Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after the Sunday's Japanese round at Motegi:
Lorenzo Reigns at Motegi
Twin Ring Motegi Circuit (Motegi, Japan), 12th October 2014
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo dominated at the Twin Ring Motegi for the second year in a row, taking a perfect victory at the Grand Prix of Japan. Teammate Valentino Rossi also shone, making it a double podium for Yamaha with a strong third place.
Lorenzo had a good start to the 24 lap race when he launched off the second row of the grid to arrive at the first corner in third place. He soon overtook Andrea Dovizioso to follow teammate Rossi, who snatched the holeshot into turn one from a second place start position on the grid. Rossi worked to build a gap of just over 0.404 seconds over the first two laps, but Lorenzo was quick to arrive at the back of the Doctor’s YZR-M1. Feeling the heat from Dovizioso and Marc Marquez behind him, Lorenzo took the lead from his teammate on the fourth lap and cleared off at the front to set a new lap record of 1’45.350 four laps later. Lorenzo was then able to create a gap of nearly 2.7 seconds to take the flag and score his second consecutive Motegi race victory.
This result means Lorenzo equals five-time 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan's record of 54 victories in his Grand Prix career, moving him up in the all-time winners list to a joint fifth place.
Teammate Rossi’s Motegi race was focused on fighting hard to fend off Marquez. On lap 10 Marquez made a first attempt in passing the nine-time World Champion, but Rossi refused to give up his position, immediately retaking second place in the last corner. He was unable to answer the next pass by Marquez before the hairpin, but was determined not to let his rival out of his sight, hoping for another opportunity to keep the championship open for the next race. While the threat came from behind as Dani Pedrosa started to close down the gap, Rossi pushed to the limit and was able to hold on to third place over the line.
Todays’ 25-point gain sees Lorenzo remain in fourth position in the championship standings, increasing his championship points total to 227. This leaves him just three points behind Rossi, who rises to second place with 230 championship points.
99 Jorge Lorenzo
1st / 42'21.259 / 24 laps
“It’s unbelievable! It has been a very difficult year but Yamaha has been improving the bike little by little and we’re getting better every race. In Aragón, because of the 'flag to flag' we were able to win. We were lucky under the circumstances and I also improved in the race compared to the practice. Here we expected to get more and more strong for the race and be able to fight for the win but we didn’t expect to lead by this much and have a gap of 2.7 seconds in the middle of the race. I’m very happy to win the race for the second time in a row. We are happy for Marc that he won the title. This year he was the best in general, so we want to say congratulations. The good thing about this year was that the four top riders were very similar. We had very strong races that were consistent and equal, so for the next races I expect a lot of fights. We are very close to the second position and that’s our goal. We are going to try.”
46 Valentino Rossi
3rd / +2.602 / 24 laps
“From one side I’m very satisfied because the race had a high level. We had a high race pace and were braking the lap record. We rode like this from the beginning to the end and I felt good with the bike. From the other side it’s a shame that I was unable to keep the championship open for another week. I tried to get back on Marc, but unfortunately he had something more than me, so he arrived in front of me. I have to say that he deserves this championship. He worked well and was the stronger man this year. Congratulations to him.”
Massimo Meregalli
“It’s very special to again come here to our rival’s home and take a second consecutive victory. Jorge rode a perfect race again and showed his skills in managing from the front. Vale was also very strong and definitely didn't make it easy for Marc, so deserved his podium finish. I’m satisfied with the weekend, the team worked hard from the first day and we have shown we can be competitive in all situations. We are now going to two more tracks where we know we can be strong so we look forward to fighting to continue this winning streak for the remainder of the season. Congratulations to Marc for his title victory, he rode an impressive season.”
Marc Marquez wins 2014 World Championship in Japan with second place in Motegi
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has clinched his second consecutive Championship on Honda’s home soil, becoming the first Honda rider to clinch a World title – in any class – at the Motegi circuit, with his well earned second place finish. Teammate Dani Pedrosa fought to the end and finished just half a second off the podium in 4th position.
