Photo post: Motorised shots from West London

Recently I got my hands on a prototype Nokia Lumia 1020, which has a 41MP camera (yes, forty one). I’ve never had a decent camera before, so considering I have no knowledge of photography, I’m pretty pleased with the results.

Maybe I’ll be at Silverstone for MCN in a few weeks…

Kawasaki Z 750 (Nokia Lumia 1020)

A fairly standard Z 750.

Close up of Kawasaki Z 750 (Nokia Lumia 1020)

But when you zoom in and blur the background…

Close up of Kawasaki Z 750 altered using Creative Studio (Nokia Lumia 1020)

…and add some of the Lumia’s built in effects, it’s pretty impressive.

Chrome moped (Nokia Lumia 1020)

While motorbikes are fun, this moped is pretty fancy.

Close up of chrome moped (Nokia Lumia 1020)

And up close it’s also worthy of a bike magazine slot. I think anyway.

Trotter's Independent Traders, Reliant Robin (Nokia Lumia 1020)

And then of course you might be interested to see the Trotter mobile. Del Boy not included.

Model-T Ford (Nokia Lumia 1020)

And how about a Model-T Ford? Just sitting around in Shepherds Bush.

Reliant Robin reflected in Model-T Ford (Nokia Lumia 1020)

Interestingly, the Model-T was just outside the Robin Reliant, so using the fancy Lumia’s camera, I got a reflection of the Reliant in the Model-T. Sweet aye?

Shell garage, altered using Creative Studio (Nokia Lumia 1020)

Petrol might be ruining the environment, but without it we’d have no racing. Which is probably as good a place as any to end the post.

For those of you interested in the phone, it’s the Nokia Lumia 1020, running Windows Phone 8. All the effects were done on the phone itself, using the built-in Creative Studio app.

How good is Marc Marquez? How does he compare against the greats?

Marc Marquez is 20 years old and, half way through the season, leads the MotoGP riders’ world championship. So how good is he?

The first time I properly noticed Marc Marquez was at Estoril, Portugal, in 2010. I was at the track that day (get me and my travel), and saw him destroy the field. It had been a terrible weekend weather-wise, and half way through the 125cc race, it was red flagged due to rain. Marquez had been running in second behind Nico Terol after starting 11th on the grid. On the sighting lap of the restarted race, Marquez crashed. He limped back to the pits, while his team ran to the grid with parts to fix his bike, his team trying to save time. By the time the team got back to the bike in the pits, it was too late, and he would start from the back of the grid.

It wouldn’t matter. By the end of lap one he was third, and then he overtook Terol on the 9th and final lap of the shortened race to take the win by 0.150 seconds.

With it he secured his first championship.

Records are something that are easy to understand, and many of Marquez’s relate to his age:

– Most wins by a teenager (26)
– Youngest rider to achieve 4 successive wins (2010, Mugello, Silverstone, Assen, Barcelona)
– Youngest rider to win at least 1 race in 3 classes of GP Racing
– Youngest rider to take a fastest lap in the premiere class (Qatar, 2013)
– Youngest pole position in the premiere class (20 years 2 months and 4 days, Circuit of the Americas, 2013)
– Youngest race winner in the premiere class (20 years 2 months and 5 days Circuit of the Americas, 2013)
– Youngest rider to lead the premiere class championship (Circuit of the Americas, 2013)
– Youngest rider to win back to back races in the premiere class (Sachsenring-Laguna Seca, 2013)
– Youngest rider to take successive podium positions in the premiere class (Qatar, Circuit of the Americas, Jerez, Le Mans, 2013)

These records stand him apart at a young age, but perhaps hide the achievements of other riders. After all, just because you’re young, doesn’t make you the greatest, although it is of course a good start.

Marquez also holds these records:

– Fastest crash in MotoGP, 209 mph (2nd practice Mugello, 2013) – the least enviable record of all, surely.
– 4 successive podium positions in first 4 Premiere Class Grand Prix (shared with Max Biaggi)

The second record is of most interest as Max Biaggi pops up.

Which means it might be a good idea to see how Marquez compares in his first season across the classes. After all, if you’re good, you’ll be good right from the start, regardless…right?

