German Grand Prix Saturday round up, Free Practices: Everyone’s crashing, but who’s staying upright?

There are news stories everywhere about Jorge Lorenzo’s highside – probably caused by a combination of cold tyre, over confidence and a desire to prove he’s the best even with an injury – and Dani Pedrosa’s higher highside. Pedrosa’s crash, also due to a cold tyre, could have been caused by a lack of focus. After Lorenzo was ruled out of the Sachsenring race, Pedrosa’s aim for the weekend was taken away.

The first session of Saturday was FP3, and Marc Marquez was the fastest by a decent quarter of a second…from Aleix Espargaro. The CRT rider was stunning in the middle two sectors, showing that a sweet handling bike really can make a big difference. He was the second fastest rider in the session by almost two tenths, and over a second faster than his teammate. No one knew what to expect with the CRT machines, but with the ART Aprilia, Aleix Espargaro has found a machine that he can setup and push to the absolute limit.

After the first three Free Practices, the fastest riders and their times look like this (note Espargaro in at number 4, and Lorenzo still third):

FP1, FP2 and FP3 combined times:

Pos. Rider Team FP1 FP2 FP3 Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 M.MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’22.397 1’22.251 1’21.903
2 S.BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’22.460 1’22.030 1’22.389 0.127 0.127
3 J. LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’22.047 1’22.252 0.144 0.017
4 A.ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’22.641 1’22.763 1’22.129 0.226 0.099
5 D.PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’22.221 1’22.239 0.318 0.092
6 V.ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’22.241  1’22.395 1’22.306 0.338 0.020
7 C.CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.469 1’23.932 1’22.377 0.474 0.136
8 N.HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’22.816 1’22.572 1’22.874 0.669 0.195
9 A.BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’22.882 1’22.976 1’22.614 0.711 0.042
10 B.SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’23.726 1’23.040 1’22.758 0.855 0.144
11 A.DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’23.068 1’22.850 1’23.063 0.947 0.092
12 A.IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’23.578 1’23.008 1’23.031 1.105 0.158
13 R.DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’23.131  1’23.255 1’23.174 1.228 0.123
14 C.CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’24.728 1’24.078 1’23.426 1.523 0.295
15 M.PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’23.868 1’23.491 1’23.557 1.588 0.065
16 Y.HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’23.695 1’23.524 1’23.745 1.621 0.033
17 H.BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’23.672 1’23.627 1’23.556 1.653 0.032
18 M.LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’25.129 1’23.636 1’24.606 1.733 0.080
19 D.PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’24.575 1’23.866 1’23.842 1.939 0.206
20 C.EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’24.521 1’23.911 1’23.978 2.008 0.069
21 H.AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1’24.682 1’24.647 1’24.310 2.407 0.399
22 K.ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’26.195 1’24.555 2.652 0.245
23 B.STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’24.798  1’24.862 1’25.873 2.895 0.243
24 L.PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’27.172 1’25.568 1’27.617 3.665 0.770

 

In FP4, spectators around the world sat up and took notice as not only were the times dropping, Valentino Rossi sat at the top of the timings with the second fastest time of the weekend. Stefan Bradl meanwhile, fired up by his home grand prix, posted another 1’22.046 to add to his FP2 one. Marc Marquez and Cal Crutchlow – the Brit riding with bad grazes on his hand and arm – were also quick. Qualifying was clearly going to be between these four riders, and judging by the partial times, mid-1’21s would be the aim.

