Pedrosa and Honda rule Aragon Grand Prix

Tweet

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) scored a brilliant and emphatic victory at Motorland Aragon today after overpowering title rival Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) in the early stages. Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) followed up his Misano podium with a solid ride to sixth, just ahead of MotoGP novice Jonathan Rea (Repsol Honda RC213V).

Pedrosa triumphed at the end of what has been a complicated weekend, with rain affecting all three practice sessions, before the circuit dried out for qualifying yesterday. The former 125 and 250 World Champion then took a heavy tumble during the early stages of qualifying and was beaten to pole by Lorenzo.

From the start of today’s race the two Spaniards were in a class of their own, quickly leaving the rest of the pack behind as they disputed the lead. Lorenzo led the first few laps, while Pedrosa watched, waited and worked out his plan. On lap seven he moved ahead at turn 12 and although Lorenzo tried to go with him, a big moment two laps later convinced him it would be better to settle for second place.

Pedrosa’s fourth win of the year followed his DNF at the preceding San Marino Grand Prix and reduces Lorenzo’s championship lead to 33 points with four races remaining.

Rea did well, considering his lack of knowledge of MotoGP machinery. The Ten Kate Honda World Superbike rider – who is substituting for the injured Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V) – qualified an impressive seventh and rode another intelligent race, just like he did in his MotoGP debut at Misano. During the closing stages he managed to slightly close the gap on Bautista, but in the end had to be satisfied with seventh.

Dani Pedrosa - race winner

“It's been a tough weekend in general, with discussions about the last race with race direction and the crash in qualifying yesterday which created a lot of hard work for the mechanics. In the race I remained calm and was able to focus, Jorge began very fast in the early laps, but I was able to stay with him and then after a few laps I saw I could increase the pace and I passed him and tried to find my own rhythm. I was concentrating so hard that I almost forgot that it was a race, then I realised there were only four laps to go! I had a few issues with the clutch into the corners, shifting down, as I did yesterday, but overall the bike was working well so thanks to all my team for their hard work last night and to my fans and family for their support. This victory is for them all!”

Jonathan Rea - 7th

“I'm happy I achieved my goal of reducing the gap to the guys at the front, in the end we managed it by ten seconds, but it was another difficult race as I found myself on my own again. At the beginning I let Alvaro have too big a gap and when I tried to make a push, it wasn't enough and we were only taking tenths out of him, but I'm quite satisfied and I've learned a lot. In this race it was quite confusing for me as I was playing with the traction control buttons, the torque settings and the engine braking just to try and figure out what was happening, then there came a point where I told myself just to ride this thing and see what happens. It's been amazing to get this chance and I'm not totally sure what's happening for Motegi, but my best wishes go to Casey and I hope he comes back and shows the world the rider he is and ends his final season on a high. I want to thank all of HRC and the Repsol Honda Team for this opportunity and for treating me like one of their own, not like a replacement rider. It's been an amazing experience. This is my tenth year in the Honda family and hopefully I can come back here someday.”

Repsol Honda Press Release

You can give your opinion on our Facebook page here
Get the latest update on our Twitter page here

read more...

Pedrosa bounces back to second at Aragon MotoGP qualifying

Tweet

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) will start tomorrow’s Aragon Grand Prix from second on the grid after a brilliant comeback from a tumble during this afternoon’s qualifying session. MotoGP rookies Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) and Jonathan Rea (Repsol Honda RC213V) also performed superbly, going fifth and seventh fastest.

Conditions at Aragon have been very similar to what they were Misano a fortnight ago: a wet track for the first three practice sessions, then a dry track for qualifying. Set-up time has therefore been extremely limited, with Pedrosa, Bradl and Rea all falling back on the data they gathered here during a test session at Aragon earlier in the month.