Using the riders who have won the premiere class since Kenny Roberts in 1978 (plus Biaggi and Dani Pedrosa due to their 250cc results and strong starts to their rookie premiere class seasons), here are the riders who competed in 125cc and their results in their first season, bold showing the best stats, and points scoring finishes adjusted to modern scoring where relevant. Races until first win counts any race in that class.

125cc rookie season stats:

Rider Races until first win Races until first podium Points in 1st full season Seasons to win first title
Àlex Crivillé 5 5 166 2
Jorge Lorenzo 26 26 79 No title
Marc Marquez 33 6 94 3
Dani Pedrosa 23 12 100 3
Valentino Rossi 11 10 111 2
Casey Stoner 16 11 125 No title

Àlex Crivillé got an excellent start to his 125cc career and beats everyone hands down. Second is Valentino Rossi, who also won the 125cc at his second attempt, followed by Casey Stoner, who, despite not being famed for his small bike riding, has impressive stats. Marquez didn’t get off to a flyer, although his potential is clear by grabbing his first podium in only 6 races.

In 250cc (Moto2 for Marquez), Marquez’s class begins to shine though. While Dani Pedrosa has easily the best stats, winning his first race and the title in his first year, Marquez has arguably the third most impressive starting record, behind Wayne Rainey, and just ahead of Franco Uncini, world champion of the 500cc class in 1982. Uncini is let down by his low points total, and failure to win a title.

It also becomes obvious just how good the riders are, only Stoner failing to hit a podium finish in single digits – although it should be noted that when he re-joined the 250cc class in 2005 after two years in 125s he scored a win in his second race.

250cc/Moto2 rookie season stats:

Rider Races until first win Races until first podium Points in 1st full season Seasons to win first title
Max Biaggi 16 9 78 4
Jorge Lorenzo 16 5 167 2
Marc Marquez 4 4 251 2
Dani Pedrosa 1 1 317 1
Wayne Rainey No wins 2 64 No title
Kenny  Roberts 2 1 No full season No title
Valentino Rossi 7 3 201 2
Casey Stoner 17 17 68 No title
Franco Uncini* 4 3 124 No title

*8 races only

When it comes to the premiere class of 500cc of MotoGP, there are a number of notable statistics, and Marquez figures in many of them. All but two of the champions scored a podium finish in under 7 starts – it is clear who will be good riders right from the start, it seems. One rider won their first race in the premiere class (Max Biaggi), while 7 riders scored a podium in their first race (Marquez, Giacomo Agostini, Biaggi, Jorge Lorenzo, Marco Lucchinelli (500cc champion 1981), Dani Pedrosa and Kenny Roberts). Marquez and Roberts scored wins in only their second races.

500cc/MotoGP rookie seasons stats:

Rider Races until first win Races until first podium Points in first 9 races Seasons to win first title
Giacomo Agostini 7 1 145 2
Max Biaggi 1 1 148 No title
Àlex Crivillé 8 3 71 8
Mick Doohan 26 6 65 6
Wayne Gardner 20 7 88 5
Nicky Hayden 39 13 57 4
Eddie Lawson 13 3 99 2
Jorge Lorenzo 3 1 102 3
Marco Lucchinelli 32 1 116 6
Marc Marquez 2 1 163 Season in progress
Dani Pedrosa 4 1 127 No title
Wayne Rainey 12 4 125 3
Kenny Roberts 2 1 135 1
Kenny Roberts Jnr 42 42 55 5
Valentino Rossi 9 4 76 2
Kevin Schwantz 7 7 85 8
Freddie Spencer 8 3 98 4
Casey Stoner 17 3 100 2
Franco Uncini 25 5 112 4

Perhaps the most telling stat is that Marquez has more points, adjusted where relevant for the current scoring system, than any other rider after 9 races. While Rossi, Agostini, Eddie Lawson and Stoner all took two seasons to take their first premiere class crowns, Marquez is still very much on course to follow the path of Kenny Roberts, the last man to win the title in his rookie season. Two races to record a win, a podium in the first race, both renowned for hard riding and leaning off the machine. Marquez holds his own among the very best riders in history.

The only questions left to ask are, when will he win his first MotoGP title? Or, will he be like Pedrosa, all the stats, all the skill, but no luck, stuck in an era of other great riders and restricted by injury?

United States Grand Prix, Laguna Seca, Race result and analysis: Marquez triumphant, Bradl second, Rossi narrowly claims third.

