Showing posts with label Misano 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Misano 2011. Show all posts
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
San Marino Grand Prix debrief with Hirohide Hamashima
The San Marino GP was won by Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo who sealed his third victory of the season, closing Casey Stoner’s lead in the Championship standings to 35 points with 125 points still available from the remaining five Grands Prix.
The hot and humid weekend encountered a few falling rain drops on Friday and again on Sunday at the start of the race, though the conditions remained dry. The weekend was the first time that Bridgestone selected asymmetric rear slicks for Misano in the single tyre era, and the lap times were fast. As early as Friday morning, the leaders were under the lap record, with Stoner setting a new pole position record, and Lorenzo set a new lap record.
Hirohide Hamashima – Assistant to Director, Motorsport Tyre Development Division
This year asymmetric rear slicks were selected for Misano – what effect did they have?
“I think that we can see clearly from the lap times that the pace was much faster this year, and thoough we cannot attribute it all to our tyres, we can at least say that the asymmetric rears offered a distinct performance advantage. To be under the lap record from the very first session of the weekend on a Friday morning is very unusual and impressive, and that pace continued all weekend. In qualifying, Stoner set a new pole position record, and in the race Lorenzo set a new lap record and new total fastest race time. This shows us that outright grip was high and durability and consistency over race-distance were also good.”
“The objective of selecting asymmetric slicks for Misano this year was to increase rider feeling and thus safety on the lesser-used left side of the rear tyres and to offer a performance advantage, and I can happily say that I believe we achieved both of these.”
Many lap records have been beaten since 2009, so why is it so significant to set a new pole record?
“Simply because most of the current pole position records were set before the single tyre situation started in 2009, so in the era of tyre competition. This was when qualifying tyres were used – designed to provide maximum grip at the expense of durability, lasting only a handful of laps. From our experience, qualifying tyres are in the region of one second a lap faster than race tyres. Now, since 2009, we no longer use qualifying tyres so Casey’s pole position record was set on race tyres. This is only the eighth pole record that has been set since 2009 and of those, two were at Silverstone and Aragon which were new circuits last year, one was at Assen which was shortened by 13m in 2010, and two more were at Mugello and Indianapolis which had new and improved surfaces. Of course, this cannot be credited just to tyres and this improvement in laptime also demonstrates the hard work of the manufacturers in improving machine performance year-on-year.”
“This gives an idea of the level of performance during the San Marino GP over the weekend, and I am very pleased indeed with this, especially as we saw that exactly the same tyre compounds as used by Casey on his pole record lap were used in the race to set a new best total race time, so clearly the additional performance of our asymmetric rear slicks was not at the expense of durability. I believe this shows the level of development we are still doing with our MotoGP tyres, and that we are not simply standing still now there is no tyre competition.”
Bridgestone press release
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Lorenzo, Spies complete 1000cc test at Misano
One day after his third victory of the season, reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies were back on track at Misano - with the 2012 1000cc M1.
The bikes tested were the same as during their mid-August 1000cc debut test at Brno, with only minor changes to set-up and electronics to suit the tighter, twistier Italian circuit.
Lorenzo was again the quicker of the two riders, setting a best time of 1min 33.7sec during 60 laps. That was 0.2sec quicker than Lorenzo's new official lap record of 1min 33.9sec set during Sunday's race.
At the Brno test - when Casey Stoner's 1000cc Honda led the way by 0.085sec from Lorenzo - Lorenzo had lapped almost one-second quicker than the best 800cc race lap from the day before.
“It's been a little bit more difficult here than Brno, which is a very fast track. Misano is a little bit slower so the difference between the 800 and the 1000 is much smaller," Lorenzo explained. "It's difficult to understand the riding style you must use straight away.
"We've made a lot of progress in a couple of hours and the bike has a lot of potential. I'm very excited about the future. We've been working on the electronics to help in the braking area but mainly I've been getting used to the riding style of the bike and also adapting the bike to my riding.”
Team-mate Spies set a best lap time of 1min 34.3sec during 74 laps, which was also 0.2sec quicker than his best race lap, set on the way to sixth in the grand prix.
“We rode the same bike as we did in Brno but we changed a bunch of things and started working on a lot of electronics. Misano is a much more physical track; it's quite tight so there's a lot of wheelies and rear spinning. It's fun to ride but very physical compared to the 800," Spies said.