Pedrosa – who celebrates his 27th birthday today – was second fastest after the first three practice sessions and went into this afternoon’s hour-long outing aiming to score his second consecutive pole position. But his hopes were dented when he took a heavy tumble after just five minutes, losing the front as he braked for turn 14. It was an unexpected crash because Pedrosa was not pushing hard. Only minutes later another rider crashed at exactly the same spot, suggesting that cold track temperatures and a slippery ‘green’ track surface were the culprits.

With both his bike and his leathers damaged, Pedrosa returned to the pits to change leathers and climb aboard his second machine. At first he focused on getting his confidence back and securing a reasonably fast lap time to put him well up on the grid. Once he had done that then he began to push to the limit in search of pole. With three minutes to go he did go fastest, but with just seconds to go Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) sneaked ahead to take pole with a slender 0.088s advantage.

Rea also had good reason to be happy with his day’s work, especially considering the changeable conditions. The Ten Kate Honda World Superbike rider made his MotoGP debut at the rain-hit Misano GP – substituting for injured World Champion Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V) – which means he has had very little dry track time on a MotoGP machine. Luckily he had joined Pedrosa and Bradl for testing here in preparation for Misano.

Rea is in his fourth weekend of five consecutive race weekends, alternating between his Honda CBR1000RR superbike and Stoner’s RC213V MotoGP machine. Last weekend he rode his CBR to second place in the second race at the Portimao World Superbike round.

Stoner’s much-anticipated return is scheduled to take place at the next MotoGP round in Japan on October 14, six weeks after he underwent surgery on his right ankle, injured during a nasty qualifying crash at the Indianapolis GP.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2nd – 1m 48.492s

“It's a very good result for us after all the issues we had! I'm really happy to be on the front row and so close to the pole position. After the crash I had at the beginning of the session – I guess due to cold tyres because I was not pushing at all – we only had one bike left with 50 minutes remaining. I lost some time there and when I went out with the second bike I realised that I had to remain calm because it was the only bike I had for the rest of qualifying and also the only front tyre. At the beginning, I was cautious trying to set a decent lap time and towards the end I just forgot about everything and pushed harder for the front row. We have a good position for the start, I just hope everything goes smoothly and we can have a great race tomorrow in front of the home Spanish crowd.”

Jonathan Rea, Repsol Honda: 7th – 1m 50.410s

“It was the first dry session of the weekend. I'm not sure what I've done to deserve this weather! Towards the end of the session we started to get going and find our rhythm, the lap time was okay and I see a few areas where I can improve, but we are closing the gap; now just a second from the pole time which I'm pleased with. In general I'm really happy with the bike and with the set-up so hopefully tomorrow I can be closer to the front guys than I was in Misano. It looks like my last ride so I want to go out tomorrow and make every single lap count.”

Repsol Honda Press Release

You can give your opinion on our Facebook page here
Get the latest update on our Twitter page here

read more...

Pedrosa second as tricky conditions continue to plague MotoGP

Tweet

The Repsol Honda Team went back on track for the first day of free practice for the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragón, with Dani Pedrosa setting the second fastest time in the combined classification and Jonathan Rea placed in eleventh position.

In the morning, the first free practice saw a repetition of the conditions in Misano with bad weather marking the start of the fourteenth round at Motorland Aragón. After a 1 hour delay to the session, caused by oil on track from the previous Moto3 session, Pedrosa did not complete any flying laps and Jonathan failed to go out at all, deciding nothing could be learnt from the 50/50 track conditions.

Pedrosa, on the quickest bike on track with a top speed of 330.5km/h, was just 0.066 off the fastest time in FP2 in the afternoon with cold temperatures and full wet conditions, while Rea finished 11th, 3.8 seconds behind pace man Ben Spies.

Dani Pedrosa

"At least we had a full wet session this afternoon to work with the bike and I felt quite good. I was catching the pace step by step, even though the grip was not very high in the rear, and we still have to adjust the setting a little more to improve in some corners. It looks like the weather forecast is also bad for tomorrow, so it will be important to take advantage of the morning practice to be well prepared for qualifying."