With his style, bravery and ready smile, Marc Marquez could very well be the new face of MotoGP. Fast and tough on track, relaxed and funny in press conferences, he’s a natural to the modern content-driven world of motorsport. Of all these things, he is fast and tough foremost.

By beating Stefan Bradl and Valentino Rossi into second and third places respectively, Marquez pulled off an audacious move on Rossi in the corkscrew, reminiscent of Rossi’s move on Casey Stoner in the Laguna Seca race of 2008 (Dorna has rather annoyingly disabled embedding, so links are all you get). Thing is, is either move strictly speaking allowed?

Well, when you look up the rules (rather dry reading, but they’re here) Marquez probably broke 1.21 2) on page 35, saying you can’t overtake off the track. Of course I like tough racing, Rossi understands that they were both going at it, the bikes weren’t close to touching and Marquez appeared to be under control. Still, there have been incidents in Formula 1 (notably Sebastian Vettel in the 2012 German Grand Prix) where penalties were given to high profile drivers for using more than the confines of the track. And Marquez really cut the corner, even going inside the drain!

Rossi was quick to brush away the pass as he knew it was just a matter of time before Marquez overtook. Still, as we’re looking at fairness, was it fair on second place man Bradl? Marquez may have been faster, but he was clearly having trouble getting past the Italian. Perhaps he would have got by right after the corkscrew, or turn 11 where he eventually did pass Bradl.

But it may have taken him 2 laps, 3 laps, 5 laps. Bradl would have got further away and harder to catch and pass. Marquez could have crashed trying to catch him. It wasn’t until the end of lap 18 that he finally made the pass after all.

Still, he wasn’t penalised, and it was a thrilling move. He’s the first rider to take a rookie win at Laguna Seca, and now the youngest rider to have back-to-back wins in the premier class. His star is rising and his talent obvious to all who care to look into the facts.

How about the other racers? Stefan Bradl rode superbly. He got an excellent start, rode fast and hard, and was thoroughly deserving of his second place.

Rossi is still struggling with rear grip, and was even having trouble holding a tight line from about the mid stage. Alvaro Bautista made a valiant effort to catch the Yamaha man, but ultimately just didn’t have the pace and couldn’t make the pass.

Then we arrive at Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo where there are yet more interesting statistics. Both showed incredible bravery to finish 5th and 6th. Thing is, if they weren’t injured, they would have probably been fighting it out for first and second places. Lorenzo finished the race in 43’54 in 2010 (1st place), 43’57 in 2011 and 43’49 in 2012 (both 2nd place). He would have beaten everyone this year, and by quite a margin.

Pedrosa too has gone faster previously. He crashed out in 2010, but finished in 44’01 in 2011 and 43’53 in 2012 (3rd both times). He would have clocked second this year with his 2011 time, and first with last year’s time (if we forget Lorenzo for both).

In fact, we need to go back to 2009 to find the first winning time that’s slower than this year’s race, Pedrosa’s 44’01 of 2009 – and that’s still good enough for second.

OK so it’s near impossible to compare races from year to year as conditions change etc, and Lorenzo himself said that his setup wasn’t right, but if your collarbone is injured, you’re slower, no doubt. The effect these injuries have had on the last two races is clear, and Marc Marquez is easily the best rider to take advantage of it. With momentum going his way, and the gap in points growing, the first rider since Kenny Roberts in 1978 to win the premier class title in his first year could be Marquez.

And who says he won’t follow Roberts and claim three in a row?

United States Grand Prix times:

Pos. Rider Team Time/Gap
1 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 44’00.695
2 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 2.298
3 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 4.498
4 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 4.557
5 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 9.257
6 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 12.97
7 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 15.304
8 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 33.963
9 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 34.129
10 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens +1’02.369
11 Alex DE ANGELIS Ignite Pramac Racing +1’02.604
12 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing +1’03.593
13 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project +1’20.450
14 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1 Lap
15 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1 Lap
16 Hiroshi AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1 Lap
17 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1 Lap
18 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1 Lap
Not Classified
Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 25 Laps
Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 27 Laps
Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 28 Laps
Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 29 Laps
Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 31 Laps

United States Grand Prix, Laguna Seca, Warm up: Bradl, Marquez and Lorenzo separated by 0.091

It doesn’t get much closer. The top three riders from Warm up – Stefan Bradl fastest with Marc Marquez and walking anaesthetic Jorge Lorenzo – all within a tenth of a second of each other.