FP4 times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’21.978
2 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’22.046 0.068 0.068
3 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’22.115 0.137 0.069
4 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.280 0.302 0.165
5 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’22.556 0.578 0.276
6 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’22.775 0.797 0.219
7 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’22.855 0.877 0.080
8 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.980 1.002 0.125
9 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’23.115 1.137 0.135
10 Hiroshi AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1’23.238 1.260 0.123
11 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.271 1.293 0.033
12 Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’23.313 1.335 0.042
13 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’23.468 1.490 0.155
14 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’23.532 1.554 0.064
15 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’23.710 1.732 0.178
16 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’23.754 1.776 0.044
17 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’24.055 2.077 0.301
18 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’24.108 2.130 0.053
19 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’24.454 2.476 0.346
20 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’24.578 2.600 0.124
21 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’25.120 3.142 0.542
22 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’25.336 3.358 0.216
Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team

FP4 is also a good indicator of race pace, and it’s quite surprising. Marquez, Crutchlow and Bradl look solid, but Rossi didn’t turn that many fast, consistent laps. Take a look at the analysis. The first 4 places is surely taken by one of these riders, with the only question mark being over Cal Crutchlow’s injuries – can he perform through the pain at the end of the race?

German Grand Prix Friday Free Practice round up: Who’s got race pace?

It was an eventful Friday in Germany. In FP1 Lorenzo flew round the track and looked confident, fast and very much like his old self. Come FP2 and he took a highside, fell on the back of his left shoulder and latest reports are that he has damaged the plate holding his collarbone together. He could require more surgery and may not race this weekend.

Cal Crutchlow too fell. He was uncharacteristically down in 6th in FP1, then hit a bump on Turn 11 – the famous ‘waterfall’ corner – and tumbled into the gravel. He was taken to the medical centre with burns and grazes to his hands.

You’ll read about these incidents everywhere, so let’s get on to who was fast, where and why.

FP1 was almost as fast a session as FP2, with a lot of the top riders lapping faster in the morning than in the afternoon. Stefan Bradl and Jorge Lorenzo are the two fastest riders, both around 0.2 faster than anyone else. Looking at the best partial report from FP1 and FP2, we can see that Bradl is faster in sector one, while Lorenzo was quicker in the third sector, each winning or losing a couple of tenths.

When it comes to race pace though, judging by the first two practices (FP1, FP2), there are a number of riders who are looking strong already. Lorenzo’s is the strongest, his second FP1 run seeing him string together six 1’22 laps, with eight in total in the session. Here’s a table, showing the race pace:

Rider Number of 1’22 laps, FP1 Number of 1’22 laps, FP2 Total
Bradl 6 9 15
Lorenzo 8 2 (out of 2 laps, crash) 10
Pedrosa 3 4 7
Rossi 8 11 19
Marquez 9 13 22
Crutchlow 9 0 (out of 3 laps, crash) 9

There are a number of riders who are looking to have the pace in the race, although it is of course early days yet. Jorge Lorenzo and Cal Crutchlow looked to have race pace right out of the box in FP1, but both could now be slowed down – or stopped altogether in the case of Lorenzo – by injury. Over the course of both FPs, Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi are showing consistent speed.

What is possibly more interesting is that Dani Pedrosa is taking it easy. Perhaps he’s struggling, perhaps he’s confident. Either way, this is a track he should be strong at, and it seems strange he’s not right at the top.

We’ll know more tomorrow.

FP1 and FP2 times:

No. Rider Team FP1 FP2 Lead. gap Prev. Gap
1 S.BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’22.460 1’22.030
2 J.LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’22.047 1’22.252 0.017 0.017
3 D.PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’22.221 1’22.239 0.191 0.174
4 V.ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’22.241 1’22.395 0.211 0.020
5 M.MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’22.397 1’22.251 0.221 0.010
6 C.CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.469 1’23.932 0.439 0.218
7 N.HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’22.816 1’22.572 0.542 0.103
8 A.ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’22.641 1’22.763 0.611 0.069
9 A.DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’23.068 1’22.850 0.820 0.209
10 A.BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’22.882 1’22.976 0.852 0.032
11 A.IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’23.578 1’23.008 0.978 0.126
12 B.SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’23.726 1’23.040 1.010 0.032
13 R.DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’23.131 1’23.255 1.101 0.091
14 M.PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’23.868 1’23.491 1.461 0.360
15 Y.HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’23.695 1’23.524 1.494 0.033
16 H.BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’23.672 1’23.627 1.597 0.103
17 M.LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’25.129 1’23.636 1.606 0.009
18 D.PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’24.575 1’23.866 1.836 0.230
19 C.EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’24.521 1’23.911 1.881 0.045
20 C.CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’24.728 1’24.078 2.048 0.167
21 H.AOYAMA Avintia Blusens 1’24.682 1’24.647 2.617 0.569
22 B.STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’24.798 1’24.862 2.768 0.151
23 L. Pesek Came IodaRacing Project 1’27.172 1’25.568 3.538 0.770
24 K.ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’26.195 4.165 0.627

