MotoGP ; Viñales domine des qualifications historiques à Valence #ValenciaGP

Maverick Viñales renoue avec la pole, au terme de qualifications marquées par la présence de six constructeurs différents au sein du Top 8.

Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) vient de loin… L’Espagnol, seulement 11e au cumul des trois premières séances d’essais libres, était en effet contraint de disputer les repêchages. Mais le représentant du team Movistar Yamaha MotoGP parviendra à se sauver. Mieux que ça le Catalan, qui étrennera le numéro 12 à compter de la saison prochaine, s’adjugeait la pole ; chose qui ne s’était plus produite depuis Aragón 2017 !

Auteur d’un tour en 1’31.312, l’Espagnol devançait ainsi pour 68 petits millièmes, un surprenant Álex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), pourtant tombé à deux reprises en ce samedi. Jamais le pilote Suzuki n’avait aussi bien figuré sur une grille du MotoGP™. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), pointé à un peu moins d’un dixième, les accompagnera en première ligne.

Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) mènera pour sa part la deuxième ligne, sur laquelle figurera également Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda Team). Et cette séance ne fut pas de tout repos pour lui, puisque dès le premier tour, le natif de Cervera partait à la faute dans le virage 4 ! Aussitôt relevé, le pilote ibérique se tint cette épaule gauche, qui a pour habitude de se déboîter. Mais après un rapide passage par son motorhome, le Champion du Monde était finalement de retour.

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 · 3 h

MARQUEZ GOES DOWN!

It looks like he has an issue with that problematic left shoulder...

Turn 4 been catching plenty of riders out as usual at the #ValenciaGP

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@marcmarquez93 big crash on Q2 lap 1

The World Champion crashed at T4 of the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, leaving the circuit holding that shoulder he dislocated celebrating in Japan#MotoGP | http://www.motogp.com/en/videos/2018/11/17/marquez-big-crash-on-q2-lap-1-looks-like-a-shoulder-injury/279008 … pic.twitter.com/1iv7pxqbme

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14:50 - 17 nov. 2018

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Mention spéciale à Pol Espargaró, directement passé en Q2. L’Espagnol partira en effet de la sixième place ; égalant au passage ses meilleures qualifications au guidon de la RC16 – c’était la saison passée à Phillip Island.

Juste derrière lui on retrouvera : Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar), repêché au terme de la Q1 et Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) … ce qui nous donne six constructeurs différents parmi les huit premiers : du jamais vu depuis l’arrivée de KTM en catégorie reine !

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#MotoGP Q2 TOP 8:

ALL 6 manufacturers within 0.318s!

How close do you like it?! #ValenciaGP

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14:56 - 17 nov. 2018

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Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), qui s’apprête à disputer sa toute dernière course en mondial et Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing), qui se sera fait piéger dans le virage 1 à trois minutes de la fin, complètent le Top 10.

Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3), qui était en avance sur les trois premiers secteurs en toute fin de session, fut victime d’une chute sans conséquence dans la courbe 10 ; chute qui le repousse toutefois en 11e position.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team), encore handicapé par son poignet gauche, occupera quant à lui la 13e place sur la grille, juste devant deux rookies : Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) et Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS). Qualifications à oublier également pour Valentino Rossi, seulement sixième de la Q1.

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Soyez au rendez-vous ce dimanche 14h, pour le départ de la course MotoGP™.

Viñales claims pole after graduating from Q1 to head Rins and Dovi as Marquez dislocates shoulder, with the top 8 split by 0.318

Tags MotoGP, 2018, GRAN PREMIO MOTUL DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA, Q2, #ValenciaGP

After a sensational final pole battle of 2018, Q1 graduate Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was the man to take P1 in Q2 at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana after setting a 1:31.312. This was enough to edge out second place Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) by 0.068 and third place Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) by 0.080 as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) crashes, dislocates his shoulder, then heads back out to claim P5 – miraculous.

In addition, a piece of history was made in Valencia GP Q2 as all six manufacturers finished inside the top eight in qualifying – the first time this has happened in the history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

It was the seven-time Champion who led the field onto the first flying lap but then at Turn 4, the 2018 Champion suddenly lost the front and went down – seemingly dislocating his troublesome left shoulder in the process. Marquez headed straight back to the Repsol Honda motorhome to get it popped back in place.

Back on track and it was Dovizioso who was setting the pace, but then Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) got the better of his compatriot to set the first 1:31 of the session, before blitzing the field again on his next lap – a 1:31.531 the time to beat, with Rins now P2. The gap? 0.455 after the first runs, with Dovizioso, Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) and Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) the top five.