Alvaro Bautista was 0.616 behind in 4th, and Valentino Rossi another 0.035 back in 5th. Bautista could have probably gone faster, but a lowside at turn 5 cost him valuable time. Rossi meanwhile didn’t set a personal best in any of the sectors in his fastest lap and has a theoretical lap over a third of a second faster, but ‘the Doctor’ still doesn’t seem happy.

When it comes to race pace, while it’s hard to look past Marc Marquez, there are two real threats. Stefan Bradl’s laps in Warm up were ultra fast, and he showed better and more consistent pace than the Spanish rookie – look at the analysis.

Then of course there’s Jorge Lorenzo. He may be battered and bruised, but he looked fast and calm in Warm up, and we know he’s not pushing 100% yet.

Someone else who clearly wasn’t pushing 100% was Dani Pedrosa. He got around in the 1’23s mostly, briefly dipping into the 1’22s, and was obviously just testing himself and the setup, and refused to push.

One of the more interesting times set was that of Andrea Dovizioso. His 1’22.651 was matched, right down to 1/1000th of a second by none other than his teammate, Nicky Hayden. And who says the Ducati Desmosedici GP13 isn’t consistent…

Warm up times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’21.743
2 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’21.751 0.008 0.008
3 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’21.834 0.091 0.083
4 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’22.359 0.616 0.525
5 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’22.394 0.651 0.035
6 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.474 0.731 0.080
7 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.556 0.813 0.082
8 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’22.596 0.853 0.040
9 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’22.651 0.908 0.055
10 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’22.651 0.908
11 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’22.755 1.012 0.104
12 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’23.239 1.496 0.484
13 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.471 1.728 0.232
14 Alex DE ANGELIS Ignite Pramac Racing 1’23.480 1.737 0.009
15 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’23.603 1.860 0.123
16 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.889 2.146 0.286
17 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’24.356 2.613 0.467
18 Hiroshi AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1’24.481 2.738 0.125
19 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’24.559 2.816 0.078
20 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’24.673 2.930 0.114
21 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’24.765 3.022 0.092
22 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’25.508 3.765 0.743
23 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’26.108 4.365 0.600

United States Grand Prix, Laguna Seca, Free Practice 4 and Qualifying analysis: Bradl edges out Marquez, Bautista claims 3rd, and who has race pace.

Up until the last five minutes it was obvious that Marc Marquez was going to claim back to back poles. But then his front tyre let go, he slid out, and everything went crazy. Stefan Bradl put in the fastest lap, Alvaro Bautista nabbed third by half a tenth, and the race looks like a close one.

Looking over the analysis chart of the all the laps the riders turned in FP4 it’s clear that Marc Marquez and Stefan Bradl have the most consistent pace. Of course, they’re on the same bike, give or take, so it shouldn’t really be a surprise that Bautista made it on the front row in qualifying too. Still, the charts are pretty clear – Marquez is marginally faster, with Bradl not far behind. The other riders need to find a little more consistency if they’re going to stay with these two.

Full FP4 times are available here. 

It may all come down to tyre wear. Valentino Rossi spent much of FP4 on old tyres, as did Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo especially could be a dark horse – he took painkillers only in qualifying, so we can expect him to do so again for the race to boost his performance.

Dani Pedrosa’s performance is equally hard to judge. He is fast, of course, and turned only 4 laps to top QP1. Randy De Puniet saw the opportunity straight away and stuck to the orange tail of the Repsol Honda, pulling him up into second place. It was a shame when he crashed without finishing a lap in QP2.

QP1 times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’22.017    
2 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’22.694 0.677 0.677
3 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’22.808 0.791 0.114
4 Alex DE ANGELIS Ignite Pramac Racing 1’23.253 1.236 0.445
5 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.272 1.255 0.019
6 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’23.323 1.306 0.051
7 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.616 1.599 0.293
8 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’23.875 1.858 0.259
9 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’23.919 1.902 0.044
10 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’23.987 1.970 0.068
11 Hiroshi AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1’24.235 2.218 0.248
12 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’24.756 2.739 0.521
13 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’24.809 2.792 0.053

But Pedrosa looked frustrated at times in QP2, and while still pretty quick and just half a second behind Bradl, qualifying 7th is perhaps a little far down. Most importantly, he’s behind Jorge Lorenzo, who took 6th on the grid.