Dutch TT Assen Grand Prix race result and times: Rossi is back, Pedrosa struggles, and Lorenzo grits his teeth

It’s always hard to get a headline for races as complicated as the Assen TT was this year. To summarise, Valentino Rossi rode an excellent race and took his first win for two and a half years. Marc Marquez narrowly snatched second place from a galloping Cal Crutchlow. Dani Pedrosa meanwhile wilted in the last few laps to only manage 4th. Jorge Lorenzo, despite having surgery a matter of hours before the race, still came home in 5th, just 15.5 seconds behind Rossi.

The biggest headline is Valention Rossi’s win. You’ll read everywhere about how great he feels and how amazing it was, but, when it comes down to it, how did he win?

Simple. He was the fastest rider.

Looking at the fastest laps of the race, Valentino sits at the top with a 1’34.894, a lap only half a second slower than Crutchlow’s pole lap, and faster than Rossi’s own QP time. OK, Marquez and Crutchlow were within a tenth, but Rossi’s out and out pace was there.

After the first lap, Rossi reeled off two 1’35.0 laps, laps faster than anyone else. He was also consistent; both laps were within 0.002 of each other. Fast from the start. That’s something we’ve not seen from Rossi yet this year.

After that he was metronomic, bagging five 1’35.0 laps and three 1’35.1s. By comparison, the next fastest, Marquez, managed three 1’35.0s and just the one 1’35.1.

It’s also important that Rossi is an overtaker. Cal Crutchlow often tells us that passing a Honda is difficult, thanks to the RCV213’s superior acceleration. We know this is true, but it just doesn’t stop Rossi. He has finally got the setup of the 2013 Yamaha M1 to a place where he can be ultra late on the brakes. When you think of Rossi’s career, we remember the overtakes, the races where he carves through the field.

I’ve written an earlier article about what having a fast Rossi means for MotoGP, and hot off the back of his win at Assen, Visordown is already reporting a spike in ticket sales for Silverstone. It is a subject that will be written about many times over the next few weeks, even if Rossi does not win again.

And what of Jorge Lorenzo? At the start of the weekend it was assumed he wouldn’t even race. He is a determined and focus man. He wants to defend his title. Finishing 5th, in such a competitive field, is an outstanding achievement. Not even broken bones stand in the way of Lorenzo.

Looking at his lap times it’s obvious he was starting to feel the discomfort and outright pain of his injury around lap 18 where his times nosedive.

But what of Pedrosa? The Spaniard could have – or perhaps should have – taken many more points from Lorenzo, but simply couldn’t get his tyres working. Again. His team need to find a solution if he is to keep his lead. Lorenzo isn’t particularly slow when injured, and judging by his Twitter feed he’s still training pretty hard. After Laguna Seca Lorenzo will be strong and fit enough for his injury to barely affect his riding. The German Grand Prix at Sachsenring is a track where Pedrosa has dominated for the past three seasons. It needs to be a track he dominates at again.

Dutch Grand Prix race times:

Pos. Rider Team Time/Gap
1 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 41’25.202
2 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 2.17
3 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 4.073
4 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 7.832
5 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 15.51
6 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 27.519
7 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 31.598
8 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 32.405
9 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 33.751
10 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 33.801
11 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 34.371
12 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 57.674
13 Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing +1’01.424
14 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing +1’01.561
15 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing +1’04.426
16 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project +1’11.114
17 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing +1’15.249
18 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing +1’24.884
19 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport +1’25.854
20 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens +1’25.978
21 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini +1’26.256
22 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport +1’26.610
23 Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens +1’38.173
Not Classified
Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 16 Laps

Dutch TT Assen Grand Prix Warm up: Rossi top, showing good race pace, Lorenzo 8th with broken collarbone.

