slick. In similar fashion to the season-opener in Qatar, only race winner Marquez selected the hard compound rear slick. All riders selected the medium compound front slick for the race. The improved track conditions compared to last year resulted in quicker race pace this year, with Marquez setting a new Circuit Record Lap time of 2’03.575 on lap three, while the overall race time was nine seconds quicker than last year.

Marquez’s two wins from two races sees him lead the championship standings over teammate Pedrosa by fourteen points, while Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi is a further eight points behind and third overall in the championship points table.

Hiroshi Yamada – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Division

“Congratulations to Marc for another victory at Circuit of the Americas and to Repsol Honda for achieving another double podium at this venue. It was also pleasing to see Ducati return to the podium, so well done to Andrea and the team for their fantastic result today. I was sorry to see Cal crash and injure himself during the race and I want to wish him a full and speedy recovery. I hope that the exciting start to the season continues when we visit the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo in a couple of weeks’ time, and I look forward to returning to the United States for the Indianapolis Grand Prix in August.”

Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Division

“Conditions were much cooler today for the race but track conditions were good, which resulted in the race being run at a very quick pace. Only Marquez selected the harder rear slick for the race and it worked well for him, and all three rear slick options were utilised in the race. As expected the whole of the grid selected the medium compound option, yet during the race some riders experienced higher levels of front tyre abrasion than was seen during practice and qualifying. We will now analyse the tyres to work out what were the contributing factors that resulted in the high levels of wear that occurred during the race.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda – Race Winner

“I’m really happy with this victory, it was a different kind of race for me as I’ve never led a MotoGP race from start to finish, so it was a bit strange and it was hard to keep my concentration. It was great to get the twenty-five points today, but I know the next races will be more challenging as this is one of my favourite circuits and today was one of my easier victories.”

More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:

Top Ten and first open for Espargaro in Texas GP

The NGM Forward Racing Team leaves Texas with Aleix Espargaro 9th and first open.

After the great result scored yesterday in qualifying, Aleix couldn’t make a good start, loosing the contact with the front group. He struggled with the chattering and preferred to be a bit conservative to finish the race and getting some good points. The Spaniard is now 5th in the championship with 20 points.

It was an unlucky day for Colin Edwards who expected to get another result in his home grand prix. As his team mate, Colin struggled a lot during the race and when there were 4 laps to go his bike stopped, obliging him to retire. With today’s retirement, Colin is 14th in the rider Championship.

The NGM Forward Racing team leaves Texas in 4th position of the Constructor and Team classification.

Colin Edwards:

“We struggled the whole weekend and I also had an issue with my front tyre, that made my race even more complicated. With 4 laps to go, I had problems with the fuel pressure and my bike stopped, when I was in the back straight. My race was over. Now we will try to understand what happened”.

Aleix Espargaro:

“This morning we struggled a lot due to the front chattering and it happened the same in the race. I couldn’t push. I had to be a bit conservative, focusing on finishing the race and getting some points. It was very frustrating but it was impossible for me to push more today. Anyway I’m confident for the next gp and I look forward to race in Argentina”.

More, from a press release issued by Drive M7 Aspar Team:

DRIVE M7 ASPAR RIDERS FINISH TOUGH WEEKEND WITH SOLID POINTS

Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama make up positions to take eleventh and twelfth in Texas

The second round of the MotoGP World Championship in Texas got underway at 2pm, literally moments after Jorge Lorenzo had launched from the line to earn himself an unwanted ‘ride-through’ penalty for a jump start that damages his championship chances. Marc Márquez needed no second invitation to dominate, having done exactly that throughout the rest of the weekend, adding a new lap record (2.03.575) to his account on his way to a second straight victory from the first two rounds of the season. The defending World Champion finished with a four-second lead over Dani Pedrosa, who took second place by a clear margin from Andrea Dovizioso in third.

After a positive start to the season in Qatar there were strong finishes again from the DRIVE M7 Aspar Team, both Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama saving their best for race day. Nicky started from fourteenth on the grid but fought off Scott Redding and Yonny Hernández in a race-long battle to take eleventh place whilst Aoyama made progress with his front-end set-up to improve his pace and trade up his sixteenth place in qualifying for twelfth place in the race.

11th Nicky Hayden: “To be honest the race went a lot better than I expected and obviously it was much better than the rest of the weekend. It hasn’t been an easy Grand Prix for us, we had a few setbacks during practice and to be honest my reaction wasn’t the best. It was hard for me to be so far off the pace in my home race and I have to apologise because I’m sure I wasn’t easy to be around. The team worked really hard all weekend, I gave the mechanics plenty to do and they did their best to give me the best possible bike. In the end we have come away with a positive result and I had fun fighting with a strong group of riders. The positive thing is we have more experience with this new bike and we know the season is long so we have to keep going to make the most of our potential.”

12th Hiroshi Aoyama: “I think starting from sixteenth and finishing twelfth, we have to be satisfied and it shows the progress we have made all weekend. I had a good start but with us going for the hard tyre we had to wait for the feeling to come in and as the laps went by I was able to close on the group in front and make some passes. In the end I almost caught Nicky so I am really happy and grateful to the team for giving me a great setting, the bike worked well and I felt better than in Qatar, especially with the front end. We still need to build experience with this bike but a twelfth place finish today is positive and we are on the right lines. I want to thank the team, the sponsors and everybody around me that helps us score results like this.”

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