"I enjoyed it a lot and we went quite fast on it, getting some pretty good lap times. We've got a lot of data now for the engineers to go away and work on the next step for our next test. I think next year is going to be really good and I'm looking forward to racing the thousand!”
During the 2011 season manufacturers can test 2012 bikes for a total of 8 rider/days with their MotoGP race riders.
Yamaha has now completed four rider/days - the same number as Honda, but one less than Ducati. Suzuki is yet to announce a 1000cc project.
source: crash.net
Lorenzo: One of the best days of my career!
Jorge Lorenzo kept his MotoGP title defence alive with his third victory of the season at Misano on Sunday.
Heading into the San Marino Grand Prix 44 points behind pole sitter Casey Stoner, Lorenzo snatched the lead at turn one and led to the finish.
Stoner lurked menacing behind the Yamaha rider for the first half of the race, but the jet-lagged Australian dropped back thereafter and was passed by his own Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa.
That meant a nine-point gain for Lorenzo, who is now 35 points behind with five rounds and 125 points remaining.
"Today has been an incredible day for us. I have delivered a good race; it was a very tough and long one. Most importantly we have won again and also reduced a little bit our gap to Casey," said Lorenzo.
“The team have done a great job and all the weekend we have been so quick. I had a great bike and a great feeling in the corners. I really wanted to be first in the first lap to try and open a gap but I was really worried about the situation of the weather so I prayed for it to not rain.
"I expected a hard fight with Casey but fortunately for me he lost a bit of pace mid-race and I could win again. This is a big result for me and for Yamaha and it is great to be back and win again. This is very important.”
Lorenzo was joined on the podium by three time 500cc world champion Wayne Rainey. Rainey made an emotional return to Misano this weekend, 18 years on from his career-ending accident.
"I want to dedicate this victory to Wayne who returned to Misano this weekend and I want to say thanks to all my team for their hard work," said Lorenzo, who then revealed he will have his second ride Yamaha's 1000cc bike on Monday.
"Tomorrow we will try the 1000cc Yamaha again; I am looking forward to riding my future bike," said Lorenzo, adding: "This has been one of the best days of my career!"
Team manager Wilco Zeelenberg commented: "Jorge was pushing it to the limit but he knew he would have to do that to still have a chance at the Championship. It was good that Dani came in between to give us some extra bonus points. We need to keep on winning now!”
source: Crash.net
Pedrosa: I'm a little disappointed
A set-up change to Dani Pedrosa's Repsol Honda proved a backward step in Sunday's San Marino MotoGP, but the Spaniard was still able to finish second after overtaking slowing team-mate Casey Stoner.
Pedrosa had looked capable of matching Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo for pure pace after all three qualified within 0.180sec. But the pair pulled steadily away from Pedrosa in the race, until a 'worn out' Stoner began losing ground.
Pedrosa overtook his team-mate with six laps to go to claim his second runner-up finish in as many weeks.
"I'm a little disappointed with the race because the bike didn't feel as good as it was in practice. We wanted to make a change to the suspension to improve it a little but we had the opposite effect, sometimes it happens," said Pedrosa.
"From the first lap, I realised I couldn't keep up with Jorge and Casey, at the beginning the bike was closing the front and then it was sliding in the rear. The second part of the race was good, Jorge had a perfect race today, but I was able improve my times lap by lap and catch Casey.
"I overtook him and maintained my rhythm to the finish with another second place in two weeks, which it's not so bad. We've been lucky today as it was cooler than yesterday and finally the rain didn't come."
Pedrosa revealed Stoner isn't the only rider looking forward to the two-week break before Aragon.
"It's been two very demanding races in a row and this one in particular was perhaps the toughest of the season so far, as the circuit is challenging with so many hard braking areas and it has been very hot again, also after Indy it has been difficult to recover from the jet lag and fatigue," said Pedrosa.
"Let's hope we can get some rest and be stronger for Aragon".
Pedrosa, who missed three races through injury, remains fourth in the championship, 15 points ahead of Ben Spies and 35 behind team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.
source: Crash.net
Simoncelli, Dovizioso, Spies battle to the line
The most exciting battle during Sunday's San Marino MotoGP was a three-way fight fourth between Marco Simoncelli, Andrea Dovizioso and Ben Spies.
Italians Simoncelli and Dovizioso were together from lap 5 onwards, when Simoncelli overtook countryman Valentino Rossi for fifth position. Spies then joined the battle just after the halfway stage of the 28 laps and the trio were separated by just 0.739sec at the line.