Jonathan Rea

"It's been pretty frustrating because I feel like we've lost another day, it's the same story as Misano! It was the first fully wet session we've had and the big difference for me was with the tyres and when they lose traction you can play with the rear grip slightly. I was riding a little too cautious today and I feel I need to push the tyres more and be more comfortable with the bike moving around. I wasn't too happy with myself as in the last few laps this afternoon I was on personal best sectors and I made a few mistakes as the front tyre didn't feel very stable. I guess we need to be thankful we were able to test here a few weeks ago and we completed over a hundred laps so for the dry we should be ok, but in the wet my feeling is still not 100%. Let's see what the conditions bring tomorrow."

Repsol Honda Press Release

You can give your opinion on our Facebook page here
Get the latest update on our Twitter page here

read more...

Pedrosa on the hunt as Repsol Honda prepares for Aragon GP

Tweet

The Repsol Honda Team travels to Motorland Aragón this weekend in preparation for the fourteenth round of the season and the third visit of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship to Spain.

Motorland Aragón welcomes the MotoGP family for the third consecutive year and has been a successful venue for the Repsol Honda Team in the past, with both Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa topping the podium in 2010 and 2011, two victories for the Australian rider and two second-places for the Spaniard.

Dani Pedrosa, who will celebrate his 27th birthday on Saturday, arrives confident and ready to put the issues he had Misano behind him - the first race this season without points due to an incident on the first lap. Pedrosa, currently second in the standings 38 points off Jorge Lorenzo, is in great form and the results of the test held at Aragón at the beginning of this month will give him high motivation.

Aragón will be the second race for Jonathan Rea as substitute rider for Casey Stoner, who continues his rehabilitation in Australia. Fresh from Portimão, with a 6th and a 2nd place in the two races of the World Superbike Championship, the British rider is looking to make another step forward on the RC213V at a circuit where he also tested with the Repsol Honda Team.

Dani Pedrosa

"Aragón is a very good race and the circuit is impressive. We went there with the team for a two-day test at the beginning of this month and we did a good job. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the Spanish crowd again, it would be great to see the circuit full of people like we had in the previous years. The bike is working well and I'm feeling good; we go there with the same determination as always and motivated to continue riding well and have another good race."

Jonathan Rea

"I am now in week four of my five back-to-back races including both SBK and MotoGP but I am still really excited about this coming race. Having tested in Aragón on the RC213V a couple of weeks ago I am feeling more confident coming to this race than I was in Misano. Hopefully I will be able to pick up where I left off after the test as I was really starting to bond with the bike. Aragón has a really long straight which suits the power of the Honda and I am really looking forward to working with the Repsol Honda guys again and building on the experience I have gained to date."

Repsol Honda Press Release

You can give your opinion on our Facebook page here
Get the latest update on our Twitter page here

read more...

Pedrosa out of luck in Misano

Tweet

The World Championship hopes of Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) received a huge blow at today’s Misano Grand Prix, where the Spaniard was taken out by another rider on the very first lap.  

Expectations of another great duel between title rivals Pedrosa and Lorenzo were high as Pedrosa lined up on pole position, with just 13 points between him and the championship leader. But the start was aborted when Karel Abraham (Ducati) stalled his machine on the grid. During the preparations for the delayed start, Pedrosa’s front wheel became locked, and when the one minute board was shown his mechanics had to move the machine to pit lane to fix the problem. He was then told he had to start the race from the back row of the grid.

Already charging through the pack after his usual strong getaway from the grid, Pedrosa was hit by Hector Barbera (Ducati) at the Quercia hairpin. Neither rider was injured in the collision. However, Pedrosa’s title hopes sustained significant damage. With five rounds remaining he now sits 38 points behind Lorenzo.