Hard to say what’s more exciting. Is it Valentino Rossi fastest in Warm up (if only by 0.001) and with a pace that might see him push at the front? Or is it Jorge Lorenzo lapping at a respectable pace a day after having a plate fitted to screw his collarbone together?

Let’s start with Lorenzo. It seems that he’ll pass the tests required (ten press ups I hear) that will allow him to race. After flying to Barcelona, having his collarbone plated, flying back to Assen, and then lapping on his bike, his determination to defend his world title is simply not in doubt. While many ex-riders will tell you that a collarbone is almost as good – or slightly stronger – once plated, it still seems that riders will put their health second to winning. Whether this is a good thing or not is a question for another day, but as a role model for determination and drive, there is no one better.

On to Rossi. Being top of a Warm up doesn’t always mean much, if it means anything at all – especially if it’s by such a small amount. But with the poor conditions so far at Assen and therefore the limited dry running, Rossi’s times look good. He strung together a lap that consisted entirely of his best sectors. He almost did this earlier in FP4 (he was 0.040 from his best ideal lap) and it suggests he is finally getting a setup that lets him push consistently.

Looking at the analysis of the Warm up, Rossi pulls out a low 1’37 before nailing 5 1’36s, takes a couple of slower laps and then posts his best time. With Lorenzo injured and Rossi’s race pace looking impressive, a strong podium could be on the cards.

Warm Up times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’35.803
2 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’35.804 0.001 0.001
3 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’35.836 0.033 0.032
4 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’36.294 0.491 0.458
5 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’36.350 0.547 0.056
6 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’36.379 0.576 0.029
7 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’36.471 0.668 0.092
8 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’36.517 0.714 0.046
9 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’36.556 0.753 0.039
10 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’36.866 1.063 0.310
11 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’36.935 1.132 0.069
12 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’36.994 1.191 0.059
13 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’37.252 1.449 0.258
14 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’37.510 1.707 0.258
15 Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’37.537 1.734 0.027
16 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’37.930 2.127 0.393
17 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’38.607 2.804 0.677
18 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’38.712 2.909 0.105
19 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’38.786 2.983 0.074
20 Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens 1’38.992 3.189 0.206
21 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’39.311 3.508 0.319
22 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’41.922 6.119 2.611
23 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’42.616 6.813 0.694
24 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’42.918 7.115 0.302

Dutch TT Assen Grand Prix Qualifying results and times: Crutchlow charges clear to take pole by 0.357

Cal Crutchlow claimed his first position with a stunning performance. Assen was always said to be a ‘Yamaha track’, and whether you believe tracks are better for certain bikes or not, Crutchlow showed even a satellite bike can be on pole.

Before QP2 was QP2, which saw Randy De Puniet top the session. This meant he lapped faster than Nicky Hayden, Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso, all of which are on factory Desmosedici machines. When he got through to QP2 he upped his game further, dropping his lap time by 0.400 seconds and getting round Assen well over a quarter of a second faster than Hayden’s Ducati GP13.

The reason for the Ducati’s struggles are clear from the Partial Lap report. Sectors 1 and 4 see both Hayden and Michele Pirro (on the Ignite Pramac Ducati, replacing Ben Spies) posting the slowest sectors. The Desmo has chronic understeer issues, and simply can’t hold the lines to go fast through the Assen track.