First across was Gresini Honda rider Simoncelli, who passed Dovizioso for the final time on the very last lap.
"A podium finish is always more satisfying than fourth place of course but this result feels just as nice because it was such a close and hard fight at the end," Simoncelli said. "Unfortunately I made a mistake and chose the wrong engine map at the start which made me lose touch with the front three, otherwise I maybe could have run with them.
"I had to make up ground and when I got to fourth place I defended it tooth and nail to win a wonderful battle with Dovizioso and Spies on the last lap. I had held fourth for 23 laps and I couldn't let myself lose it at the end. It was nice, I had fun and I think I provided some excitement for my fans."
Dovizioso, just 0.037sec behind Simoncelli, revealed that engine maps also played a part in his race, albeit before it had even begun.
“It was a tough race, I had to push hard and ride aggressively and we had to cut the power a lot due to fuel consumption issues," Dovi said. "We suffered from this during the whole race weekend, but after the warm up I received the bad news that we had to cut even more power.
"This hasn't been such a big issue this year and in fact it has never been the case that I am unable to match Simoncelli in acceleration. This stems from the riding style and the set up of the electronics, especially the engine braking. I knew that with this cut in power it would have been impossible to fight for the podium, so this affected my motivation.
"We had a good battle with Marco and Spies, on this occasion, for the first time this season Marco beat me so congratulations to Marco. It was a good battle but our target was to gain some points on Lorenzo and we didn't manage to."
Both Simoncelli and Dovizioso are yet to sign for 2012.
After a 'disastrous' change in morning warm-up, Factory Yamaha star Spies took a few laps to get comfortable on his M1.
“We started out with an ok set up but we didn't really go forward all weekend, struggling a lot with edge grip. I wasn't having a great feeling with the front either so we tried something new in warm up this morning which was honestly a disaster," Spies said.
"We changed the front end of the bike dramatically before the race which proved to be good but took a few laps to get confidence in as it was such a big change.
"Once I got around Rossi I got more comfortable and was able to get to the back of Dovi and Simoncelli but was still struggling with edge grip and couldn't get close enough to strike. I tried as hard as I could but just didn't translate into top five this time."
source: Crash.net
Rossi: I was a little crazy…
After a weekend spent entirely outside of the top ten, Valentino Rossi gave his local fans reason to cheer with a spirited performance in the opening laps of Sunday's Misano MotoGP race.
Starting just eleventh on the grid, Rossi used the uncertainty caused by spots of rain to rise to sixth by the end of the first lap, then gained another place by passing Yamaha replacement Ben Spies.
That was as good as it got, with Marco Simoncelli and Spies later overtaking Rossi, but the seven time MotoGP champion admitted seventh place was better than he had expected.
“I'm pretty happy because we didn't expect to do this well," Rossi said. "I didn't think I'd be able to stay with the second group, which is our goal at the moment, and instead we managed it for half the race.
"We still weren't able to attack like we'd like to, but anyway, we were right there. I started really well from the fourth row, and I was a little crazy through the first three corners because I had to push even though there were some raindrops.
"It was nice after that. I stayed with 'Sic' and 'Dovi' for a little while and also battled with Spies, and we maintained a good pace.
"This morning we made a good change on the front, and if we'd done that yesterday I probably could have started closer to the front.
"It ended up being one of my best races of the year, although of course we have to remember that we're only talking about seventh place. Still, it was a nice race in front of a good crowd. We're fairly satisfied as we wait to take the necessary steps forward.”
source: crash.net
Cautious first lap costs Bautista
Álvaro Bautista's best MotoGP qualifying of eighth counted for little when the Rizla Suzuki rider dropped to tenth after a cautious opening lap in Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix.
The Spaniard, wary of the rain spots, then gained one place when Nicky Hayden crashed out and passed another American, Tech 3 Yamaha's Colin Edwards, at the midway stage of the race.
But the remaining riders were already too far ahead and Bautista - riding in a special chrome livery - finished seven-seconds behind Valentino Rossi (Ducati).
“Maybe this was not the result we expected after qualifying, but I didn't have a lot of confidence on the first lap because it was raining a little bit and I didn't feel like I could push too much - so I lost some positions and distance from the group," explained Bautista.