In more interesting news from QP2, Rossi’s ideal lap was actually faster than Bautista’s ideal lap. While he’s still two tenths from the ultimate pace of Bradl and Marquez, it does mean Rossi has the speed for the podium. What it does question, however, is whether his setup will allow him to run consistent fast times.

The quietest dark horse of them all in QP2 was Cal Crutchlow. He’s struggled through the whole weekend. Well, struggled considering his recent form, and QP2 was no different. Missing well over half the session while his team fixed an issue with his bike (a sensor and had to be replaced), he came out all guns blazing. Only a quarter of a second off the pace with just three fast laps is good work.

The race tomorrow could be super close.

QP2 times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’21.176    
2 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’21.193 0.017 0.017
3 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’21.373 0.197 0.180
4 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’21.418 0.242 0.045
5 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’21.420 0.244 0.002
6 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’21.453 0.277 0.033
7 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’21.728 0.552 0.275
8 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’22.026 0.850 0.298
9 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.075 0.899 0.049
10 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’22.090 0.914 0.015
11 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’22.099 0.923 0.009
  Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar      

United States Grand Prix, Laguna Seca, Free Practice 3: Marquez fastest again, Rossi & Bradl behind, Pedrosa not in QP2.

The third Free Practice again saw Marc Marquez make everyone else look unspectacular as he posted the fastest time stay the fastest rider so far. For much of the session he was actually leading my over 0.6 seconds.

Why’s he so fast? Confidence mostly. The young Spaniard is really throwing the bike around, like he always does. Through the Corkscrew he tears right over the curbing and is easily the happiest rider with his machine. He looks consistently fast too, posting 4 1’21s in a row during his second stint.

Rossi’s fast laps at the end – he managed two 1’21s – could be hiding a poor practice. While he was clearly working on a race setup, sticking to an old and used tyre, he’s not looking as impressive as Marquez. Moreover, when he came into the pits after his second stint, he didn’t look his normal cheery self. His fast times were set on a brand new tyre and after a couple of tweaks to the suspension, but Rossi’s edge grip, especially on new tyres, appears to be the main concern.

Bradl looked fast in the session, posting the third fastest time and banging in a string of quick times near the end. Alvaro Bautista was riding aggressively, and could again be a danger in the early corners of the race…but let’s hope not.

Meanwhile, Cal Crutchlow still seems to be struggling for grip. Back in 5th isn’t where he’s used to being, especially when Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa aren’t at their peaks.

Which brings us onto the two Spaniards. Lorenzo went out and posted a respectable time, although didn’t set the world on fire. How he performs in qualifying and the race will depend almost entirely on how hard he pushes.

The same is true of Dani Pedrosa. Opting to sit out the cooler morning session of FP3, he hasn’t set a time fast enough to make it automatically into QP2. This means he’ll have to go in the first qualifying practice to have a chance at a top 12 grid place.

FP1, FP2 and FP3 combined times:

Pos Rider Team FP1 FP2 FP3 Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 M.MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’22.980 1’22.040 1’21.568
2 V.ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’22.848 1’22.346 1’21.752 0.184 0.184
3 S.BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’23.033 1’22.269 1’21.959 0.391 0.207
4 A.BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’23.255 1’22.539 1’22.085 0.517 0.126
5 C.CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.757 1’22.457 1’22.187 0.619 0.102
6 A.DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’23.380 1’22.284 1’22.226 0.658 0.039
7 J.LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’24.441 1’22.467 1’22.290 0.722 0.064
8 N.HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’23.927 1’22.733 1’22.504 0.936 0.214
9 A.ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’23.905 1’22.531 1’22.733 0.963 0.027
10 B.SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’24.287 1’22.767 1’22.812 1.199 0.236
11 D.PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’23.129 1.561 0.362
12 H.BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’24.467 1’23.158 1’24.618 1.590 0.029
13 R.DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’24.363 1’23.437 1’23.269 1.701 0.111
14 A.DE ANGELIS Ignite Pramac Racing 1’25.133 1’23.973 1’23.616 2.048 0.347
15 D.PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’25.594 1’24.047 1’24.057 2.479 0.431
16 C.EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’25.664 1’24.410 1’24.108 2.540 0.061
17 C.CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’25.770 1’24.180 1’24.895 2.612 0.072
18 K.ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’25.394 1’24.421 1’24.761 2.853 0.241
19 H.AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1’25.451 1’24.473 1’24.460 2.892 0.039
20 Y.HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’25.309 1’24.555 1’24.670 2.987 0.095
21 M.LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’26.659 1’24.727 1’24.946 3.159 0.172
22 B.STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’26.753 1’25.345 1’25.220 3.652 0.493
23 L.PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’27.825 1’27.173 1’26.979 5.411 1.759

United States Grand Prix, Laguna Seca, Friday round up: Marquez fastest, less than a second separates top ten.

