Marquez straight to the top at Laguna Seca

MotoGP News

Date: 20/July/2013

It is supposed to be his toughest weekend of the season, but rookie Marc Marquez finished day one of the US MotoGP on top of the timesheets at Laguna Seca.

Unlike the other 17 events on the calendar, Marquez had never ridden a lap of the Californian circuit before Friday morning.

But the Repsol Honda rider finished a foggy opening practice in a close third place, then ruled the roost by 0.229s over LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl in the sunny afternoon session.

Marquez, 20, who retook the title lead with his second win of the year last Sunday in Germany, said:

"In the first free practice the most important thing was to remain calm and take it slowly, and that is what we did. Also, the track conditions and the mist made things tricky.

“During the first few minutes I was a little stressed on the bike, because I had a lot of work to do. It's a brand new track for me, but it is fun. It is very narrow and short, with many bumps so it took a bit of adapting on my behalf.

“In the second session I found things much more comfortable, I started to enjoy myself and found a pace that was not bad at all. We were fastest, but the time we clocked is still a little off the track record.

“I'm happy with this first day, so we'll see if tomorrow we can continue in the same way and continue to learn the circuit.”

Andrea Dovizioso was a surprise third fastest for Ducati, with Valentino Rossi leading the session before dropping to fourth for Yamaha. Lap times were close, with fifth place Cal Crutchlow just 0.417s from Marquez.

Marquez’s nearest title challengers - team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha’s reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo - are both returning from collarbone injuries this weekend.

Lorenzo was a sore sixth fastest, less than a week after undergoing his second shoulder surgery. Pedrosa chose to sit out the morning session before claiming eleventh in the afternoon.

Nicky Hayden was the top home rider in ninth, just one day after confirming he will leave Ducati - and possibly MotoGP - at the end of this season.

Laguna Seca marks the midway point of the season and is the final event before the summer break.

Marquez grabs MotoGP advantage as favourites withdraw

MotoGP News

Date: 14/July/2013

Rookie Marc Marquez shot to the top of the MotoGP standings after exploiting the absence of title favourites Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo to the maximum in Germany.

Marquez, 20, won his second race of the season at the Sachsenring to move from third to first in the World Championship.

Reigning title holder Lorenzo was ruled out on Friday when he fell and bent the plate holding his broken collarbone in place, with Pedrosa then suffering a big crash on Saturday and withdrawing due to dizziness on race day morning.

Marquez still had to work for his victory, dropping from pole to fourth on the opening lap before riding around Aleix Espargaro, Valentino Rossi and finally home star Stefan Bradl to take the lead on lap six of 30.

Meanwhile Cal Crutchlow was also working his way up the order and put Marquez under pressure in the closing stages, finishing just 1.5s behind at the chequered flag.

Marquez said: “If I’m honest I didn’t expect to lead the championship after eight races. It is my second victory in MotoGP, but it feels different to Austin because Dani and Jorge are not here. We hope they recover soon.

“It was a very different race for me, because this time I was leading for a long time and trying to manage the gap to Rossi and then Cal. It was a great experience but I prefer races where I follow other riders and need to push the whole race.

“Now the top five riders are all covered by 37 points in the championship. It will be interesting and great for the show for the fans.”

With the US Grand Prix just seven days away, the big question now is whether Pedrosa or Lorenzo will be fit to return.

Pedrosa, just two points behind Marquez, is most likely to be back - although the fact that it was dizziness rather than the cracked collarbone that prevented him racing remains a concern.

 

Pedrosa explained: "This morning my shoulder was painful but otherwise I felt fine. The doctors declared me fit to take part in warm up. Then shortly before the session I began to feel dizzy again and my blood pressure dropped.

“I returned to my motorhome to rest and still felt dizzy and sick. The doctors arrived at my motorhome and informed me that they did not consider I was okay to race and would therefore declare me unfit."

While Pedrosa will surely at least make the journey to the USA, then see how he feels, Lorenzo faces a tougher decision. After two operations in two weeks, his frail collarbone can’t take another hit - yet team-mate Rossi still thinks Lorenzo will try to ride.

“This is just my idea, but Jorge will race at Laguna,” Rossi declared. “I don’t know anything. This is just my feeling.

“He has one week to recover and the surgery went okay. At the beginning for sure Jorge must have felt scared and frustrated. But I know what happens in your mind, after some days you feel not so bad and you say ‘why not?’

“But maybe I am wrong!”

After the operation Lorenzo stated on Twitter that he will wait until Indianapolis in mid-August to return. However after Sunday’s race Yamaha stated that no decision has yet been made and that Lorenzo’s mechanics will travel to Laguna Seca as planned…

Another title twist as Pedrosa joins injury list

MotoGP News

Date: 13/July/2013

With Championship rival Jorge Lorenzo forced out of the German MotoGP after bending the plate in his newly broken collarbone, Dani Pedrosa looked on course to build a big points advantage

Instead the Honda rider was thrown into the air on his first fast Saturday morning lap, leaving him to be airlifted to hospital for checks on his left collarbone and a possible concussion.

The concussion fears proved unfounded, but a small fracture was found in the collarbone. Pedrosa must now decide if he should risk starting Sunday’s race, give that a further accident would mean surgery.

"I'm still not totally sure what happened. I hit my head hard and immediately felt a lot of pain in my shoulder and I checked to see if I could feel anything. Thankfully in the medical centre they saw it wasn't broken but maybe a small fracture, and I was also feeling very dizzy but never lost consciousness.

“Just to be safe, we flew to Chemnitz Hospital for a CAT scan and then returned to Clinica Mobile at the circuit. They confirmed I had a small fracture in my left collarbone but I am thankful it wasn't a complete break.

“Now I will rest tonight and see how I feel in the morning. If I feel strong enough I will have the medical check to clear me for the race.”

Pedrosa holds a nine-point lead over Lorenzo after seven of 18 rounds. Lorenzo, who rode to fifth just two days after breaking his collarbone at Assen, had a replacement plate inserted on Saturday morning in Barcelona.

The operation was more complex than the first - involving a new plate, ten screws and some bone from his pelvis to fill the re-opened break - but his participation in next weekend’s American Grand Prix has not yet been ruled out.

With Pedrosa and Lorenzo damaged, a third rider may be about to enter the title fight. Race winning rookie Marc Marquez, team-mate to Pedrosa, has qualified on pole and looks set to eat into the current 23-point gap to the top.