It was a tense start to the race with both riders dropping places on the first lap. However, they gradually passed Iannone and Dovizioso and by lap fourteen Marc was 3rd with Dani behind him in 4th, chasing leaders Lorenzo and Rossi. Marc battled with Valentino on lap 15, then finally passed him on lap 16, and began to try and open a gap. Valentino didn’t let him escape and kept the pressure on him until the final lap, with Marc taking second place by just 1 second in front of Valentino and just 1.6s behind Lorenzo. He now has an 82 point lead with just 75 points left to play for in the final three rounds, gifting him the 2014 World Championship.
Marc is the youngest ever rider to win two consecutive premier-class World Championships at the age of 21 years 237 days, taking the record from Mike Hailwood who was 23 years 152 days when he won his second successive 500cc title in 1963. This is the third time which the MotoGP world title has been secured at the Motegi circuit (previously in 2007 with Casey Stoner, and 2008 with Valentino Rossi).
Dani is now third in the standings but tied on points with Valentino, with Jorge just 3 points behind, and will be fighting in the final three races to earn second in the World Championship. The paddock now leave Japan and head South to Australia for next week’s grand prix in Phillip Island.
Marc Marquez
2nd - Crowned 2014 MotoGP World Champion
“I am very happy to have sealed this second consecutive World Championship, because although it is difficult to maintain this level, in the end we succeeded! Today is the time to enjoy this title. In the race I had a very clear objective, which was to finish ahead of Valentino and Dani - the other riders did not matter to me so much today. I just had one goal in mind and the important thing is that I was able to achieve it. I want to dedicate this title to all the people who have helped me - they know who they are - and especially to my family and the team, who are the foundation for all of this.”
Dani Pedrosa
4th - Championship Standing: 3rd - 230 points
“I wasn't as fast off the start as the riders at the front, which meant that I lost two or three seconds early on. However, later I was able to come back, set good times and cut the distance a lot. However, as has happened to me before on other occasions this season, I was continually having to make up the time that I had lost at the start. I have to congratulate Marc and his team today, because they have done a really good job this season and deserve the title.”
GP of Japan: Dovizioso concludes Motegi race in fifth, while Crutchlow crashes out on lap 2
Andrea Dovizioso scored another positive result today in the Grand Prix of Japan at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, the Ducati Team rider finishing in fifth place at the end of the 24-lap race. Starting from pole, Dovizioso crossed the line at the end of lap 1 in third behind Rossi and Lorenzo. On lap 9 the Italian was then passed by Marquez and by Pedrosa five laps later, after which he was able to maintain his fifth place until the chequered flag.
Cal Crutchlow, who started from row 3 after qualifying eighth yesterday, crossed the line in tenth place at the end of lap 1, but a crash at turn 3 on the second lap brought an early end to his race.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 5th
“I think we have to be upbeat about this weekend’s result and look at things in a positive way. We went really well in practice and qualifying, yesterday we got a fantastic pole position and we have always been up at the top of the timesheets. We are making our fans dream again and so it’s obvious that we are creating expectations, but the fact is that we are still not ready to aim for the win. But it was great to do the early laps in the leading group. I really pushed hard but when the rear tyre started to drop off I was no longer able to keep with them. It’s all good experience that will help us for next year and I’m very pleased with the work we have done so far.”
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – DNF
“I’m really disappointed for today’s result, and I’m sorry for the team first and foremost. I made an error by slightly jumping the start, so then on the actual start I released the clutch too late and got a really bad start in the end. I tried to make up some time because I didn’t want the leaders to get away so much, and I pushed too hard and made a mistake on the wide line into turn 3 and crashed. I was actually quite pleased with my pace this weekend, we did a better job of it as a team, so I’m obviously very disappointed with the result. Hopefully we can make amends in Phillip Island.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“This weekend was again positive for us: Andrea’s pole position gave us a lot of satisfaction and it is another step in the right direction. At the start of the year I didn’t think we could manage to take a pole this season, so I’m really happy about that. Together with all the guys in Ducati Corse we’ve done a great job up until now, but we know that we still have to improve to be able to stay with the leaders for the entire race. I’d just like to congratulate Marc Marquez for his second successive world title: it’s an exceptional result!”