And they said it was hard to learn. In just his second session round the Californian track, Marc Marquez tops the second free practice. Behind him is Stefan Bradl, a new found confidence in his ability and his new Brembo brakes working wonders, and surprisingly Andrea Dovizioso is third fastest.

The thing about a short lap such as at Laguna Seca is that the times are all pretty close together. The first rider to be outside of a second of Marquez’s leading time is Dani Pedrosa, still recovering from his injured collarbone. He didn’t even go out in FP1.

The first practice was a typical affair weather-wise, foggy and cool. This is always how mornings are around this time of year at the circuit, and meant that Jorge Lorenzo too was cautious. He waited ten minutes before making it out on track, and heavier fog towards the ends of the session sent him back to the pits. He and Pedrosa have one main aim this weekend; don’t crash.

Cal Crutchlow was the fastest in the morning practice. He struggled to get a clear track, but eventually outdid Valentino Rossi by just under a tenth of a second, with Marc Marquez 0.223 back, the young Spaniard already well on his way to mastering the track.

In the second practice both Crutchlow and Rossi were unhappy with their settings. Crutchlow was lacking feel and it seems his setup was going in the wrong direction. He’ll make it into QP2 no problem, but with FP3 another morning session, setup proper will have to wait until FP4.

Rossi too wasn’t quite getting the feeling he wanted, and a quick look at his times in FP2 shows them to be pretty sporadic, nothing like the consistent fast laps he has delivered in the past few weekends.

From the looks of FP2, it is easily Marquez who looks to have the out and out pace, as well as the consistency – a remarkable achievement during his first laps at the circuit. We should expect Crutchlow to pick up the pace once he finds a better direction with setup, and Rossi too should get closer. Bradl has looked a different rider since Sachsenring, and there are rumours he is riding to keep his seat, and there desperately wants to impress at Laguna Seca.

The dark horses are obviously going to be Lorenzo and Pedrosa. How they perform with their injuries – as well as how much they limit themselves – could be the deciding factor for the race.

FP1 and FP2 combined times:

Pos Rider Team FP1 FP2 Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 M.MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’22.980 1’22.040    
2 S.BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’23.033 1’22.269 0.229 0.229
3 A.DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’23.380 1’22.284 0.244 0.015
4 V.ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’22.848 1’22.346 0.306 0.062
5 C.CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.757 1’22.457 0.417 0.111
6 J.LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’24.441 1’22.467 0.427 0.010
7 A.ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’23.905 1’22.531 0.491 0.064
8 A.BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’23.255 1’22.539 0.499 0.008
9 N.HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’23.927 1’22.733 0.693 0.194
10 B.SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’24.287 1’22.767 0.727 0.034
11 D.PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team   1’23.129 1.089 0.362
12 H.BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’24.467 1’23.158 1.118 0.029
13 R.DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’24.363 1’23.437 1.397 0.279
14 A.DE ANGELIS Ignite Pramac Racing 1’25.133 1’23.973 1.933 0.536
15 D.PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’25.594 1’24.047 2.007 0.074
16 C.CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’25.770 1’24.180 2.140 0.133
17 C.EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’25.664 1’24.410 2.370 0.230
18 K.ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’25.394 1’24.421 2.381 0.011
19 H.AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1’25.451 1’24.473 2.433 0.052
20 Y.HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’25.309 1’24.555 2.515 0.082
21 M.LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’26.659 1’24.727 2.687 0.172
22 B.STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’26.753 1’25.345 3.305 0.618
23 B.YOUNG Attack Performance Racing 1’26.668 1’25.764 3.724 0.419
24 L.PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’27.825 1’27.173 5.133 1.409

United States Grand Prix, Laguna Seca, preview and race prediction + Ben Spies’ track guide.