With six minutes to go, a warrior emerged in the form of Marquez as he left pitlane, all eyes were pinned on the seven-time Champion. Before the 93 crossed the line though, Viñales shot to the top to take provisional pole – Marquez meanwhile stuck it on P3. Rins was on a fast one and went to P2, 0.021 off Viñales’ time and then Dovi shot up to P3.

Red sectors were lighting up the screens and it was Viñales who went quicker again, 0.068 now his margin at the summit, with the miraculous Marquez climbing back up to P3 again – just 0.130 off. The World Champion then had a moment at Turn 1 to end his session, but there was still time for change elsewhere. Petrucci went quicker again but could only manage P4, with Dovi also improving, but it was only enough to go P3. Rins was then threatening to take pole away from Viñales on his final lap but the Spaniard couldn’t quite do it – the Suzuki man stayed P2.

A breathless qualifying ended with Viñales spearheading the grid, the first time he’s claimed pole on a Saturday since Aragon last year, with his Americas GP pole this season resulting from a Marquez penalty. His 1:31.312 was 0.068 quicker than Rins’ best, the Spaniard recovering from two Saturday crashes to start from his first premier class front row, with Dovizioso just 0.080 back on the outside of the front row. Petrucci was just 0.022 off the front row in fourth on his final race with Alma Pramac Racing, with Marquez starting from a ridiculously impressive P5.

It was a great day for Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as he claimed P6 in qualifying, the Spaniard just 0.265 from pole in KTM’s equal best qualifying, with Q1 graduate Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) P7 – 0.317 off pole. Aleix Espargaro’s (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) P8 meant all six manufacturers were inside the top eight for the first time in history – just 0.318 splitting the six factories. In his final ever qualifying, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) claimed P9 to start from the outside of the third row, with Miller suffering his fourth crash of the weekend to start P10.

While on a lap that was 0.3 under, Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) crashed at Turn 10 to start P11 – rider ok, with Michele Pirro (Ducati Team) settling for P12 after making it straight into Q2 from Free Practice.

After failing to make it through Q1, Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) starts P16 – what can ‘The Doctor’ do from there?

Are you ready for the final race of the season? If it’s anything like qualifying was, then we’re in for an absolute treat. Tune in for the season finale at 14:00 local time (GMT +1). 

Click here for the full results!

GP Motul de Valence : Une finale toute particulière…

Pastures new: an emotional Sunday awaits in Valencia

Pedrosa, Bautista, Lorenzo and Zarco spoke ahead of the Valencia GP as each says goodbye to their respective teams on Sunday afternoon

Ahead of the final round of the 2018 MotoGP™ season, four faces who are moving onto pastures new faced the media at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team), Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha MotoGP) and Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) will ride for their respective teams for the final time this weekend in what promises to be an emotional Grand Prix.

Ahead of the general pre-event Press Conference, a special ceremony was held to induct Pedrosa as a MotoGP™ Legend. But what are his feelings heading into his final weekend of racing action? “You feel like it’s not real, like it’s not happening,” admitted the ‘Little Samurai’, answering teammate Marc Marquez’ question to him during the ceremony. “Like you want to stop time, but time keeps running and goes through your fingers. It’s strange. I will realise after, when it’s finished. You don’t believe it’s happening.”

There will be tears shed when Pedrosa crosses the line for the final time in Valencia on Sunday, but there may also be a few watery eyes in the Angel Nieto Team box for Bautista. The latter will also be saying goodbye to the Grand Prix paddock next year as he heads over to WorldSBK, and Bautista was sad to be leaving after having such a strong second half of the season:

“My feeling is that it could be another ten or twenty races now because it’s a good moment,” answered Bautista, who says he will miss the feeling of a MotoGP™ bike. “In the last races we were quite competitive with the independent bikes and the factory bikes so I will miss this feeling but I will try and end the season and my MotoGP career with the best result possible and try to enjoy it with the fans, the team and these guys on track.”

One rider who we aren’t saying goodbye to though is Lorenzo. However, for the Spaniard, Sunday will see him compete on a Ducati machine for the final time before he joins Marquez in the Repsol Honda garage. After missing the last four races through injury, the five-time World Champion is hoping he can end his two-year relationship with the Bologna factory on a high, despite not being fully fit:

“The injury has improved a lot in the last ten days so now I feel good enough to try and achieve the best result possible for the team,” explained the number 99 rider. “It will be an emotional race because it will close an important chapter in my career. Maybe the rain will help me a bit to not stress the injury too much in the recovery too. I’m looking forward to getting on the bike.”