At Motegi Iannone crosses the finish line in sixth position; disappointment at the last corner for Hernandez
The race at Motegi was an unusual one for the Pramac Racing Team. Andrea Iannone administered well his qualifying result, starting and finishing in sixth position. Yonny Hernandez has fought for tenth place but at the last corner of the last lap Aleix Espargarò literally hit him down.
Andrea Iannone was the author of a good start thanks to which he was able to move up into fourth place. After a few laps Andrea was overtaken by Marquez and Pedrosa, moving back to sixth place, which he held on to until the end of the race. The GP14.2 proved it’s better performance during the hole race compared to the previous version. Andrea’s only regret is that in the first part of the race he did not have a good feeling with his bike and was not able to fight with the lead group. This is one of the goals that Andrea wants to achieve in the last three events of the season.
Even Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing) managed to gain two positions at the start. After Crutchlow crash he moved up in tenth place, which he defended with strength and determination for almost the entire race from Bautista attacks. Yonny was firmly in eleventh position when Espargarò A. made a move considered not correct crashing into Hernandez that literally throwing him on the ground. ruining a beautiful race. For this action A. Espargarò was penalized by the race direction. Yonny is satisfied with the handling of his race and is very disappointed for how it finished. Now the important thing is to focus on Australia.
Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing)
“From the start of the race I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike entering the turns and my bike’s acceleration wasn’t also perfect. After a few laps my feeling improved and I was able to push and keep a good pace. Too bad, we could have done better in the early stages of the race and finish closer to the front group."
Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing)
"I'm very happy with my race. I fought with Bautista keeping him behind for 3/4 of the race without making mistakes, keeping a good pace and good concentration. Aleix Espargarò collided into me making me crash in the last corner. This behavior will be clarified in race direction."
7th PLACE FOR BRADL AT JAPANESE SOIL
Motegi, 12 October: in today’s crowded Japanese Grand Prix (more than 43.000 fans), HRC rider Marc Marquez won his second world title aboard the RCV while the LCR racer Stefan Bradl finished the Japanese round in 7th position, which allows him to maintain the 9th place in the world standing. The intention of the German rider is to score further points in the forthcoming race in Australia and Malaysia.
Stefan: “Well.. P7 is okay for this weekend considering my position in the qualifying yesterday. I took a good start and could pass Pol Espargaro catching Iannone straight after. I was the whole race behind him but could not pass him especially in the braking areas where the Ducati seemed to be really strong. I made some small imperfection in the last laps trying to overtake him and managed to finish 7th. Now we look forward to the next race trying to qualify in a better position to have an extra advantage during the race”.
RESULTS BELOW EXPECTATIONS FOR BAUTISTA AND REDDING AT TWIN RING MOTEGI
The Grand Prix of Japan which took place today at Twin Ring Motegi circuit ended for Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini with the tenth place of Alvaro Bautista and the sixteenth of Scott Redding.
Bautista, whose goal was to fight for the seventh position, was slowed once again by the lack of rear grip. The Spaniard got stuck behind Yonny Hernandez, losing ground to Stefan Bradl, Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith, with no more chances to close the gap on them.
His teammate, Scott Redding, who started from fifteenth on the grid, was in twelfth position after only 2 laps, but then he struggled under braking doing a couple of off-track excursions that made him lose some positions: the English rookie, sixteenth under the checkered flag, missed out on points for less than half a second, thus interrupting a sequence of 12 consecutive points scoring finishes.
The Team is now heading to Phillip Island to take part this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix, the second of three consecutive flyaway races.
ALVARO BAUTISTA (10th)
“Given the pace we showed during practice, today our target was to fight for the seventh position: unfortunately, I was not able to do more than that. As always, I couldn’t ‘feel’ the rear tyre and I struggled to stop the bike under braking, so it was difficult to ride. Hernandez passed me at the start and then I was stuck behind him many laps because I couldn’t overtake it: I couldn’t brake hard, while he was able to brake deep into the corner. When I finally passed him, it was too late to reach the riders in front of me, so I closed the race in tenth position. If these problems will continue it will be very hard to do better results, so we hope to find a solution for the next races”.
