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[Doorn]

On their way to Australia for the second MotoGP test of 2016, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa made a stop in Indonesia, for the official presentation of the Repsol Honda Team and the new RC213V, which they’ll campaign during the 2016 MotoGP World Championship.

 

The Repsol Honda Team met in Jakarta on Saturday with the Sport and Youth Minister of Indonesia, Mr. Imam Nahrawi, and had fun playing a futsal tournament with the journalists and the Minister, who confirmed the plan to hold a MotoGP round here in Indonesia in the near future.

 

Today, at Sentul International Circuit Marc and Dani, together with HRC Executive Vice President Shuhei Nakamoto and Team Principal Livio Suppo, unveiled the 2016 RC213V in front of the Indonesian fans. This marks the second consecutive year that the Team has held its official launch in Indonesia, where the passion for MotoGP is incredible. The Repsol Honda racers met the fans during a signing session before continuing their trip to Australia, where the track action will resume at Phillip Island February 17-19.

 

Marc Marquez

 

"It never ceases to amaze me how much people unconditionally love and support MotoGP here in Indonesia, so it has been an honour for us to officially unveil our RC213V at the Sentul Circuit today and to meet so many fans on the occasion. Now we go to Australia and I’m looking forward to continuing our work on the new engine and the new electronics. We made a few steps in the right direction over the three days at Sepang but we need to make some more at Phillip Island. I’m confident the HRC engineers and my team will come up with more improvements as we get used to the new software."

 

Dani Pedrosa

 

"Today we had our team launch and I feel very proud of having been part of the Repsol Honda Team for my entire career in MotoGP. This year I’m physically feeling in good shape and I’m eager to start the new season. We are facing many changes and we have a lot of work to do but I’m looking forward to it. Here at Sentul our supporters made us feel so welcome and supported; it has been a great boost in view of the next test at Phillip Island. I’m happy this year we are testing at three different circuits in such different weather and track conditions; I think it will be very useful to help us to better understand the new engine, electronics and tyres."

 

Shuhei Nakamoto HRC Executive Vice President

 

"This country is very important for Honda and Repsol and we are very happy to be here this weekend. We are also glad to hear from the Minister of Sport and Youth their intention to hold a GP here. Indonesian fans deserve to see live their MotoGP heroes in action! Next week Marc and Dani will have three important days of testing in Phillip Island. We are working very hard to improve our knowledge of the new common software and Michelin tyres. We are also working on our new engine but I believe our engineers will be able to give Dani and Marc a good machine to fight for the Championship!"

 

 

[Doorn]

Pramac rider Danilo Petrucci set the fastest time as wet weather impacted running during the first day of MotoGP's second pre-season test at Phillip Island in Australia.

 

Petrucci took advantage of a dry spell during the afternoon to set a series of fast laps, the quickest of which was a 1:31.764, set with a handful of minutes remaining.

 

His time was nonetheless over two seconds slower than the best achieved by Marc Márquez at last year's Australian Grand Prix.

 

Suzuki's Maverick Viñales and Tech 3 rider Bradley Smith also capitalised on the dry stint to move into second and third, while Scott Redding was the most active runner as he racked up 41 laps to place fourth.

 

Cal Crutchlow was fifth while Valentino Rossi was the highest placed factory rider in sixth for Yamaha, ahead of Pol Espargaró and Yonny Hernández.

 

Jack Miller returned to action for the first time since breaking his right leg but completed only six laps, the best of which was still sufficient for the youngster to take ninth, with Ducati's Andrea Iannone completing the top 10.

 

Márquez was 12th fastest while Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa placed 16th and 17th as neither rider improved on the time they set in wet conditions.

 

 

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps

1. D. Petrucci Pramac Racing 01:31.764 12

2. M. Vinales Suzuki MotoGP 01:32.483 20

3. B. Smith Tech 3 01:32.590 27

4. S. Redding Pramac Racing 01:32.864 41

5. C. Crutchlow LCR Honda 01:32.948 21

6. V. Rossi Yamaha Factory Racing 01:33.088 27

7. P. Espargaro Tech 3 01:33.126 20

8. Y. Hernandez Aspar Team 01:33.841 6

9. J. Miller Marc VDS Racing Team 01:33.992 6

10. A. Iannone Ducati Team 01:34.049 9

11. E. Rabat Marc VDS Racing Team 01:35.273 29

12. M. Marquez Repsol Honda Team 01:35.354 20

13. A. Espargaro Suzuki MotoGP 01:35.584 2

14. E. Laverty Aspar Team 01:35.679 10

16. J. Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 01:39.825 24

17. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 01:40.138 15

 

[Doorn]

Suzuki rider Maverick Viñales topped the timesheets as pleasant weather conditions returned to the Phillip Island circuit on Thursday.