And then there’s Zarco, who leaves his close-knit French Tech 3 team to start a new chapter with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. First and foremost for the Frenchman, Valencia is an important weekend; top Independent Team honours are his to lose, while he also has a top five finish in the Championship to fight for with Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins – both of whom are locked together on 149 points.

But how does the double Moto2™ World Champion feel about saying goodbye to his Tech 3 team? “I’m so happy to have been with a French team for the first time, I didn’t have to go and see them to talk to them, I was in my own world!”

“Being in a 100% French team in the paddock helped me, I’m not so sad to leave them though because they’re also changing to KTM and I think we’ll still have a close relationship.”

Sunday at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo will be an emotional day, but there’s business to attend to first. Every rider will be gunning for the best result possible and with most having nothing to lose, the battle on track should be immense. Make sure you don’t miss any of the action from the 2018 finale in Valencia, with MotoGP™ FP1 kicking off at 09:55 local time (GMT +1) on Friday. 

Pour Zarco, Lorenzo, Bautista ou encore Pedrosa, ce GP Motul de Valence marque la fin d’un chapitre, qu’ils entendent conclure en beauté !

Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda Team), Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Álex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) et Álvaro Bautista (Ángel Nieto Team) étaient réunis ce jeudi, pour l’ultime conférence de presse pré-GP de l’année. Si tous auront à cœur de conclure leur saison en beauté malgré des prévisions météorologiques qui s’annoncent guère clémentes, cette finale revêtira tout de même une saveur particulière pour certains d’eux, à commencer pour Johann Zarco. 

Le représentant du team Monster Yamaha Tech3, qui avait manqué de remporter la précédente édition, dispute en effet sa tout dernière course au guidon de la Yamaha YZR-M1.

« Je garderai de bons souvenirs de ces deux années passées au sein d’un team tricolore. Ça a un peu été comme une révélation, explique-t-il. Ceci étant je ne les quitte pas totalement, car eux aussi partent chez KTM. Autrement dit, nous resterons très proches. »

Requinqué par ce récent podium, auquel il n’avait plus goûté depuis Jerez, le Français n’en oublie pas pour autant ses objectifs…

« Ce n’est pas toujours évident quand les résultats ne sont pas au rendez-vous, alors que vous donnez tout. Mais ce récent podium m’a véritablement redonné confiance, ajoute-t-il. Au bout du compte, je suis plutôt content de ma saison car, même en ayant plus de mal à la mi-saison, je reste en bagarre pour le Top 5 final face à Álex et j’occupe la place de meilleur indépendant. »

Autre pilote, qui changera de team dans tout juste quelques jours : Jorge Lorenzo ! Et le Majorquin, qui fait son retour de blessure, mettra un point d’honneur à aller chercher un bon résultat, pour lui comme pour Ducati !

« Ce dimanche, je devrais être en mesure de rouler, ou du moins de rouler pour un résultat décent, pas comme à Sepang, indique-t-il. En l’espace de deux semaines, la situation s’est en effet grandement améliorée et puis les conditions météo annoncées pour ce dimanche pourraient au passage me faciliter la tâche… En tout cas, je me sens suffisamment en forme pour tenter de décrocher un bon résultat. À vrai dire, c’est quelque chose qui me tient particulièrement à cœur car c’est un tout chapitre qui est sur le point de se refermer ! »

L’émotion promet d’être tout aussi grande dans le clan Álvaro Bautista et pour cause ! Après 16 années passées en mondial, l’Espagnol est sur le point de rejoindre les rangs du WorldSBK.

« J’aurais pu encore disputer quelques courses, affirme-t-il. Il faut dire que sur les dernières courses nous étions très compétitifs. Ce feeling me manquera, c’est certain. Mais je vais tâcher de terminer de la meilleure des façons, de profiter avec mes fans, ainsi que mon équipe, afin d’en garder un bon souvenir. Difficile d’en retenir un en particulier. Peut-être mon titre en 125cc et mes deux podiums du MotoGP™ ?! Mais les mauvais moments sont tout aussi importants à mes yeux car c’est là où on apprend le plus. »

Quelques minutes plus tôt, Dani Pedrosa était pour sa part érigé au rang de MotoGP™ Legend. Le Catalan prendra ce dimanche son 295e et dernier départ… un moment dont il aimerait pour sa part juste profiter !