SCOTT REDDING (16th)
“Today I struggled to follow the right line under braking: I went deep several times and I also went off the track on the grass two times, losing a lot of time. It was difficult today to be consistent. We still don’t know why we had this problem: we will check alla the data in order to fix ita head of the upcoming races. In addition, in the last 5 laps the front was pushing a lot, because I used a lot the front tyre at the beginning of the race. I’m not satisfied with the result”.
Espargaro, first Open bike at Motegi
The Japanese GP saw the NGM Forward Racing rider Aleix Espargaro and his Forward Yamaha as first Open bike. On the technical and demanding Twin Ring Motegi, the Spaniard finished in 11th position and on top of the Open bike category.
Espargaro made a good start but after some laps he couldn’t push too hard in order to manage the brakes, that work really hard on this “stop and go” track. He lost some positions and eventually crossed the finish line 11th. With the 5 points earned today, Aleix maintains the 6th position in the World Championship.
It was a difficult race for his team mate Alex De Angelis who finished in 17th position. The rider from San Marino, who was taking the start from the 20th spot on the grid, suffered some technical and electronics problems that spoiled his race.
Aleix Espargaro
“It was a really difficult race. I made a good start but in the first laps I started to struggle with the brakes that work hard on this “stop and go” track. I lost some positions and then it was impossible to reduce the gap from the front guys. I pushed hard and I crossed the finish line as first open. I look forward to race in Australia next week, one my favourite racetracks in the MotoGP calendar. My congratulations to Marc Marquez for clinching his second MotoGP title. He has made a great season and he deserved it well”.
Alex De Angelis
“Motegi is a very technical and demanding track and today I struggled a lot. I was confident for the race but since the first laps I had some technical and electronics issues and I couldn’t fight with the other open bikes as I would have wanted”.
Hiroshi Aoyama puts on a show for home fans
DRIVE M7 Aspar rider makes big step forward on race day to finish thirteenth
There was victory for Yamaha on Honda territory today as Jorge Lorenzo repeated his success from last season at Motegi but second place for Marc Marquez was enough to seal a second successive championship for him and the Japanese manufacturer at their home circuit. The Spanish rider only needed to finish ahead of Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa to make sure of the championship and after a steady start he fought his way into contention and made the crucial pass on the Italian on the sixteenth lap.
After two crashes during practice DRIVE M7 Aspar rider Hiroshi Aoyama was determined to put on a good show for his fans in his home race and after some hard work from his mechanics until late last night he was able to delight them with a charge from eighteenth on the grid to finish thirteenth. The day didn't start well for his team-mate Nicky Hayden, who crashed in warm-up, and luck went against him again in the race when his bike was damaged by debris on the fourth lap. The American fought hard to pick up points in fourteenth place, which is a positive result at a circuit that was always going to be difficult for his recovering wrist.
13th Hiroshi Aoyama: “After two crashes already this weekend, which caused me to lose some confidence, I thought it was going to be a long 24 laps today. I didn't have a good feeling with the front but the mechanics worked hard yesterday and up until midnight last night to give me a better setting and I was really able to enjoy myself today. It was the best feeling I have had with the bike all weekend and I was able to put on a good show for my fans. We finished as the top Honda in the Open category and we closed the gap to the fastest riders in the championship.”
14th Nicky Hayden: “I crashed early in the warm-up this morning which definitely wasn't the best way to start the day and it affected my start in the race. Then on the fourth lap Redding ran a little wide and kicked up a couple of stones that hit my fairing and that affected the aerodynamics of the bike, making the front lift up. So it was a frustrating race and I expected to be much faster than we were today. On the positive side we picked up a couple of points and we have come away with something from a race that we knew was going to be tough on my wrist.”
Tech3 duo complete Motegi challenge inside the top ten
Pol Espargaro delivered a solid performance at Yamaha’s home grand prix to cross the finish line in 8th position at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in today’s round 15 event of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship. The reigning Moto2 World Champion who won his title in Japan last year, leapt off the line from 7th on the grid to retain his grid position by the close of the first lap. He was then pushed back a place but locked into a firm race pace to defend his standing of 8th, a position he proceeded to hold at half race distance. However, the premier class rookie firmly set 7th place in his sights and began consistently inching closer to Stefan Bradl. On the last lap, Espargaro had impressively reduced the gap to close right in on the rider but despite an audacious late charge and an attempt to overtake, he wasn’t able to pass. The seamless performance by the 23 year old Spaniard, who was attending his first race in Japan aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP bike, boosts his championship point score to 116 with only one point separating him from 6th position with three rounds remaining.
