Sunday, April 27, 2014

Aoyama 10th, Hayden 11th for Team Drive M7 Aspar in MotoGP Round 3 in Argentina

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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27/04/14. 03 GP ARGENTINA - TERMAS DE RÍO HONDO - RACE                                                                                                       

AOYAMA BEST OPEN CLASS RIDER FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON, ROUNDING OUT TOP TEN

Japanese rider wins out after attractive duel with Nicky Hayden, placing tenth to his teammate’s eleventh



The MotoGP Grand Prix of Argentina was a highly entertaining race, with the most exciting moments coming right at the start, during the opening four laps. Jorge Lorenzo surprised many onlookers by taking charge of the race and gaining an advantage of a second on the first trio of laps, whilst Valentino Rossi, Stefan Bradl, Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso all looked to find their best spot in the pack with constant overtaking. Several riders crashed on the initial laps to further mix things up. The natural order of things resumed by the midway point, as the weekend’s fastest man, Marc Márquez, hunted down Lorenzo down seven laps in and followed him until Lap 16. He then passed his rival and set two hot laps to open a gap. Márquez won the race by 1.8 seconds from Dani Pedrosa, who also got past Lorenzo. It was an all-Spanish podium at Termas de Río Hondo. 


The DRIVE M7 Aspar riders also contributed to the excitement of the GP of Argentina, waging a fierce battle almost to the chequered flag. The reward at stake was the honour of being the top Open class rider for the first time in 2014, and the two teammates were not going to back down. In spite of having troubles finding his pace at the start, Nicky Hayden was the first rider to approach the top ten spots, moving up from fourteenth position to pass Redding, Abraham and Hernandez. His teammate, Hiroshi Aoyama, was sixteenth after the first lap and also was forced to fight back. With four laps to go, the battle between the DRIVE M7 Aspar riders, Abraham and Hernandez intensified. It looked as if Hayden would be taking tenth spot after establishing a small advantage, but Aoyama reeled him back in and passed on the penultimate corner. It was the Japanese rider’s first Open class top spot of the campaign so far.
10th Hiroshi Aoyama: "The race was tough. At this new circuit we had many doubts about the durability of the tyres, but I'm very happy to have concluded the race as the best Open class rider. In the last third of the race my tyres were almost on the limit, but I guess this was similar for everyone. I had fun, coming from behind at the end of the race I had some good battles with Hernandez and Nicky and we swapped places several times on the closing laps. I'm glad I was able to place ahead of them and take tenth position. Earlier this year everything was new to me, but I've grown since I joined the DRIVE M7 Aspar team and I think that the result today is the reward for all our hard work. I'm excited, I hope to continue like this next weekend when we go to Europe. I want to thank the team and the sponsors for all of their efforts to make results like today’s possible."

11th Nicky Hayden: "I really enjoyed riding today. In the race I would have liked to have taken a better result and beaten my teammate after an interesting fight. At the start of the race I did not had a good feeling with the front end. The track conditions had been improving throughout the weekend and so we worked to find rear grip. However, with the improving condition of the asphalt, having so much rear grip made the bike push onto the front end. I guess I am not the only one that this happened to, either. At first I struggled to pick up the pace and move up the field, because I couldn’t brake well. As the laps went by I started to feel more comfortable and I managed to overtake people. On the last lap Hiro closed the gap and he was better on the back straight section. I went a little wide and he got past me. It would have been great to finish as the top Open rider, but Hiro deserved it. I will have to be more attentive next time. Nevertheless I am satisfied and I think we did a very good job this weekend; things have gone well."

 

 

Movistar Yamaha's Lorenzo 3rd, Rossi 4th at MotoGP Round 3 in Argentina

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina
Grand Prix of Argentina
Lorenzo Returns to Form with Argentina Podium Fight
Time
14:00 Local time GMT-3
SunnySunnyTemperatureAir 24°C
Track 21°C
TemperatureHumidity 60%
Race
Pictures for editorial use only - Copyrights 2014 Yamaha Motor Racing Srl
Full photo gallery  
 Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), 27th April 2014

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo made a stunning return to form today, taking third in the Gran Premio de la República Argentina at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.

Starting from second on the grid, Lorenzo catapulted from the line to take the hole shot into turn one, leading the MotoGP pack into the first ever MotoGP race at the circuit.

Teammate Valentino Rossi jumped two places to fourth as the story of the first laps began. What happened next was a flurry of activity with Jorge dropping initially to third with a wide corner and Rossi climbing to second. The positions were not to last as the Yamaha riders shuffled again, Lorenzo climbing back to retake the lead and Rossi dropping initially to fourth before passing Andrea Iannone for third.

With 22 laps to go a brief state of grace saw the Yamaha riders running in first and second. The moment was not to last as Rossi ran wide, dropping to seventh and giving himself a challenge to fight back up the rankings and chase down Sefan Bradl, Dani Pedrosa and Iannone in front.

Rossi began to move forward and showed a fast enough pace to have kept with the ultimate race winner. Unfortunately a mistake by Stefan Bradl under braking pushed him wide whilst running in fourth, costing valuable time and any chance of a podium. He was able to retain fourth, crossing the line less than five seconds from first place.

Lorenzo was meanwhile leading the race, back to his old self and holding off championship leader Marc Marquez for as long as possible. It wasn't until just nine laps remaining that Marquez was able to take the lead, passing on turn five to move up. Lorenzo then did everything possible to hold second but was forced to concede and settle for third on the final lap as Pedrosa was able to pass.