« C’est ma dernière course alors je vais juste tâcher d’en profiter, de ne pas penser aux chiffres ou à d’éventuels records. Je voudrais en garder un bon souvenir. »

Lorenzo remporte la grande finale de Valence / Lorenzo wins #TheGrandFinale to become champion

Le Majorquin a décroché son troisième titre MotoGP™ en s’imposant devant Marc Márquez, Dani Pedrosa et Valentino Rossi à Valence.

                

Opposé à son coéquipier Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), qui était arrivé avec sept points d’avance mais une pénalité qui le contraignait à partir en dernière position, Jorge Lorenzo a fait la maximum pour remporter son troisième titre de Champion du Monde MotoGP™ au Grand Prix Motul de Valence. 

Le Majorquin avait lancé son offensive dès le samedi après-midi et s’offrant une très précieuse pole position, qui lui a permis d’imprimer son rythme devant Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) et Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), qui partaient aussi de la première ligne, dès le début de la course.

              

Parti du fond de la grille, Rossi a lui aussi fait tout son possible dès l’extinction des feux et a réalisé un excellent départ pour gagner une dizaine de places en l’espace d’un tour et ensuite progressivement remonter jusqu’à Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) et prendre la quatrième place à son compatriote dans le douzième des trente tours de la course, lorsque les trois premiers étaient déjà trop loin devant pour espérer les rattraper.

En tête depuis le début, Lorenzo a bien tenu devant Márquez et n’a pas commis la moindre erreur lorsque la tension est montée en fin de course et que Pedrosa s’est joint au duo de tête. Le Catalan a tenté de dépasser Márquez mais a tout de suite été repris par ce dernier et a dû se contenter d’une troisième place qui marquait cependant son 100e podium en catégorie reine.

Vainqueur pour la septième fois de la saison, Lorenzo remportait son troisième titre MotoGP™ avec cinq points d’avance sur Rossi et un palmarès comprenant 40 victoires, 87 podiums et 35 pole positions depuis son arrivée dans la catégorie en 2008.

              

Derrière Rossi, qui a fini à 19 secondes du podium, Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Teh3) et son coéquipier Bradley Smith ont respectivement pris les cinquième et sixième places, devant Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), Aleix Espargaró (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) et Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing). 

              

Le titre de la catégorie Open est revenu à Héctor Barberá (Avintia Racing), seizième de la course, alors que son principal rival, et futur coéquipier, Loris Baz (Forward Racing) a terminé dix-neuvième et donc lui aussi hors des points. Mike Di Meglio (Avintia Racing) n’a de son côté par rallié l’arrivée, à l’instar d’Andrea Iannone (Ducati), tombé en début de course.

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Lorenzo wins an incredible race to lift his fifth world title with Marquez and Pedrosa on the podium and Rossi fourth after an amazing ride.

Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo led from flag to flag to become the 2015 MotoGP™ World Champion in one of the most dramatic races of the year at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. In the process Lorenzo became only the third rider in the premier class to overturn a points deficit in the last GP to become champion and the first since Giacomo Agostini in 1966 to win the final race to clinch the title.

His teammate and title rival Valentino Rossi, who started from 25th on the grid after Cal Crutchlow was forced to start from the back of the grid, rode one of the races of his life to cross the line in fourth, but despite his best efforts, the ‘Doctor’ could do nothing to stop Lorenzo becoming champion in the end. Lorenzo eventually took the race win by just 0.263s from Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, with his teammate Dani Pedrosa in third after thrilling finish that could have seen a very different outcome to the title battle.

#TheGrandFinale certainly lived up to the hype as 110,000 fans at a sold out Comunitat Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo circuit bore witness to one of the most tense and thrilling conclusions to a MotoGP™ season ever.

When the lights went out it was pole man Lorenzo who led into the first corner, a lead he would not relinquish for the duration of the race. Immediately he set off at the front, closely followed by the two Hondas of Marquez and Pedrosa plus Andrea Iannone on the Ducati Team GP15. Rossi enjoyed an amazing start, making up 7 places off the line, and the Italian was up to 16th by after the very first corner.

                

Rossi was a man on a mission and while the four riders at the front started to open up a gap, he carved his way through the field. The ‘Doctor’ was into 15th by the by the end of the first lap and 12th after lap 2. He then passed Stefan Bradl (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) for 11th on the third lap, before swiftly disposing of wildcard Michele Pirro (Ducati Team) to move into 10th. 