Meanwhile, Bradley Smith rode a firm and tireless race to clinch 9th position at the stop and go Twin Ring Motegi track. The young British rider began his challenge from 10th on the grid and ascended up one place by the close of the first lap as he looked to make further ground in the field. He then set into a competitive rhythm as he stayed with his team mate just in front of him in 8th. By the mid point of the 24 lap dash in Japan, Smith remained in this position and battled onwards as the laps proceeded to count down at the hard braking 4801 meter circuit. The 23 year old set his fastest lap on the 15th as he continued to push thoroughly right to the finish line which he crossed in 9th at Yamaha’s home Grand prix. This result leaves the British star fully confident for the two remaining flyaway races where he intends to clinch further point scoring finishes to boost his standings in the World Championship.
Pol Espargaro
Position : 8th Championship : 7th Points : 116
"It goes without saying that 8th isn't the position where I want to be and I can't hide my disappointment. It was a tough race today and I just never felt comfortable and couldn't go any faster. My start was an ok one and I did recover a position initially, but I struggled a lot in stopping the bike on full fuel load. From the middle of the race on, I regained some tenths every lap to close the gap on Bradl who was in front of me but unfortunately I caught him too late and couldn't find a way through. At each corner I lost a lot in acceleration so I tried to make it up whilst braking at every turn, but it just wasn't enough. I guess this is all part of my learning experience and we have to analyse our data now to see where we can improve for the next round in Phillip Island in just a couple of days."
Bradley Smith
Position : 9th Championship : 10th Points : 92
"Although 9th position is nothing to be hugely excited about, there are still a lot of positives to take from today’s race. In terms of the distance back from the leader, I would have been inside the twenty second bracket with Pol, had I not made a small mistake with three laps to go. However, my finish today was still one of the closest for me this season, which is a good step forward. I made this mistake on the first corner which unfortunately caused me to miss out on potentially fighting with Pol and Bradl, so I completed the race in 9th. This position seems to be where we are at right now or at least for this race and I extracted the most from myself and my motorcycle here in Motegi. However, in Philip Island I am sure that we can have a better result as it is a track that I really enjoyed last year on the Yamaha, which performed well. So, I hope to take the consistency and the positives from here and turn it into a stronger result in Australia next week."
Hervé Poncharal - Team manager :
"It was a very exciting race weekend with a lot of tension, but primarily I would like to pass on my very warm congratulations to Yamaha for the three wins in a row. We all know that Motegi is a big race to win, with it being Yamaha’s home race and I am very happy for them as well as being proud to be part of the family. With regards to Tech3, it was a good start and a strong race for both riders, although of course we are aiming for much higher than the end result we achieved today. Clearly the top four MotoGP riders are on another planet with a rhythm which we can’t quite equal at this moment. Then there are the two Ducati’s who are in between the leading four and the rest and at present, we are just behind them. It was very close at the end and exciting to watch Pol and Bradley recovering time on Bradl, but unfortunately they couldn't make their way though and 8th and 9th is not where we want to be at the end of the day. Yet, to have two riders inside the top ten plus collecting strong points for the Championship standings is a positive for this weekend in Japan. It’s important to learn race by race and to use this information so that we can progress and be closer to the leading bikes. A twenty second gap to the leader is not bad, but we must be nearer at the end of the race in the future. Philip Island is next and hopefully we will have a good chance to reduce this distance to the front bikes."
No Japanese Joy For Team PBM
Round 15 of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship took place at Motegi with the Motul Grand Prix of Japan but the first of the series of flyaway races saw PBM MotoGP duo Michael Laverty and Broc Parkes unable to add to their points tally.