Rea had a promising MotoGP debut, complicated by the miserable weather that dominated the three ‘free’ practice sessions. The Ten Kate World Superbike rider needed dry track time more than anyone, but on/off drizzle made sure that the circuit was not fully dry until yesterday’s qualifying session. In the difficult circumstances Rea kept his head and rode an intelligent race, learning plenty for his next MotoGP outing at Aragon in two weeks time.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: DNF

“It was total chaos and many things happened at the same time. It all began with the restart because the procedure was not at all clear. Nobody knew if it was one minute, three minutes, warmers on or off… We were also getting different information about the number of laps, 26, 27… Then suddenly we were told it was one minute to the start of the race, with no board signage, nothing. The mechanics were rushing to prepare and when they tried to take off the warmers my front wheel was somehow locked. They tried to unlock it, but they weren't able to and due to the one minute warning – where they are not allowed to touch the bike anymore – they put me to the back of the grid. I tried to remain focused, not make any mistakes on the first lap, make clear moves to overtake riders and I was eighth or ninth when Barberá hit me from behind, and that was it. I'm very upset because even if it's easy to say now, I think I could have had a chance to win this race, even starting from last place on the grid. Now the championship is obviously more uphill for me, but I will continue the same way. We have done everything we could so far, the bike is working well and I'm riding well, too. So it's not over for me; there are still 5 races to go and we will do our best.”

Jonathan Rea, Repsol Honda: 8th

“It was a tough race and I just wanted to get into a rhythm and maintain it. I'm still nowhere near the limit. I'm not really having any moments, just a few mistakes running wide. It's a matter of trust and I'm still acclimatising to the machine. I'm really happy with the progress I made throughout the race and I learnt so much that you simply can't pick up in testing – how the tyre wear goes down, the fuel load and how the bike behaves differently. In the beginning Nicky pulled a gap and then I was catching him, but in the end it wasn't enough. To finish eighth is okay, but the gap to the front is a little frustrating. In general I'm really happy and I'm looking forward to the next challenge in Aragon. I want to thank all the Repsol Honda team for their hard work and support they've given me and to all the fans back home.”

Repsol Honda Press Release

You can give your opinion on our Facebook page here
Get the latest update on our Twitter page here

read more...

Pedrosa and Honda grab crucial Pole at Misano

Tweet

Dani Pedrosa stormed to a brilliant pole position at sunny Misano this afternoon, winning a thrilling duel with World Championship rival Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). Pedrosa’s pole was backed up by strong performances from HRC’s two satellite riders, Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) and Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) who will both start tomorrow’s San Marino Grand Prix from the second row of the grid.

Jonathan Rea making his MotoGP debut as substitute for injured World Champion Casey Stoner made excellent progress to qualify on the third row.

Pedrosa has made impressive inroads into Lorenzo’s points lead in recent weeks, winning three of the last four races to sit just 13 points behind his fellow Spaniard with six races remaining. His fourth pole of the year could not have come at a better moment.

The former 125 and 250 World Champion left his crucial move until the very end of qualifying, with pole swapping hands four times in the last few minutes. Pedrosa went fastest just 20 seconds before the chequered flag came out, dislodging Lorenzo who had knocked Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) off the top only seconds before. Crutchlow had been fastest after taking over from ever-impressive rookie Bradl.

Pedrosa’s advantage over Lorenzo isn’t huge – only 0.018s – but being on pole is always a good psychological boost, especially after two difficult days of practice during which rain dramatically limited track time. Track conditions were so poor yesterday that most top riders did not even venture out. When the circuit was as good as dry, track temperatures were too low to bring slick tyres up to operating temperature, and when it was wet it was not wet enough to allow riders to run rain tyres without tearing them up in just a few laps. So Pedrosa spent both Friday sessions in the pits, as did Rea. Bautista did venture out yesterday afternoon, but only for eight laps. This morning conditions still were not perfect but the track was once again busy, with Bautista fastest.