Laguna Seca. One of the most famous corners in the world lives at the Californian track, Turn 8, otherwise known as the Corkscrew. Short, twisty, dusty, and with no real straights, the riders either love it or hate it, but they all agree; it’s a tough one to crack.

So, who’s been fast historically? Over the last five seasons, here are the podiums:

1st 2nd 3rd
2012 Casey Stoner Jorge Lorenzo Dani Pedrosa
2011 Casey Stoner Jorge Lorenzo Dani Pedrosa
2010 Jorge Lorenzo Casey Stoner Valentino Rossi
2009 Dani Pedrosa Valentino Rossi Jorge Lorenzo
2008 Valentino Rossi Casey Stoner Chris Vermeulen

 

The same names tend to pop up at all the tracks, but it’s hard to ignore Casey Stoner’s strength at the US track. Still, he no longer races, and so the fastest Laguna rider falls to Jorge Lorenzo. He has claimed pole at the circuit four times in a row…but he’s injured, and it’s a possibility he won’t even race. However, his Twitter account, and Yamaha itself, have confirmed he will be in the US for the round, so there’s definitely a big chance he’ll feature. But the track is demanding, and he will surely not want to push hard and risk another crash.

Dani Pedrosa is in a similar position. The Spaniard should recover from the low blood pressure that caused him to miss the Sachsenring, but he carries a partially fractured collar bone. Fast at the Mazda Raceway he may be, and while Honda’s have won the past two seasons, he could just want to beat Lorenzo, nothing more.

Which leaves us with Valentino Rossi. The Italian has won at the US track, and grabbed three other podiums in his career there. With his front end problems largely solved, the win could fall his way. He’ll certainly be thinking of glory. The main chink in his armour is qualifying pace; if he can qualify on the front row again, the win could be on.

Probably the fastest combination of bike and rider who is not injured in MotoGP right now is Marc Marquez and his RCV213 Repsol Honda. The odds are up against him though. He’s never raced at the track before, and it’s notoriously difficult to learn the correct lines, especially on such powerful bikes. No rookie rider has ever won at Laguna Seca in the top class either. Still, if any rider is equipped to do it, it’s Marquez.

Then there’s Cal Crutchlow. Fast, determined, and with experience of the track, there’s actually every chance he could win the race. Historically he’s not had much joy, crashing on lap 3 in 2011, but a 5th last year, 18 seconds behind winner Stoner, is a decent job. He knows the track, is desperate to win, and Pedrosa and Lorenzo are riding wounded. He should beat Marquez, and dice with Rossi for the win.

Race prediction:

1st – Rossi
2nd – Crutchlow
3rd – Marquez
4th – Pedrosa
5th – Lorenzo

And, if you’re wondering how to get round Laguna Seca on a 200+ bhp machine, how about Ben Spies’ track guide to Laguna Seca?

Ben Spies’ track notes and guide to Laguna Seca

Image courtesy of Asphalt & Rubber.

German Grand Prix Sunday round up, the race: Marquez takes the flag, Crutchlow comfortable in second, Rossi fuming in third

Today was Marc Marquez’s day. Pole, fastest lap and the race win. With Jorge Lorenzo out (collarbone), Dani Pedrosa out (collarbone and dizziness/low blood pressure) and Andrea Iannone out (dislocated shoulder), the grid was smaller than normal. Marquez missed the top riders more than most, saying in his press release that he would ‘perhaps prefer races that are a little more of a battle!’.

From Warm Up (full Warm Up times here) Marquez was fast this Sunday, lapping over a third of a second faster than anyone else. Still, it was Stefan Bradl and Valentino Rossi who were doing the long runs to determine their race, both laying down a number of 1’22s.

It was in the Warm Up though where Rossi’s race effectively came unstuck. He said that he and his team ‘decided to set up the bike in one way and today after some laps I started to suffer too much. The first ten laps were not so bad but after I started to have problems and it was too difficult to turn the bike, especially on the left I was sliding too much. We have to work to try and make another step to stay with the top guys’. Looking at his race, he was fast early on, and then Crutchlow and Marquez pulled away after half distance. Rossi threw caution to the wind to try and maximise the absence of Lorenzo and Pedrosa, and this time it just didn’t work out.