 

After a rain-hit start to the test on Wednesday, the poor weather continued through Thursday morning, but gradually cleared up.

 

As the track improved, Viñales, Yamaha's Valentino Rossi and Honda's Marc Márquez all traded fastest times, with Viñales emerging on top.

 

Viñales ultimately worked his way down to 1:29.131, which put him just ahead of World Champion trio Márquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Rossi.

 

LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow delivered a late charge to place fifth, edging out Avintia's Héctor Barberá and lead Ducati rider Andrea Ianonne.

 

Dani Pedrosa featured back in eighth position, six tenths of a second down on team-mate Márquez, as the pair continued to assess two chassis variations.

 

Pedrosa brought out the red flags with a fall at Turn 4, but escaped unharmed.

 

Scott Redding and Bradley Smith rounded out the top 10 places for Pramac and Tech 3 respectively, and were the final riders to dip under the 1m30s barrier.

 

Aspar's Yonny Hernández signalled the day's other red flag in the closing stages, falling at Turn 4 as Pedrosa did, but the Colombian also walked away from the scene.

 

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps

1. M. Vinales Suzuki MotoGP 01:29.131 64

2. M. Marquez Repsol Honda Team 01:29.292 79

3. J. Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 01:29.357 80

4. V. Rossi Yamaha Factory Racing 01:29.404 71

5. C. Crutchlow LCR Honda 01:29.671 61

6. H. Barbera Avintia Racing 01:29.854 54

7. A. Iannone Ducati Team 01:29.857 76

8. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 01:29.917 55

9. S. Redding Pramac Racing 01:29.941 60

10. B. Smith Tech 3 01:29.992 75

11. L. Baz Avintia Racing 01:30.134 54

12. A. Dovizioso Ducati Team 01:30.142 88

13. P. Espargaro Tech 3 01:30.154 65

14. D. Petrucci Pramac Racing 01:30.156 63

15. A. Espargaro Suzuki MotoGP 01:30.385 53

16. Y. Hernandez Aspar Team 01:30.509 56

17. J. Miller Marc VDS Racing Team 01:30.514 58

18. E. Laverty Aspar Team 01:30.617 52

19. E. Rabat Marc VDS Racing Team 01:30.650 81

20. T. Tsuda Suzuki MotoGP 01:32.599 48

 

[Doorn]

Honda rider Marc Márquez posted the fastest time as MotoGP's second pre-season test at Phillip Island reached its conclusion on Friday.

 

Márquez worked his way down to a 1:29.158 during a crash-filled final day at the Australian venue, just ahead of Suzuki's Maverick Viñales.

 

Viñales ended the test with the quickest lap overall, however, with his effort on Thursday 0.027s up on two-time World Champion Márquez.

 

Márquez and Viñales were among many to fall as riders pushed to improve, before rain arrived and delayed running by over two hours.

 

LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow placed third, despite an afternoon crash at Turn 4, edging out Avintia's Héctor Barberá and the lead works Yamaha of Valentino Rossi.

 

Loris Baz wound up sixth on the other Avintia Ducati, ahead of Dani Pedrosa (Honda), Pol Espargaró (Tech 3) and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), the latter two riders also suffering falls.

 

Andrea Dovizioso completed the top 10 positions on his Ducati, with team-mate Andrea Iannone following in 12th, split by Pramac pair Scott Redding and Danilo Petrucci.

 

Although most riders escaped injury as they crashed out, Petrucci was taken to the medical centre after falling at Turn 8, and was diagnosed with multiple fractures in his right hand.

 

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps

1. M. Marquez Repsol Honda Team 01:29.158 64

2. M. Vinales Suzuki MotoGP 01:29.299 39

3. C. Crutchlow LCR Honda 01:29.348 58

4. H. Barbera Avintia Racing 01:29.361 65

5. V. Rossi Yamaha Factory Racing 01:29.435 56

6. L. Baz Avintia Racing 01:29.583 54

7. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 01:29.606 42

8. P. Espargaro Tech 3 01:29.718 44

9. J. Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 01:29.760 41

10. A. Dovizioso Ducati Team 01:29.860 65

11. S. Redding Pramac Racing 01:29.922 61

12. A. Iannone Ducati Team 01:29.932 53

13. D. Petrucci Pramac Racing 01:29.995 57

14. J. Miller Marc VDS Racing Team 01:30.023 37

15. E. Rabat Marc VDS Racing Team 01:30.119 56

16. B. Smith Tech 3 01:30.188 45

17. A. Espargaro Suzuki MotoGP 01:30.198 38

18. Y. Hernandez Aspar Team 01:30.492 54

19. E. Laverty Aspar Team 01:31.055 45

20. T. Tsuda Suzuki MotoGP 01:33.532 46

 

[Doorn]

Avintia Racing MotoGP

 

[Doorn]

2016 Ducati Desmosedici GP

 

Ducati has officially presented its new Desmosedici GP16 for the 2016 MotoGP season.