The Penrith-based PBM team were hoping to continue their remarkable consistency this season but soon it became apparent that there was work to do with both riders languishing down the order during Free Practice. Qualifying didn't quite go to plan either for Ulsterman Laverty, on the Rapid Solicitors and Silkolene-backed Aprilia ART-powered PBM, nor Australian team-mate Parkes, on the Silkolene-backed PBM, neither of whom could break into the top 20.
Despite starting on row eight of the grid, former British Supersport Champion Laverty and Parkes, twice runner-up in the World Supersport Championship, were confident of a good performance in the 24 lap race.
Both PBM riders made good starts with Laverty gaining a few places before settling into a rhythm just outside the top 20. As the race progressed, Laverty clawed his way up to 19th before crossing the line in a battling 18th place with Parkes just a couple of places further back.
Although neither rider added to their points score, it was yet another pair of finishes for the Cumbrian team meaning that out of the 30 available finishes so far this season, Laverty and Parkes between them have brought the British-made bikes home in 27 of them, remarkably scoring top 20 placings in 23 races.
Parkes, who holds 21st in the championship table, has scored points in Assen (11th), as well as in Qatar and Indianapolis (15th) whereas Laverty, who occupies 26th in the standings, has managed just the one points scoring ride into 14th, also at Indianapolis, where both riders created history for Paul Bird's British team to score points in the same race.
Parkes is eighth in the Open class standings and third in Rookie of the Year. Laverty occupies 12th in the Open class whilst importantly for the PBM team, they hold sixth place in the Constructor's table and 11th in the team's standings.
The PBM MotoGP team is next in action at Phillip Island in Australia next weekend for round 16 of the series, followed the week after at Sepang before the final race of the season in Valencia on November 9th.
Michael Laverty: "It was a tough weekend for us; we really struggled for rear grip right from the first session. We made some improvements throughout practice and qualifying to have our best setting for the race but it was still a struggle. The race was fun though; it was a good battle with Di Meglio and Broc keeping me on my toes throughout. We have a quick turnaround now as we move onto Phillip Island in just a few days and do it all again at one of the best circuits of the season."
Broc Parkes: "At the start the race was OK although I didn't have a great pace but I was in the battle with the Open class guys and could just hang in with them but unfortunately could not attack them. I felt I was losing a lot of time on the back straight and had to work hard to catch back up. My lap times were consistent so I'm happy with that. We lost rear grip and I had still a lot of chatter which is something I have struggled with all year but it was not as bad here. The last five laps I dropped off a couple of seconds to the guys in front. I gave good feedback to the team so I hope we can fix the problems for my home race at Phillip Island this weekend."
Phil Borley, Technical Director: "We have had another difficult weekend and again struggled for pace, with similar problems to those we encountered at the last race. Although we made some improvements during the practice sessions, we did not find a setting that gave us the rear grip we needed to be more competitive. Hopefully at our next race, the flowing nature of the Phillip Island circuit will suit our bike more and we can be closer to some of the other Open bikes."
Disappointment in Japan for Redding
Motegi, Japan – 12 October 2014: Scott Redding was disappointed to miss out on a 13th consecutive points scoring finish by less than half a second today, as he crossed the line at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix in 16th position.
Redding had started strongly, running as the first open class rider in the early stages of the race, before dropping back to 16th after a couple of off track excursions aboard his Open Class Honda RCV1000R.
The 21-year-old Briton now heads to Phillip Island for the Australian Grand Prix, which takes place next weekend.
Scott Redding // 16th
“Today I struggled to follow the right line under braking. I went deep several times, and ran onto the grass twice, losing a lot of time. Over the last five laps the front was pushing a lot, because I’d used the front tyre at the beginning of the race. It was difficult to be consistent today, but we’re not sure yet why we had this problem, so we need to look more closely at the data to find a solution ahead of the coming races in Australia and Malaysia. It goes without saying that I’m far from happy with today’s result.”
Abraham didn't finish race in Japan, the braking failed again
For the second time in the season, Karel Abraham didn't finish the race due to failure of braking. The Czech rider was behind point’s positions immediately after the race has started, however ten laps to go, the brake betrayed him and he had to go out of the track. He stopped after the crash in run-off area. Team did not finish the race due to technical default second race in row.
