MotoGP

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Maverick Viñales won the race at Silverstone last season, and the rider from Roses was only a tenth of a second off repeating the feat in 2017.

Moving through from a second row start to slot into the front group in the game of high octane chess, the 2013 Moto3 World Champion was just behind Marc Marquez when the reigning Champion’s engine blew – leaving him some work to do to catch back onto the rear of Andrea Dovizioso and Yahama team-mate Valentino Rossi.

But Viñales reeled them in and pounced past his teammate, then pushing to the limit to try and give himself chance for a last lap pass on ‘DesmoDovi’ – just not quite close enough.

Over the line, he was a tantalising tenth off the win. That said, the Championship is now closer than ever, with Viñales having made a 20 point gain on Marquez and now only four points adrift of his second-placed compatriot.

" The tyre wasn’t a gamble, I felt great on the bike, in the first laps I was just trying to save tyres and it was hard when they were overtaking me because I knew I was stronger in the last ten laps." Said the Spaniard

"When Marc’s engine broke it was quite scary and I lost a lot, but we were able to catch them and fight for the victory. But I’m happy and proud of the team. This race was really tough with five riders doing the same laptimes to the end and it was hard to be strong and consistent; it’s a demanding track."

"I’m really happy, we came back strong again and I know in Misano we can recover good points. At the test in Misano we concentrated on electronics, where we were lacking a lot." He added

"We just tried to improve them and the consistency of the tyre, and this weekend was really good. We improved a lot, but we still have work to do. The first five riders are really close and we need to keep working hard to improve. When our bike works we can be very strong."

"We have to try and challenge in every race. In the final part of the race I felt really strong, and we have to keep this race in mind to be strong in the next ones. I didn’t feel any pressure from the Championship, I was pushing at the end to try and win the race." Concluded Vinales

source: motogp.com

MotoGP

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) topped Warm Up at the British GP, leading the way by only 0.009 from reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).

Home hero Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) was P3, a further tenth back.

The big headline of the session was a huge crash for Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), with the German rookie taken to the Medical Center and initial reports citing no major injuries.

source: motogp.com

MotoGP

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) became the first man to win four races this season, as the Championship challenger put on a tactical masterclass once again.

In a close second but unable to make a last lap lunge was Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), with early leader Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) completing the podium. As well as the podium finishers, the standings took a shake up as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was forced to retire.

It was Rossi who bolted off the line; the nine-time World Champion getting a lightning start from the middle of the front row and disappearing into the distance in the initial stages. Behind the ‘Doctor’, Marquez led a close five rider train with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), Viñales, Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) and Dovizioso on the chase. Marquez suffered a huge moment early on, but the rider from Cervera remained in charge of the chasing pack.

Soon, the Dovizioso struck against Lorenzo and the group began to pull away from the ‘Spartan’, just as Rossi pulled away on his own at the front.

The game of high-octane chess continued with the four in line and staying within touching distance of Rossi, until a sudden puff of smoke gave the Championship a serious shake up and Marquez was out of it.

That left four, with Rossi then reeled in and everything looking like it would go down to the wire. And that it did, with Dovizioso able to pounce with three to go and get past his compatriot, swiftly followed by Viñales. The ‘Doctor’ tried to fight back but found the duo able to just stay clear – and the final lap was approaching.

With the concertina effect seeing the Ducati able to pull a gap and then the Yamaha able to close, it was incredibly tight as the two headed around the final 5.9km lap of Silverstone.

Having played his hand to perfection, Dovizioso was able to keep the advantage to the line – taking his fourth win of the year. Viñales took second, with Rossi completing the podium. Crutchlow, not quite able to get close enough to make his move, took fourth.

Lorenzo had a great race to cross the line in fifth - and only 3.5 seconds off the race winning time of his teammate. The ‘Spartan’ overcame Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in the latter stages to pull a sizeable gap on the Frenchman over the line as he continues to move forward. Zarco took P6, comfortably ahead of a more difficult day at the office for Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team).

Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) showed his home race pace once again to take eighth, with Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) equaling his best rookie result in ninth just behind the Brit. Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team), after a more difficult qualifying day, completed the top ten.

Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was hugely impressive once again for KTM, taking P11 after also getting straight through to Q2.

Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) followed him home, with Karel Abraham (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) and Reale Avintia Racing pairing Hector Barbera and Loris Baz locking out the fastest fifteen.

source: motogp.com

MotoGP

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Race Direction clarify penalties for taking shortcuts and flag-to-flag rules if the race should be wet

Bike Swap

On Friday at the British GP, riders and teams trialed a new bike swap procedure for flag-to-flag races. It has been decided that, should the white flag be waved at Silverstone or should the race be declared wet, this new bike swap procedure will be enforced at this event.

Track Cutting

Direction have clarified penalties in instances of riders cutting the track. The key principle is that making a mistake and cutting part of the track should mean the rider loses time.

According to the regulations, riders cutting the track in practice or qualifying sessions will have that lap cancelled. Riders doing the same in the race must be at least a second slower than their slowest normal time in the sector in which the track was cut (ie not on the first lap, or an irregular lap affected by conditions or an incident.) If the sector is not at least a second slower, a time penalty will be imposed. That will be equal to two seconds slower than the rider’s slowest normal time.

In practice, if a sector is only 0.3 seconds slower, a penalty of 1.7 seconds will be imposed. If the sector is 0.6s faster, the penalty becomes 2.6 seconds.

Positions gained by short-cutting the track must be given back immediately.

Cutting the track due to contact in which another rider is at fault will not incur a standard penalty. However,if rider gains time in the subsequent run off, a time penalty will still be applied.

These penalties apply to short-cutting the track, rather than exceeding track limits by going outside the kerbs. Those violations have their own clearly defined penalties.

source: motogp.com

 

         

 

 

Search