QP1 times:

Pos. Rider   Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’36.087
2 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’36.162 0.075 0.075
3 Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’36.432 0.345 0.27
4 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’36.490 0.403 0.058
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’36.524 0.437 0.034
6 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’36.695 0.608 0.171
7 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’36.791 0.704 0.096
8 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’37.143 1.056 0.352
9 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’37.315 1.228 0.172
10 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’37.625 1.538 0.310
11 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’37.781 1.694 0.156
12 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’38.378 2.291 0.597
13 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’38.704 2.617 0.326
14 Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens 1’39.077 2.990 0.373

Cal Crutchlow’s excellent lap time is thanks to his speed throughout the whole of the lap. Where some riders struggle in sectors (Marquez loses out in sectors 1 and 3 for example), Crutchlow is always near the top. His focus and setup ensured he grabbed pole, not fluke. Could a fit Jorge Lorenzo have beaten him? Perhaps. But we’ll never know. Crutchlow deserves a lot of credit.

Dani Pedrosa’s poor qualifying performance was pretty much down to his crash. He posted fast sectors and his ideal lap would have landed him second position. Whether he can pull it off in the race is another question, but he seems happier with his setup, and clearly has some speed.

QP2 times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’34.398
2 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’34.755 0.357 0.357
3 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’34.878 0.480 0.123
4 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’34.974 0.576 0.096
5 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’35.006 0.608 0.032
6 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’35.454 1.056 0.448
7 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’35.500 1.102 0.046
8 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’35.508 1.110 0.008
9 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’35.622 1.224 0.114
10 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’35.908 1.510 0.286
11 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’36.866 2.468 0.958
12 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing

Dutch TT Assen Grand Prix FP4 results and times: A dry session with Marquez leading Rossi

The fourth Free Practice was at last dry, but the times were well behind those set in FP1. Still, fan favourites Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow took the first three spots, followed by Stefan Bradl and Dani Pedrosa. Less than a quarter of a second separated these five riders. With the absence of Jorge Lorenzo, it’s likely the podium will feature three of these riders.

A quick look at the partial times reports highlights how slippery the track was, if any proof were required. Alvaro Bautista is fastest in the first two sectors, but the lack of grip means he can’t string a whole lap together. His last two sectors aren’t lightning fast (he’s a tenth away from Marquez in each), but his ideal times is almost a third faster. Most of the riders have ideal laps around a quarter of a second faster than their best times, with the exception of Valentino Rossi. He is still saying he’s much happier with his setup, so we’ll have to see what happens come qualifying.

FP4 times:

Pos. Rider   Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’35.616
2 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’35.648 0.032 0.032
3 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’35.773 0.157 0.125
4 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’35.835 0.219 0.062
5 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’35.864 0.248 0.029
6 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’35.901 0.285 0.037
7 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’36.283 0.667 0.382
8 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’36.457 0.841 0.174
9 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’36.465 0.849 0.008
10 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’37.169 1.553 0.704
11 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’37.234 1.618 0.065
12 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’37.373 1.757 0.139
13 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’37.405 1.789 0.032
14 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’37.449 1.833 0.044
15 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’37.642 2.026 0.193
16 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’37.775 2.159 0.133
17 Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’37.791 2.175 0.016
18 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’38.064 2.448 0.273
19 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’38.071 2.455 0.007
20 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’38.814 3.198 0.743
21 Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens 1’39.357 3.741 0.543
22 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’39.815 4.199 0.458
23 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’39.945 4.329 0.13
Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing

Dutch TT Assen Grand Prix FP1, FP2, FP3 results and times: Lorenzo fastest, but crashes and breaks collarbone, may not race.

There’s a rather unusual scenario after the first three practices at Assen. Not only was the first practice by far and away the fastest session, but Jorge Lorenzo crashed, and might not even race after breaking his collar bone in FP2. As he topped FP1, he’s the fastest rider.

FP1 has, so far, been the only dry session, but the Yamahas were looking good at the cathedral of motorcycle racing. Three Yamahas in the top 3, Lorenzo 0.350 ahead at the front, and Dani Pedrosa back in 5th, some 0.7 seconds behind his Mallorcan rival. Looking at the split times, it’s clear where the bulk of Lorenzo’s advantage is; the first sector, it’s smooth right hand curves suited perfectly to Lorenzo’s high corner speed approach.