That left everyone with just the one-hour qualifying session in which to work on set-up, choose race tyres and do their ‘time attack’ to achieve the best possible grid position. Not only that, riders had to wait a while before grip reached a level that allowed them to push to their limits. Pedrosa’s remarkable performance proved once again that he has a brilliant crew behind him, able to give him the best-possible machine even when time is extremely limited.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: pole position – 1m 33.857s

“It was a pretty tight session and no time to rest as we had to test the tyres, suspension and find some settings, as well as finding some feeling for myself! At the end we managed a good lap to take pole, which is very important as the first part of the circuit is very tight, so a good start is necessary. The setting on the bike is good so I hope to have a good race tomorrow. Thanks to all my team, we did a very good job in a very short time after a strange weekend due to the weather conditions, but we remained focused to have a good qualifying session and be ready for tomorrow’s race.”

Jonathan Rea, Repsol Honda: 9th – 1m 35.358s

“I woke up this morning pretty stressed after yesterday’s missed sessions and then FP3 was also pretty useless so I’ve got to be happy with a third row start, as my goal was top ten. I’m learning something on every single run and the team did a great job on translating my feedback to give me good settings on the bike. I’m taking things step by step and the limit is still quite a way off, but I don’t really want to find that limit just yet. I’m taking my time. I want to thank Repsol Honda for this opportunity, I’m really enjoying the experience and don’t want it to end! I know tomorrow’s race is going to be tough. I just want go out, give my best and have a clean race. I’m pretty nervous, but when the lights go out I’ll be in race mode and we’ll see what happens".

Repsol Honda Team Press Release

You can give your opinion on our Facebook page here
Get the latest update on our Twitter page here

read more...

Poor weather disrupts Pedrosa and Rea

Tweet

The end of the summer brought with it some sporadic light showers to the Adriatic Coast and interrupted the track action on the first day of free practice for the San Marino Grand Prix, thirteenth round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship.

Repsol Honda rider, Jonathan Rea ventured out for a few laps in the afternoon, just to have some feeling on the RC213V at the Marco Simoncelli Circuit. The British rider, competing in his first MotoGP race replacing the injured Casey Stoner, finished sixth in the combined free practice times with a best lap time of 1'44.999.

Dani Pedrosa, remained in the garage for both sessions waiting for more stable conditions, but they never arrived and the team decided to wait until tomorrow to start preparing for the race.

Jonathan Rea

"It was a frustrating day with these weather conditions. This morning the track was slightly wet and began to dry up towards the end of the session, but then it began to rain again, so we didn't make it out at all. Then in second free practice I went out straight away with the slick tyre to try and get some kind of feeling and I only managed three full laps as the tyre wasn't getting up to temperature. It was a pretty pointless exercise and I didn't have any real feedback to give to the engineers. It's a strange situation when the temperature is so low that none of the top riders even go out on track. We need to cross our fingers for some sunshine tomorrow so I can find a good rhythm on the bike and gain some confidence in the tyres in time for Qualifying"

Dani Pedrosa

"On days like this it's almost impossible to get any feedback on the bike. Actually, we saw in both sessions that the weather was changing so quickly that the riders going out with slick tyres had to come back in because it started raining or the other way around: going out with wets and destroying them in just a few laps as it was drying up again. The weather forecast looks better for tomorrow and Sunday, so let's hope we can take advantage of tomorrow morning's session to find a good setting and have a good qualifying".

Repsol Honda Press Release

You can give your opinion on our Facebook page here
Get the latest update on our Twitter page here

read more...

Pedrosa on Championship Hunt at Misano, Rea Replaces Stoner

Tweet

After his two successive and impressive wins in Indianapolis and Brno, Dani Pedrosa arrives in Misano confident and aiming to continue his great momentum at a track where he's been on the podium the last three years in a row, with a victory included in 2010. Alongside Dani for the first time in a Grand Prix weekend is British rider Jonathan Rea, who will combine MotoGP and Superbike World Championships whilst replacing Casey Stoner - currently recovering in Australia after successful surgery to his right ankle.