The third place finish moves Lorenzo up to seventh in the standings on 22 points whilst Rossi retains his third position with 41 points.

The MotoGP paddock will move directly to Spain now for the first European round of the season at Jerez next weekend.
 
Jorge Lorenzo
99Jorge Lorenzo
3rd / +3.201 / 25 laps
“I’m really happy, this is probably the most sweet third place in my career in MotoGP, arriving after two difficult races. We have demonstrated that even in not our best shape we can fight with the Hondas and arrive in a proud third position. We want to improve; I want to improve my physical condition still and also the bike and when the moment arrives I think we will be ready to win races. We have to keep improving and have patience and wait for our moment.”

ProfileProfile  
46Valentino Rossi
4th / +4.898 / 25 laps
“I had the potential and the pace to end on the podium and especially to fight with the three guys in front. Unfortunately in the first laps first of all I made a mistake and lost a bit but the place I lost some more was when Bradl made a mistake. He arrived too deep in braking and he pushed me out of the track and I lost two seconds on that lap and so the podium.”

ProfileProfile  
Valentino Rossi
Massimo Meregalli
Massimo Meregalli
“It has been a positive race. Considering where we started from on Friday we have done a superb job. At the same time, it is a shame that we lost second place on the last lap and that Vale’s rhythm during the race couldn't be capitalized on at the end to have both riders on the podium. Vale had difficulty stopping his bike in the beginning because of a combination of the hard front and very hot front brake temperatures. This podium gives Jorge back his confidence and now we are going back to Europe to familiar ground with no unexpected surprises to start our practice with on Friday. This race is a great addition to the GP calendar and we look forward to coming back next year with this weekend’s experience.”
NOTES
The extended imagery from today's Race at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo is available on www.yamahamotogp.com.
RACE RESULT
1.Marc Marquez (SPA)Repsol Honda Team 41'39.821
2.Dani Pedrosa (SPA)Repsol Honda Team+ 1.837
3.Jorge Lorenzo (SPA)Movistar Yamaha MotoGP+ 3.201
4.Valentino Rossi (ITA)Movistar Yamaha MotoGP+ 4.898
5.Stefan Bradl (GER)LCR Honda MotoGP+ 15.029
6.Andrea Iannone (ITA)Pramac Racing+ 19.447
7.Bradley Smith (GBR)Monster Yamaha Tech3+ 24.192
8.Pol Espargarò (SPA)Monster Yamaha Tech3+ 29.118
9.Andrea Dovizioso (ITA)Ducati Team+ 33.673
10.Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN)Drive M7 Aspar+ 43.279
11.Nicky Hayden (USA)Drive M7 Aspar+ 43.352
12.Yonny Hernandez (COL)Energy T.I. Pramac Racing+ 44.819
13.Karel Abraham (CZE)Cardion AB Motoracing+ 45.178
14.Scott Redding (GBR)Go&Fun Honda Gresini+ 48.656
15.Aleix Espargaro (SPA)NGM Mobile Forward Racing+ 52.250
16.Hector Barbera (SPA)Avintia Racing+ 53.505
17.Michele Pirro (ITA)Ducati Team+ 53.669
18.Michael Laverty (GBR)Paul Bird Motorsport+ 56.570
19.Mike Di Meglio (FRA)Avintia Racing+ 1'03.140
20.Colin Edwards (USA)NGM Mobile Forward Racing+ 1'05.760
21.Brok Parkes (AUS)Paul Bird Motorsport+ 1'16.722
22.Alvaro Bautista (SPA)Go&Fun Honda GresiniNot starting
23.Danilo Petrucci (ITA)Came Iodaracing ProjectNot starting
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGSStandings
1.Marc Marquez (SPA)Repsol Honda Team 75
2.Dani Pedrosa (SPA)Repsol Honda Team 56
3.Valentino Rossi (ITA)Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 41
4.Andrea Dovizioso (ITA)Ducati Team 34
5.Andrea Iannone (ITA)Pramac Racing 25
6.Stefan Bradl (GER)LCR Honda MotoGP 24
7.Jorge Lorenzo (SPA)Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 22
8.Aleix Espargaro (SPA)NGM Mobile Forward Racing 21
9.Bradley Smith (GBR)Monster Yamaha Tech3 20
10.Nicky Hayden (USA)Drive M7 Aspar 18
11.Pol Espargarò (SPA)Monster Yamaha Tech3 18
12.Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN)Drive M7 Aspar 15
13.Scott Redding (GBR)Go&Fun Honda Gresini 11
14.Yonny Hernandez (COL)Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 11
15.Cal Crutchlow (GBR)Ducati Team 10
16.Karel Abraham (CZE)Cardion AB Motoracing 8
17.Colin Edwards (USA)NGM Mobile Forward Racing 7
18.Danilo Petrucci (ITA)Came Iodaracing Project 2
19.Hector Barbera (SPA)Avintia Racing 1
20.Brok Parkes (AUS)Paul Bird Motorsport 1
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Technical Informations
CircuitAutódromo Termas de Río Hondo
LocationTermas de Río Hondo, Argentina
Length (m)4.806
Width (m)16
Turns14
Turns righ9
Turns left5
Pole positionleft
Grand Prix of Argentina
Record Lap
Time 1'39.233
RiderD.Pedrosa
BikeHonda
Year2014
Best Lap
Time 1'37.683
RiderM.Marquez
BikeHonda
Year2014
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
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