Still on lap three, Iannone lost the front at turn 12 and crashed out of the race, meaning Rossi was now into ninth and the crowd was going wild as they could not believe what they were seeing. At the front, Lorenzo was riding brilliantly, managing the gap to Marquez at around the 0.4s mark. Pedrosa had started to fall back from his teammate, but the front three had now opened up a 3.5s gap to the fourth placed Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team).

Rossi continued his charge, and by lap five he was embroiled in a battle for sixth with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro along with Danilo Petrucci on the Octo Pramac Racing Ducati. On lap six he overtook Smith for 8th, a lap later Petrucci ran wide and Rossi was up into seventh, but by this point Pol Espargaro had escaped 1.2s further up the road. Rossi set off in hot pursuit.

             

By lap nine he had closed down Pol Espargaro, and there was contact as he passed the Spaniard on lap 10 for sixth, but nothing was going to slow Rossi’s progress. On lap 12 Rossi made his move on Aleix Espargaro on the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR in to turn 1, but Espargaro fought back, with Rossi having to wait until turn 5 to make it stick. Unbelievably he was now into fifth and a few corners later he took Dovizioso for fourth, but by this point he was 11 seconds behind Pedrosa in third.

               

It would turn out to be as good as it got for Rossi, as he didn’t have the pace to run with the front three as by this point he was lapping 0.3s slower than the men in front of him. Rossi, in fourth, needed Lorenzo to finish third if he was to become champion and only Marquez or Pedrosa could stop Lorenzo winning his fifth World Championship now.

At this point Lorenzo was still managing the gap at the front beautifully, and every time Marquez appeared to close him down, he opened up a 0.4s lead once more and the duo were starting to pull away from Pedrosa. It was not over yet though, not by a long way.

                 

With 8 laps to go Pedrosa, in third, started to close down his teammate, reducing the gap to the second placed Marquez to under 2 seconds. Suddenly Pedrosa was the fastest rider on track by far. While Marquez put Lorenzo under constant pressure at the front, it was Pedrosa who had the momentum and amazingly with three laps to go, only half a second separated the front three.

Rossi was now 18 seconds behind the trio and hoping for a miracle. With two laps to go, Pedrosa made a move on Marquez into second, but Marquez fought back immediately. This swapping of places allowed Lorenzo to open up the tiniest of gaps at the front and as he crossed the line to start the last lap, he had a 0.347s lead over Marquez.

The tensions was unbearable, but Lorenzo kept his cool to ride smoothly through the last set of corners and despite Marquez throwing everything at him on the last lap, Lorenzo held on to take the race win by less than three-tenths of a second from Marquez. It was the 28-year-old Mallorcan’s seventh win of the season, 40th in MotoGP™ and 61st of his illustrious career.

               

It was in incredible finish to one of the most epic seasons in the history of the World Championship and it meant that Lorenzo (330pts) had overturned Rossi’s (325pts) seven-point lead to lift the title by a slender five-point margin, in the process lifting his fifth World Championship title (250cc – 2006, 250cc – 2007, MotoGP™ - 2010, MotoGP™ - 2012, MotoGP™-2015).

With Marquez and Pedrosa completing the podium, Rossi crossed the line 19 seconds behind Lorenzo in fourth, and despite a simply astounding ride, Rossi will have to wait to lift that elusive tenth title.

                   

Pol Espargaro was fifth as the leading Satellite rider, 2.8s ahead of his teammate Bradley Smith in sixth, with the British rider securing sixth in the championship standings in the process and the honour of top Satellite rider in 2015.

                   

Dovizioso finished in seventh as the leading Ducati, ahead of Aleix Espargaro in eight. LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow was forced to start from the back of the grid after experiencing issues with his bike before the race started. The British rider pulled off a great race to ride form 26th through to 9th, with Petrucci completing the top ten.

EG 0,0 Marc VDS Scott Redding took the last points scoring spot in 15th, with Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera in 16th as the leading Open Class rider, with the Spaniard securing the Open title in the process as his rival Loris Baz (Forward Racing) could only finish in 19th.

                    

Nicky Hayden (Aspar MotoGP Team) bowed out of the MotoGP™ class by finishing as the leading Open Honda in 17th with Australian Jack Miller (LCR Honda) crossing the line in 21st. There were DNF’s for Broc Parkes, Mike De Meglio and Eugene Laverty.

The riders and team return to the Valencia track on Tuesday & Wednesday to kick off the 2016 season with the first official test.

Check out the full MotoGP™ race results and the final 2015 MotoGP™ World Championship standings.