The Repsol Honda Team will seek to maintain the high level that has given them them five victories in the last six races. Dani, 13 points off the lead in the general standings, will be looking to take advantage of the results from the last tests in Brno and Aragon to fight for another victory in Italy. Jonathan, straight from his Superbike race in Nurburgring where he crashed in race one and took 4th in race two, hopes to enjoy this new experience in Misano, where he has already raced this season in Superbikes celebrating a fifth and a second place finish in both races respectively, and enjoyed his ever first win in 2009.

Dani Pedrosa

"Misano is a tricky track, quite bumpy, with a lot of braking and accelerations. The grip level is always a challenge, because it changes a lot from the morning sessions to the afternoon. In the past, our bike has been quite unstable there but I believe this year we have improved that. I hope the work we have done in the Brno and Aragon tests with suspension and electronics, can help us to start the weekend strong in Misano. We need to continue working in the same way, focusing on our bike's performance and my riding to keep reducing the gap in the Championship".

Jonathan Rea

"For me its a big dream come true just to race in MotoGP; it's been very unfortunate for Casey to sustain such an injury when he was having a very strong season and my best wishes go to him while he recovers. Now, my job is to replace him and I will try to do the best I can. I love Misano, I've already raced there this year and I finished second, it's also where I had my first ever Superbike win in 2009 and I enjoy the circuit and the Italian fans, they are always very enthusiastic. I take this opportunity like a great gift from Honda; in the few days I've spent with the team I have felt very good, they understand it will take me some time to push with this bike but I'm learning every time I get on it. It's been great to have these 3 days testing on the bike to prepare myself and for sure Friday morning will be less chaotic. We already have the riding position set, the base setup is set and I understand the electronics a little more. I know it's going to be busy, but I'm ready".

Repsol Honda Team Press Release

You can give your opinion on our Facebook page here
Get the latest update on our Twitter page here

read more...

Positive test for Pedrosa and learning day for Rea

Tweet

The Repsol Honda Team were back on track in Brno today after Dani Pedrosa's fantastic win in yesterday's Grand Prix of the Czech Republic.

Dani spent the day completing a busy testing programme covering many areas, including chatter issues and also a new rear shock. Also on track for Repsol Honda was Jonathan Rea, replacing the injured Casey Stoner. Jonathan used this first test to familiarise himself with the 1000cc machine and adapt to the Bridgestone tyres.

The team will resume their test schedule in Aragón on the 4th and 5th of September.

Dani Pedrosa - 4th 1'56.703

"Today, we've done a general test looking to improve the feelings we had in yesterday's race. We tried some ideas to reduce the chatter, but this is something very difficult to fix, so we've been basically working on the electronics and the suspension trying to find more edge grip and in the exit of the corner. I tried a new Öhlins shock which gave me some positive feelings and now we have some new ideas to try in Aragón next week. The track was a little bit slower than yesterday and in the afternoon it was quite windy, but this test was important as it's a good track to test at and I had all the references still fresh from yesterday's race".

Jonathan Rea - 8th 1'59.595

"It's an opportunity of a lifetime for me and I'm thankful to Honda for asking me to be here, although I'm gutted for the guys in the team and obviously for Casey as he is the guy that should be here and I wish him a fast recovery. My first impressions are that the bike isn't that difficult, it's the tyres and the way they work that I'm finding hard. I'm struggling to finish off the corner which is definitely a confidence issue as I just need to load the front and find that confidence but it's my first day and I don't want to find that limit, or risk overstepping it just yet. It's great to be able to see Dani's data and learn where to go fast, that's a big help. I don't underestimate how tough a job it is, I just need some time and I don't feel pressure to perform, it's a learning process with the team and people around me. It's been a great day, one of the best days of my life. I've been a Honda rider all my career and now to ride the best Honda machine in the World has been a dream come true".

Repsol Honda Team Press Release

You can give your opinion on our Facebook page here
Get the latest update on our Twitter page here

read more...