 

Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, Ducati Corse General Manager Gigi Dall'Igna and riders Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone all attended the launch at the Ducati Auditorium in Borgo Panigale.

 

Ducati's new bike, which took to the track during the first two pre-season tests at Sepang and Phillip Island, has been described by the outfit as an "evolution version" of its predecessor, the GP15.

 

It retains a 90° V4 engine unit, with the cylinders controlled by desmodromic valve system, while the frame has been updated with a view to optimising performance from Michelin's new tyres.

 

Ducati finished third in the 2015 standings with eight podium finishes, behind Yamaha and Repsol Honda, while Iannone and Dovizioso placed fifth and seventh in the riders' championship.

 

 

 

[Doorn]

 

MotoGP outfit Aprilia has presented the livery which will adorn the RS-GP machines in 2016, ahead of the final pre-season test at Qatar's Losail Circuit.

 

Álvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl will link up with the remainder of the MotoGP field during today's test, having only completed private running with Aprilia's new bike.

 

Aprilia returned to MotoGP in 2015 in association with Gresini and claimed a best finish of 10th position, courtesy of Bautista, in Spain and Britain.

 

"The upcoming season will be a very important one for us," said Aprilia Racing Manager Romano Albesiano.

 

"The new bike reflects recent Aprilia tradition, reinterpreting every concept without compromise, and it is the most ambitious project our racing department has ever undertaken.

 

"The first responses from testing have been positive. We received very positive feedback from both riders specifically from a dynamics point of view.

 

"In any case, this is the beginning of a long path and we are well aware of the inevitable difficulties that come along with any new project."

[Doorn]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo set the quickest time on the opening day of MotoGP's final pre-season test at Losail in Qatar.

Lorenzo posted a lap of 1:55.452 as he finished four tenths of a second clear of Maverick Viñales, who continued Suzuki's encouraging test programme.

Valentino Rossi was third for Yamaha as he recovered from a fall at Turn 10 on his out lap.

Andrea Iannone was the highest placed Ducati rider in fourth spot while Pramac's Scott Redding collected fifth, ahead of Avintia's Héctor Barberá and the other GP16 of Andrea Dovizioso.

British riders Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith were separated by just 0.007s in eighth and ninth places respectively, despite the former suffering a crash at Turn 14.

Repsol Honda experienced a low key day as Marc Márquez completed the top 10 runners, with team-mate Dani Pedrosa three positions further back.

The session was briefly halted due to debris when Aleix Espargaró crashed at Turn 14, though the Suzuki rider escaped injury and later returned to action.

 

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps

1. J. Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 01:55.452 36

2. M. Vinales Suzuki MotoGP 01:55.880 44

3. V. Rossi Yamaha Factory Racing 01:55.894 34

4. A. Iannone Ducati Team 01:56.119 53

5. S. Redding Pramac Racing 01:56.213 46

6. H. Barbera Avintia Racing 01:56.320 27

7. A. Dovizioso Ducati Team 01:56.388 52

8. C. Crutchlow LCR Honda 01:56.510 36

9. B. Smith Tech 3 01:56.517 38

10. M. Marquez Repsol Honda Team 01:56.523 45

11. A. Espargaro Suzuki MotoGP 01:56.552 35

12. P. Espargaro Tech 3 01:56.747 43

13. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 01:56.910 27

14. Y. Hernandez Aspar Team 01:57.021 40

15. L. Baz Avintia Racing 01:57.121 32

16. J. Miller Marc VDS Racing Team 01:57.850 37

17. M. Pirro Ducati Team 01:57.891 50

18. E. Rabat Marc VDS Racing Team 01:58.016 38

19. S. Bradl Aprilia Racing 01:58.066 26

20. E. Laverty Aspar Team 01:58.269 34

21. H. Aoyama Repsol Honda Team 01:58.744 52

22. A. Bautista Aprilia Racing 01:58.753 16

23. T. Tsuda Suzuki MotoGP 02:00.578 45

 

[Doorn]

Double World Champion Marc Márquez says Honda still has to make substantial progress if it is going to compete for overall honours in MotoGP this year.