Karel Abraham
"What to say..all weekend I was pointing out that brakr is not ok. All weekend everyone was looking at me, as there is no problem. It was not good since the start of the race, but I was trying to go. Then, when I was entering into the corner with speed of two hundred kilometers per hour, the brake felt in. I think that it is impossible to race in that way. Break is a component that I really need to hundred percent count on, here cant be any chance of failure. And to me, it happed twice in this season. Fortunately it was it situation that i could solve avoiding any injury. I tried to put down the bike at maximum that I could, but still I went on the grass and I finished somewhere in middle of gravel. We asked Brembo to make official and public announcement about this. We don’t know, where is the mistake. If I do something wrong, I want to know what . How can someone race if he is thinking, whether he can brake or not? I am really upset and it makes no sense to race if it should be like that."
Lorenzo wins the day and Marquez the MotoGP™ championship at Motegi
Round 15: Japanese MotoGP™ - Race
Motegi, Sunday 12 October 2014
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard. Rear: Extra-soft, Soft & Medium (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main) & Hard (Alternative)
Weather: Dry. Ambient 17-18°C; Track 26-27°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo continued his irresistible form in the second half of the 2014 MotoGP season as he won his second consecutive race at Motegi as Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez made it back-to-back MotoGP™ World Championship titles by taking second place in the Japanese Grand Prix.
An exciting start to race saw Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi get the holeshot to lead into turn one, a position he held for the first four laps before Lorenzo squeezed past his teammate to take the over at the front. As his rivals battled behind him, Lorenzo set a scorching pace at the front of the field, setting a new Motegi race lap record of 1’45.350 on lap eight and going on to take the chequered flag by 1.638 seconds from Marquez, with Rossi rounding out the podium in third place a further second back.
Race day at Motegi experienced the coolest conditions of the weekend with the peak track temperature recording during the race being 27°C which was 13°C cooler than measured during qualifying yesterday. The fresher temperatures didn’t have a significant effect on race tyre choice, with almost every rider opting for the same tyre combinations they used in race simulations earlier on the weekend. All twenty-four riders selected the medium compound front slick, while fifteen riders selected the soft compound rear slick, and the other nine riders opting for the extra-soft compound rear. After record-breaking pace in yesterday’s qualifying sessions, more records were set at the Motegi circuit during the race with race winner Lorenzo setting a new race lap record of 1’45.350 on lap eight and the overall race time today being over ten seconds quicker than the existing record.
With Marc Marquez wrapping up the title at Motegi, the focus now shifts to the battle for second place in the riders’ standings. Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa are currently tied on 230 points, while Jorge Lorenzo is now just three points behind on 227 points and fourth in the standings.
Masahiro Higashi
– Vice President and Officer, Global Marketing Strategy and Motorsport, Bridgestone Corporation
“Congratulations to Jorge on his victory today and Yamaha on their continued good form which has given them three wins in the past four races. I would also like to congratulate Marc and Honda for securing their second consecutive MotoGP World Championship today, especially here in Japan at Honda’s home circuit. This weekend has been a successful one for Bridgestone with many records being set on our tyres and it is a source of pride for our company to share in such special moments as we witnessed at Motegi today. We now are looking forward to supporting the MotoGP championship for the remaining three races and hope to see more exciting battles to come.”
Shinichi Yamashita – General Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“Today was a great end to what was a very successful weekend for Bridgestone. After a new qualifying lap record was set yesterday, today Lorenzo set a new race lap record and the overall race time was also the quickest ever, with the top riders averaging around half a second per lap quicker for the entire twenty-four laps compared to the previous record race time at Motegi. The track temperature today was also significantly cooler than yesterday, but our tyre allocation for this year’s Japanese Grand Prix proved adaptable enough to deal with this change in conditions, so overall I am very happy with our results here at Motegi.”
Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Race Winner
“I’m really happy to get this second win in a row after my victory at Aragon. Here I knew I had a good pace, I want to thank Yamaha for the great job they’ve done to make our bike so competitive. I didn’t expect to build such a big gap during the race, but in the final laps both Marc and Valentino were really quick so I had to push right until the end and it was enough to win the race.”