Cal Crutchlow really does seem to have solved his sluggish first few laps issue. His laps times are pretty quick right from the off. Still, it’s his pace at the end of the race that is so impressive. Where Rossi complained of tyre issues and set his fastest time on lap 7, Crutchlow didn’t pick up his fastest lap – and second fastest overall – until lap 17.

Stefan Bradl too peaked too soon. He was impressive in the early stages, and looked set to battle for the podium. But on lap 7 he got his fastest lap, and, as with Rossi, faded towards the end of the race.

We should also mention Aleix Espargaro, who will undoubtedly be forgotten among the press. He was briefly circulating in third, ahead of Marc Marquez, using his super soft tyres and great handling to the max, before finishing 8th, 0.3 seconds behind Andrea Dovizioso. While it may be true that he was so high up so early due to his CRT tyres (his second lap was his fastest of the race), it’s still amazing to see a bike of that cost racing a beast like a RCV213. Espagaro rides the bike at the limit, and he should be recognised for doing that. He almost beat Dovizioso after all. A question to ask soon is, why is Randy De Puniet, a rider many rate very highly, including myself, beaten so soundly by Espargaro, a rider who hasn’t shone so brightly before?

German Grand Prix race result and times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’21.895
2 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.268 0.373 0.373
3 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’22.364 0.469 0.096
4 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’22.646 0.751 0.282
5 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.672 0.777 0.026
6 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’22.679 0.784 0.007
7 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’22.837 0.942 0.158
8 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’23.283 1.388 0.446
9 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’23.318 1.423 0.035
10 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.431 1.536 0.113
11 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.560 1.665 0.129
12 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’23.565 1.670 0.005
13 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’23.592 1.697 0.027
14 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’23.622 1.727 0.030
15 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’23.864 1.969 0.242
16 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’23.950 2.055 0.086
17 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’24.103 2.208 0.153
18 Hiroshi AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1’24.476 2.581 0.373
19 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’25.326 3.431 0.850
20 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’25.692 3.797 0.366
21 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’26.669 4.774 0.977
Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team
Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing

German Grand Prix Saturday round up, Qualifying: Marquez top, Crutchlow then Rossi, Espargaro 5th

Of the times set in Qualifying at the Sachsenring, the 1’21.887 was the most impressive, bagging Aleix Espargaro a fifth place grid spot. That’s just 0.576 behind Marc Marquez and his factory-spec Repsol Honda. OK, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa didn’t feature, but it’s still a stunning effort from a guy on a CRT machine that is worth a fraction of the cost of the prototype machines around him. It also puts him over one and a quarter seconds faster than his teammate, Randy De Puniet. Ouch.

It’s the same four riders – Marquez, Crutchlow, Rossi and Bradl – ahead of Espargaro that have featured in FP3 and FP4, thanks to the collarbone injury to Jorge Lorenzo, and the injuries to Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa partially fractured his collarbone, but it was the head he banged during his highside that caused him problems. He was feeling dizzy and sick, and doctors deemed his blood pressure too low for racing.

The first three grid spots look tight, with just 0.182 separating Marquez, Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi. It’s close, but Marquez banged in 1’21s at will during the session, and looks to be the strongest rider.

The setup work and handling of the ART Aprilia in Espargaro’s hand is one of the reasons he’s so fast – along with the excellent Aprilia traction control. He’s 6th fastest overall in QP1, but 3rd fastest through sectors 2 and 3 respectively. Nicky Hayden, one place behind Espargaro on the factory Ducati, loses over a third of a second in just those two sectors.

QP1 times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’23.100
2 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.148 0.048 0.048
3 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’23.152 0.052 0.004
4 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’23.333 0.233 0.181
5 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’23.349 0.249 0.016
6 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’23.549 0.449 0.200
7 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’23.565 0.465 0.016
8 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.631 0.531 0.066
9 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’23.752 0.652 0.121
10 Hiroshi AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1’23.820 0.720 0.068
11 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’24.395 1.295 0.575
12 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’27.273 4.173 2.878
Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing

QP2 times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’21.311
2 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’21.434 0.123 0.123
3 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’21.493 0.182 0.059
4 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’21.862 0.551 0.369
5 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’21.887 0.576 0.025
6 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’22.157 0.846 0.270
7 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.297 0.986 0.140
8 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’22.484 1.173 0.187
9 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’22.561 1.250 0.077
10 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.059 1.748 0.498
11 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’23.361 2.050 0.302
Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team