 

Honda claimed three successive Manufacturer titles after the introducion of the RC213V but slipped behind Yamaha in 2015 and has struggled so far in pre-season testing.

 

Jorge Lorenzo led the opening day of the final test in Qatar while Márquez placed 10th with team-mate Dani Pedrosa classified in 13th.

 

"We knew before coming to Qatar that this circuit is one of the toughest on the calendar for us, and this year we are finding things a bit tough on the kind of corners that you encounter here," said Márquez.

 

"We are far from where we'd like to be, but the positive thing is that this is still only testing. 

 

"In the remaining days, we will try some more things out to understand which direction we need to go to improve.

 

"We have been working a little on everything and where I feel best is when braking and entering the corners.

 

"We have work to do on cornering and on corner exits, because that is where we are losing a lot of time and at a circuit like this it makes it very hard on the straights."

 

Honda added that "major set-up changes" are planned for the remaining two days of running.

[Doorn]

Maverick Viñales continued Suzuki's encouraging pre-season form as he clocked the quickest time on the second day of the final test in Qatar.

Viñales registered a lap of 1:55.436 as less than a tenth of a second covered the leading three manufacturers.

Andrea Iannone was second for Ducati, 0.072s behind Viñales, while reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was a further 0.027s back on the Yamaha YZR-M1.

Scott Redding and Héctor Barberá once again reflected the pace of the Ducati at Losail by placing inside the top five, with factory rider Andrea Dovizioso in sixth.

Honda endured another difficult day with Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez in seventh and ninth, split by Valentino Rossi, who opted to save fresh tyres for Friday's final test day.

Márquez set his fastest lap early in the day before crashing at Turn 1 and being unable to improve thereafter.

Aleix Espargaró trialled Suzuki's seamless gearbox and rounded out the top 10 positions, seven tenths of a second behind team-mate Viñales.

 

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps

1. M. Vinales Suzuki MotoGP 01:55.436 42

2. A. Iannone Ducati Team 01:55.508 41

3. J. Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 01:55.535 48

4. S. Redding Pramac Racing 01:55.677 43

5. H. Barbera Avintia Racing 01:55.815 35

6. A. Dovizioso Ducati Team 01:55.856 46

7. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 01:55.857 42

8. V. Rossi Yamaha Factory Racing 01:55.947 56

9. M. Marquez Repsol Honda Team 01:56.046 42

10. A. Espargaro Suzuki MotoGP 01:56.126 32

11. P. Espargaro Tech 3 01:56.173 30

12. L. Baz Avintia Racing 01:56.427 45

13. C. Crutchlow LCR Honda 01:56.584 50

14. Y. Hernandez Aspar Team 01:56.667 38

15. E. Rabat Marc VDS Racing Team 01:57.263 49

16. B. Smith Tech 3 01:57.267 14

17. E. Laverty Aspar Team 01:57.670 41

18. A. Bautista Aprilia Racing 01:57.721 36

19. J. Miller Marc VDS Racing Team 01:57.789 20

20. M. Pirro Ducati Team 01:58.113 21

21. H. Aoyama Repsol Honda Team 01:58.347 62

22. S. Bradl Aprilia Racing 01:58.418 16

 

 

 

 

 

[Doorn]

Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo sent out an ominous message to his MotoGP rivals as he dominated the final day of pre-season testing in Qatar.

Lorenzo posted a time of 1:54.810 to finish over half a second clear of Pramac's Scott Redding, the Yamaha rider also impressing with his race simulation times.

Redding was eye-catching in second position while Suzuki's Maverick Viñales concluded his encouraging pre-season pace by clocking the third best time.

Marc Márquez was fourth as he lifted Repsol Honda up the leaderboard but was one of several riders to crash during the session at Losail.

Valentino Rossi suffered another fall at Turn 10 before recovering to fifth place, ahead of Andrea Iannone and Cal Crutchlow, who also crashed.

Andrea Dovizioso set his personal best time on his last flying lap to claim eighth, while Héctor Barberá fell twice en route to ninth, as Dani Pedrosa was a lowly 10th.

Aleix Espargaró, Loris Baz and rookie Tito Rabat all crashed, the latter twice, but walked away unscathed.