Looking a bit deeper, at the best partial times form FP1, and all three of the top Yamahas – Lorenzo, Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi – are ahead of the Repsols, with Marc Marquez pushed back to 4th. Lorenzo’s best lap actually takes him under the 1’34 mark, and almost half a second clear of Crutchlow.

Still, the other big news was Lorenzo’s highside in the wet second practice. He was looking confident, perhaps too confident as he says in his press release, pushing relatively hard, and hit a patch of standing water that hadn’t been there the previous lap. It’s hard to tell whether he also clipped a bit of white line, but either way the bike slipped, gripped and flung him off. His left shoulder blade is broken, but he’s in a rush to get it fixed. After an emergency forced him to abandon plans to have it plated in Holland as his bed was needed for a more urgent cause, he flew to Barcelona, and will receive treatment as soon as he can.

FP1, FP2, FP3 combined times:

Pos. Rider Team FP1 FP2 FP3 Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 1’35.263 1’51.432
2 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’35.613 1’48.761 1’49.981 0.350 0.350
3 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team 1’35.683 1’47.617 1’46.761 0.620 0.270
4 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Factory Racing 1’35.958 1’47.869 1’48.167 0.695 0.075
5 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1’36.034 1’48.240 1’47.055 0.771 0.076
6 Aleix Espargaro Power Electronics Aspar 1’36.430 1’50.980 1.48.976 1.167 0.396
7 Stefan Bradl LCR Honda MotoGP 1’36.559 1’48.594 1’50.830 1.296 0.129
8 Alvaro Bautista GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’36.763 1’49.646 1’40.029 1.500 0.204
9 Michele Pirro Ignite Pramac Racing 1’36.910 1’49.669 1’45.601 1.647 0.147
10 Bradley Smith Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’37.002 1’51.908 1’48.822 1.739 0.092
11 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team 1’37.041 1’48.682 1’47.014 1.778 0.039
12 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 1’37.153 1’48.682 1’47.027 1.890 0.112
13 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 1’37.346 1’50.418 1’47.782 2.083 0.193
14 Hector Barbera Avintia Blusens 1’37.456 1’53.058 1’49.312 2.193 0.110
15 Randy De Puniet Power Electronics Aspar 1’37.489 1’49.965 1’40.223 2.226 0.033
16 Andrea Iannone Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’37.538 1’52.155 1’48.396 2.275 0.049
17 Danilo Petrucci Came IdoaRacing Procject 1’37.654 1’49.031 1’49.066 2.391 0.116
18 Yonny Hernandez Paul Bird Motorsport 1’37. 917 1’49.129 1’48.067 2.654 0.263
19 Colin Edwards NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’38.147 1’54.274 1’52.118 2.884 0.230
20 Claudio Corti NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’38.334 1’49.494 1’48.495 3.071 0.187
21 Michael Laverty Paul Bird Motorsport 1’38.874 1’49.438 1’49.637 3.611 0.540
22 Bryan Staring GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’39.708 1’55.761 1’49.637 4.445 0.834
23 Ivan Silva Avintia Blusens 1’39.950 1’52.347 1’46.724 4.687 0.242
24 Lukas Pesek Came IdoaRacing Procject 1’41.692 1’52.485 1’50.501 6.429 1.742

Catalunya Grand Prix race result and times: Lorenzo stuns the Hondas, Pedrosa lucky to beat Marquez to 2nd

Jorge Lorenzo rode a perfect race – well, he made mistake he reckoned, but not even Yamaha’s data showed it – and won the Catalunya Grand Prix by comfortable 1.7 seconds. Dani Pedrosa made it to second, but his teammate Marc Marquez was clearly faster. If they weren’t racing for the same team, Marquez would have almost certainly pulled a hard pass on the number 26 and taken second spot.