"When I got into my rhythm the group was far away and I couldn't follow them. Eighth position is not a bad result but we expected more this weekend."
Team manager Paul Denning felt Bautista had the capability to join the Simoncelli/Dovizioso/Spies fight for fourth.
“A couple of months ago we would have been happy with eighth place, but our performance level has increased and today we are a little disappointed with the result," Denning began.
"If the conditions had been the same as yesterday afternoon, when the track was 10 degrees warmer I think, there was a chance we could have competed for fourth place, but as it was we were so far behind after a couple of laps that to achieve the real potential was impossible."
source: Crash.net
source: Crash.net
Edwards 'complete nightmare', Crutchlow back in top ten
Starting seventh and 13th on the grid, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow moved in opposite directions during Sunday's San Marino MotoGP.
Edwards, on form all weekend, battled with factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies for the first eight laps. But the Texan later experienced a severe arm pump issue and dropped all the way back to 13th.
“I've got no excuses, today's result was nothing to do with anything else but me," Edwards said. "I've no idea but for whatever reason, I just always ride so tense at this track. I kept telling myself that I needed to relax and calm down and then on the grid there's a few rain drops in the air, so that immediately means you can't help but be tense because you've no idea how hard it is coming down on other parts of the track.
"I pushed as hard as I could for the first ten laps and was pretty close to Ben and then it hit me like a pile of bricks. I got such bad arm pump I couldn't feel the front brake or the handlebars and by the end I was just moving my arms in the direction I thought they needed to go.
"I've never had arm pump that bad and to be honest I didn't realise you could get it that bad. It got to a point where almost pulled in. But I gritted my teeth and thought I could probably get a couple of points, which we did. But it was a complete nightmare and all I can do is put today behind and try and bounce at the Motorland Aragon in a couple of weeks."
By contrast, Crutchlow was pleased with his performance, which marked his fist top ten finish since Catalunya in early June.
The British rider put immense pressure on Alvaro Bautista for the opening 16-laps before taking ninth from Edwards on lap 21.
The closing stages saw a close battle for ninth between Crutchlow and Hector Barbera, who clinched the position by just over 0.2sec.
"I am really pleased with the race and it is my first top 10 for a long time, so that is a good boost for my confidence," said Crutchlow. "Finishing 10th was three places better than my qualifying position, so it was a positive outcome.
"It could have been a slightly better result but I just got pipped by Barbera right at the end. I did everything I could to get by him but I had a little issue with the rear tyre. Corner entry was really difficult at the end, so I didn't feel like I could really push and have a go to overtake him with any confidence. His bike had a little more speed than me, so I just couldn't get close enough to have a go.
"My race pace was good enough for fifth in last year's race but this year it was good enough for 10th. It just shows how far the pace has moved on and how tough it is in MotoGP. It was an unbelievably hard race for the body too.
"The humidity was incredible and I'm glad I do so many training miles on my bicycle because it was a real case of survival of the fittest out there. It was good that we gained a lot more experience and got another decent finish and now I can look forward to building on this result at the Motorland Aragon.”
source: Crash.net
Hayden's curse continues at 'worst circuit'
Nicky Hayden's appalling Misano luck struck once again on Sunday, when the factory Ducati rider crashed out of the race on lap three.
Since Misano returned to the MotoGP calendar in 2007, Hayden has only reached the finish once - in that first year - and that was in 13th place after being forced through the gravel o lap one.
The American then withdrew from the 2008 event due to injury, was taken out by Alex de Angelis at the first turn in 2009 and clashed with Loris Capirossi at the same place in 2010!
To make matters worse, Hayden - starting just 15th on the grid - had been fifth fastest in morning warm-up.
“It was obviously a disappointing race," Hayden began. "This morning I was able to go a couple tenths faster than in qualifying, with a good rhythm. I thought we had a better chance for the race.
"It was raining a little bit at first, which is normally good for our bike. I got a decent start, felt good, and was going to take a few chances to try to get up as far as I could. Then I lost the front on the exit of Turn 15 and - bam! - I was down.
"We looked at the data, and I'm not really sure why I crashed. We were tip-toeing because of the rain, so maybe the left side of the tyre wasn't quite up to temperature, although it was still rider error.
"This track has been the worst one on the calendar for me. I certainly could use some good luck, and maybe we'll get it at Aragon.”
source: Crash.net
source: Crash.net
Monday, September 5, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