Pos. Driver Time1.
J. Lorenzo 01:54.8102.
S. Redding 01:55.3263.
M. Vinales 01:55.3334.
M. Marquez 01:55.4025.
V. Rossi 01:55.4296.
A. Iannone 01:55.5357.
C. Crutchlow 01:55.5928.
A. Dovizioso 01:55.7009.
H. Barbera 01:55.73310.
P. Espargaro 01:55.88211.
Y. Hernandez 01:55.89412.
B. Smith 01:55.96613.
L. Baz 01:56.05714.
D. Pedrosa 01:56.14215.
A. Espargaro 01:56.41916.
M. Pirro 01:56.59117.
E. Rabat 01:57.02718.
A. Bautista 01:57.04319.
J. Miller 01:57.04620.
E. Laverty 01:57.14621.
S. Bradl 01:57.34022.
T. Tsuda 02:00.291

Edited by Trn, 05 March 2016 - 19:09.

[Doorn]

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[Doorn]

 

2016 QATAR MOTOGP GRAND PRIX

 

17 Mar 2016  

17:55-18:40 First free practice

 

18 Mar 2016  

16:00-16:45 Second free practice

18:55-19:40 Third free practice

 

19 Mar 2016  

17:55-18:25 Fourth free practice

18:35-18:50 Qualifying 1

19:00-19:15 Qualifying 2

 

20 Mar 2016  

15:00-15:20 Warm up

19:00 Race

[Doorn]

Michelin has revealed the colour codes it will use on its tyres during the 2016 MotoGP season.

 

Michelin, which takes over from Bridgestone as the sport's sole tyre supplier, continues with unmarked Medium slick rubber, while the Soft tyres will be given white markings and the Hards yellow markings.

 

Michelin's Intermediate tyre will have grey walls, with the Soft blue and the Hard unmarked.

 

Following the trio of three-day pre-season test sessions at Sepang, Phillip Island and Losail, the French manufacturer is aware that work is still needed on its Soft-compound front tyre.

 

"We have finalised our choice of front and rear tyres," said Michelin motorsport chief Nicolas Goubert.

 

"The riders are happy with the performance of the rears after we provided them with two specifications which have now been approved for the first race of the season that will also take place at Losail.

 

"The track conditions evolved considerably over the three days [of pre-season testing] in Qatar and we occasionally noted too much wear on the soft-compound version of the front tyre.

 

"We will consequently need to adjust its specification a little in order to make it stronger.

 

"We didn't have any issues whatsoever with the hard version [of the tyre], though, and the tyre that will be available to the riders in less than two weeks' time will be identical."

 

Michelin tyre markings:

 

Slicks:

Hard - Yellow

Medium - Unmarked

Soft - White

 

Intermediates/Wets:

Intermediate - Grey

Hard Wet - Unmarked

Soft Wet - Blue

[Doorn]

Jorge Lorenzo led a factory Yamaha 1-2 during the opening free practice session of the 2016 MotoGP season in Qatar on Thursday night.

 

Lorenzo rose to the top of the times early on with a mid 1m55s effort, and twice improved in the closing stages to finish up with a 1:55.440.

 

Lorenzo's best lap time put him 0.267s clear of team-mate Valentino Rossi, with Ducati's Andrea Iannone watching on in third position.

 

Avintia rider Héctor Barberá put another Ducati machine (2014-spec) inside the top five, which was completed by Suzuki's Maverick Viñales.

 

Pol Espargaró was next up for Tech 3 Yamaha, slotting ahead of Honda pair Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez, who trialled different winglets on the RC213V.

 

Andrea Dovizioso was six tenths down on works Ducati team-mate Iannone in ninth, while Pramac's Scott Redding rounded out the top 10 positions.

 

Bradley Smith ended the session 11th, and became the first rider to fall in 2016, losing control of his bike at Turn 13 with two minutes remaining.

 

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps

1. J. Lorenzo Yamaha 01:55.440 15

2. V. Rossi Yamaha 01:55.707 17

3. A. Iannone Ducati 01:55.736 16

4. H. Barbera Avintia 01:55.810 16

5. M. Vinales Suzuki 01:55.847 16

6. P. Espargaro Tech 3 01:56.051 18

7. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda 01:56.098 16

8. M. Marquez Repsol Honda 01:56.258 15

9. A. Dovizioso Ducati 01:56.387 14

10. S. Redding Pramac 01:56.412 16

11. B. Smith Tech 3 01:56.524 17

12. C. Crutchlow LCR 01:56.596 16

13. L. Baz Avintia 01:56.783 14

14. J. Miller Marc VDS 01:56.939 16

15. D. Petrucci Pramac 01:56.981 17

16. A. Espargaro Suzuki 01:57.096 16

17. A. Bautista Aprilia 01:57.129 16

18. Y. Hernandez Aspar 01:57.192 14

19. E. Laverty Aspar 01:57.421 14

20. E. Rabat Marc VDS 01:57.916 18

21. S. Bradl Aprilia 01:57.989 15