The race was hot. Very hot in fact, and the Hondas simply weren’t as fast as they would have been in slightly cooler temperatures. Remember that Pedrosa left everyone for dead in qualifying, and the race looked like it could be over before it even started. The extra heat meant he lacked the grip he needs to be fast. Lorenzo’s team meanwhile decided to alter the setup of the bike, preparing it for the slicker track. While it didn’t make him any faster, it did mean he could bang out lap after lap at a consistent, fast pace. And a pace faster than Pedrosa.

Right from the off Lorenzo pushed to hit the front, getting by Pedrosa with a tough move, and he simply pressed home his advantage for the rest of the race. While many are quick to say that Pedrosa is always the fastest off the line, which he normally his, Lorenzo is arguably the man who is fastest over the first five corners of a grand prix.

Being fast at the start of a race is something Crutchlow wishes he was. The Tech 3 Yamaha M1 has a different fuel tank, making the balance of the bike poor on a full fuel load. Try as he might, Crutchlow always loses time on Lorenzo and the Hondas at the start of a race. In Barcelona he pushed hard to stay with the leaders, and while he was successfully dealing with Rossi, he crashed on lap 6. We forgive him; a satellite bike hasn’t been ridden this hard for many years.

Still, Crutchlow lasted longer than Alvaro Bautista, who if he’s not careful will get a reputation as an impatient rider who crashes too often. He wasn’t the only crasher, with Nicky Hayden joining him in the gravel trap. The American started from 5th and was circulating in 7th, showing good pace, but a lowside put paid to the good work.

Marc Marquez had a very strong race. He looked slow for most of the weekend, even when Pedrosa looked unreachable. The two riders have different styles, and Marquez’s setup is notably different from his teammate’s. This is why when Pedrosa began to struggle towards the end of the race, Marquez wasn’t. He has a mature head on his shoulders and knows finishing behind the other Repsol bike is always preferable to taking them both out of the race. His pace may have been good enough to catch and even pass Lorenzo if he had overtaken Pedrosa, but this is his rookie season. He is learning, and already shows skills the other riders don’t possess, such as his ability to recover from a mistake.

Behind Marquez was Valentino Rossi. He had a relatively quite race once Crutchlow was out, but the very fact he is still struggling to compete with Crutchlow must be frustrating. After the race there were official tests, and Rossi was happy he had found a setup and alterations to his style that improved his front end feel. The Italian has always been one of the best riders on the brakes, slotting past from way behind his rivals. Once that feeling and ability is back, Rossi may once again be at the sharp end and grab podiums regularly.

Still, the day was Lorenzo. Even when the Honda of Pedrosa looked invincible, he stuck with it, rode without error and clawed back more points in the championship.

Catalunya Grand Prix times:

Pos. Rider Team Time/Gap
1 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 43’06.479
2 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1.763
3 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1.826
4 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 5.874
5 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 26.756
6 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 32.228
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 32.692
8 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 58.615
9 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing +1’03.142
10 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing +1’09.774
11 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project +1’24.377
12 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing +1’33.679
13 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport +1’45.355
14 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini +1’50.745
15 Javier DEL AMOR Avintia Blusens 1 Lap
16 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1 Lap
Not Classified
Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 10 Laps
Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 15 Laps
Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 20 Laps
Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 20 Laps
Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 21 Laps
Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 24 Laps
Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 0 Lap
Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 0 Lap

Catalunya Grand Prix Warm up: Yamaha clean sweep – Crutchlow, Lorenzo and Rossi.

The Hondas fell asleep during Warm up with Cal Crutchlow lapping just 0.001 seconds faster than Jorge Lorenzo to top the session, and multiple world champion Valentino Rossi 3rd. Dani Pedrosa was some 1.8 seconds slower today than in yesterday’s qualifying, and it’s looking like he might struggle in the later race.

Further down Nicky Hayden is showing that his qualifying lap here in Barcelona was no fluke, lapping just 0.452 slower than Crutchlow, and Alvaro Bautista too is looking nippy, a quarter of a second down on the American in 6th.

Marc Marquez continues to struggle and sits 8th, almost a second away from the leaders,

The weather looks good, and we’re expecting a hot, dry race.

Warm up times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’42.270
2 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’42.271 0.001 0.001
3 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’42.667 0.397 0.396
4 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’42.672 0.402 0.005
5 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’42.722 0.452 0.050
6 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’42.970 0.700 0.248
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’43.042 0.772 0.072
8 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’43.227 0.957 0.185
9 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’43.374 1.104 0.147
10 Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’43.479 1.209 0.105
11 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’43.686 1.416 0.207
12 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’44.006 1.736 0.320
13 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’44.106 1.836 0.100
14 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’44.253 1.983 0.147
15 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’44.697 2.427 0.444
16 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’44.719 2.449 0.022
17 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’44.729 2.459 0.010
18 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’44.905 2.635 0.176
19 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’45.001 2.731 0.096
20 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’45.432 3.162 0.431
21 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’45.891 3.621 0.459
22 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’46.448 4.178 0.557
23 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’47.269 4.999 0.821
24 Javier DEL AMOR Avintia Blusens 1’48.733 6.463 1.464

Catalunya Grand Prix Qualifying: Pedrosa top by 0.6, Crutchlow second, pissed off Lorenzo third.

Dani Pedrosa smashed Casey Stoner’s outright motorbike lap record by a third of a second to grab pole by a huge 0.608. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo had a clutch problem on his number one bike and hurried back to the pits to swap to his number two bike. He was clearly furious, and while he still set the third fastest time, it allowed Cal Crutchlow to become the fastest Yamaha in Barcelona.

The first qualifying session saw Bradley Smith and Andrea Iannone comfortably top the session, but they stayed 11th and 12th fastest respectably. Randy De Puniet chalked up 13th, followed by Michele Pirro who is standing in for Ben Spies, and Hector Barbera in 15th.

Catalunya Qualifying 1 times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’42.607
2 Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’42.660 0.053 0.053
3 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’43.186 0.579 0.526
4 Michele PIRRO Ignite Pramac Racing 1’43.330 0.723 0.144
5 Hector BARBERA Avintia Blusens 1’43.659 1.052 0.329
6 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’43.983 1.376 0.324
7 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’44.362 1.755 0.379
8 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’44.369 1.762 0.007
9 Claudio CORTI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’44.603 1.996 0.234
10 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport 1’44.630 2.023 0.027
11 Yonny HERNANDEZ Paul Bird Motorsport 1’44.913 2.306 0.283
12 Bryan STARING GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’45.441 2.834 0.528
13 Lukas PESEK Came IodaRacing Project 1’46.302 3.695 0.861
14 Javier DEL AMOR Avintia Blusens 1’48.952 6.345 2.65

In QP2 it was all about Dani Pedrosa scorching the field. Asked if it was his most perfect lap, the Spaniard was only prepared to say it was one of his best, but that does not bode well for everyone else. Lorenzo may have got closer on a different day with his number 1 bike, but the Respol looked untouchable. Alvaro Bautista managed a decent 4th, Nicky Hayden showed the pace of Ducati with an impressive 5th, just 0.3 seconds slower than Crtuchlow.

Marc Marquez shows signs of struggling, managing only 6th place, as does Valentino Rossi. Starting 7th is just asking to left behind by the end of the first lap, and without qualifying better his first win may still be some time away.

Catalunya Qualifying 2 times:

Pos. Rider Team Time Lead. gap Prev. gap
1 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’40.893
2 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’41.501 0.608 0.608
3 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’41.566 0.673 0.065
4 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1’41.714 0.821 0.148
5 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’41.800 0.907 0.086
6 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’41.842 0.949 0.042
7 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha Factory Racing 1’41.959 1.066 0.117
8 Andrea IANNONE Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’41.963 1.070 0.004
9 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’42.053 1.160 0.090
10 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’42.090 1.197 0.037
11 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’42.548 1.655 0.458
12 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’42.878 1.985 0.330