HRC team forced to retire from race in Australia

The Australian Grand Prix ended on lap 6 for Marc Marquez and on lap 14 for Dani Pedrosa. It was a DNF for the Repsol Honda Team, for the first time since the 2017 Argentine Grand Prix.

The 2018 World Champion was forced to retire after his bike was damaged during contact with Johan Zarco: the Frenchman unexpectedly struck the tail of Marquez’s bike while braking into the fast turn one at the end of the main straight and crashed out, luckily without consequences. Marc was able to keep control of his shaking machine and avoided a crash himself, but he couldn’t continue his podium quest and entered the pit.

Dani, who had never been at ease at the Australian track over the weekend, was in 14th place when a crash at turn 4 put an early end to his race.

The Repsol Honda Team will now move on to Malaysia for the third and final consecutive flyaway race before returning to Europe for the season finale in Valencia.

 

Credit: HRC News

Marc Marquez Wins Fifth MotoGP Championship Title

Yesterday Repsol Honda Rider, Marc Marquez was crowned 2018 MotoGP World Champion aboard his Honda RC213V machine at the Japanese Grand Prix!

After starting from the sixth spot on the grid, Marc was immediately able to recover four positions, taking over second place and engaging in race-long battle with title contender Andrea Dovizioso and fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow. With two laps remaining, the Italian rider crashed out of the race, just after Marc had passed him in preparation for a last-lap duel.

With his eighth win of 2018 and the 69th in his career (across all classes), Marquez becomes the youngest rider of all time to reach the milestone of seven World Championships (125cc in 2010, Moto2 in 2012 and MotoGP in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018); he does this at the age of 25 years and 246 days, taking the record from Mike Hailwood, who was 26 years and 140 days old when he won his seventh title, the 1966 350cc crown.

 

Marquez reaction:

I feel really, really good. I would say it’s a dream came true, or better, that I’m living a dream. It’s something so special, here together with my team, all the Honda and HRC people, my family and my staff. It has been a great season, and ever since Aragon I’ve been tasting, imagining this title, because it was very close. Then I realized that this wasn’t my style, and I needed extra motivation, so I set the goal of trying to achieve it with my first match ball—in Motegi, by winning the race. This circuit was a challenging one to manage that, but it seems like when I’m under pressure, I feel better on the bike! Today the race was as I expected. I was prepared to make a good start and immediately make some passes. I got to second place at the end of the first lap, and then was able to follow Andrea and stay with him. I thought I could try and attack before the last lap because I felt I had something extra to give. He was pushing very hard and made a mistake, and that’s a shame because he deserved to be here on the podium. That’s also something that I think Dani would deserve at least once this season. Anyway, when I crossed the finish line it was an explosion of joy. My people prepared this Level7 celebration, but I didn’t know anything ahead of time. I never want to know, but I think it’s because I used to play that kind of game a lot. Now it’s time to celebrate this seventh title and enjoy these final three races

 

Credit: HRC News

Masterful Marquez takes first Thai win

It was another master-class race for Championship leader Marc Marquez, who took the first MotoGP win ever in Thailand in front of a cheering, enthusiast crowd of more than 100.000 spectators. Marc’s seventh victory of the season is also the 68th of his career, putting him equal with Jorge Lorenzo as the fifth-most winning rider across all classes. It was a hat-track weekend for the Spaniard, who earned pole position, set the lap record and earned the victory.

Marc’s win came down to the last corner of the last lap, thanks to a thrilling battle with title contender Andrea Dovizioso. The points scenario makes the next round, the Grand Prix of Japan, the first match point for the MotoGP Title.

On the other side of the garage, a crash at turn five on lap 18 was a true shame for Dani Pedrosa, as it ended what until then had been his best race of the season; Pedrosa was charging forward from the back, with hopes of launching himself into the podium battle.

Credit: HRC News

Marquez wins spectacular Aragon battle to take his sixth win this season

On a sunny and hot Sunday at Aragon Marc Marquez took a gamble and won, choosing a soft rear tyre over a more familiar hard spec, in the end winning a fantastic three-way battle with title contender Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Lannone and extended his Championship lead to 72 points with five races to go in the 2018 MotoGP season.

Today’s brilliant success is not only Marc’s fifth at Aragon and sixth win this season, but also his 67th career victory and 41st in MotoGP, meaning that he is now tied with Mike Hailwood (41) for fourth place on the list of riders with the most GP wins with Honda, behind Jim Redman (45), Dani Pedrosa (54), and Mick Doohan (54).

Dani Pedrosa took a solid result in fifth place, displaying a good pace during the entire race and finishing close to the front group.

In less than two weeks the Repsol Honda Team will fly to Thailand for the first race in the Country to be held at the Buriram International Circuit.

Credit: HRC News

Marquez increases his points lead, taking hard-fought 2nd in Austria

Yesterday Sunday 12th August,  Marc Marquez scored a hard-fought second place at a sunny Red Bull Ring, sharing the podium with race-winner Jorge Lorenzo and third-place rider Andrea Dovizioso.

Marc ultimately missed the win by only 0.130”, and definitely not for lack of trying. After taking the lead on the second lap, he tried to pull a gap at the front, but Lorenzo and Dovizioso closely chased him for most of the race. An inevitable battle was looming.

It began on lap 19 and had all of the 92,955 spectators on the edges of their seats until the last lap. At that point, it was duel between the two fellow countrymen, as Dovizioso had fallen slightly behind.

Although he still has yet to tame the Red Bull Ring, Marc leaves the track with an increased advantage in the points standings (+59 over Valentino Rossi) and the enjoyment he always feels after having given it his all in a race battle.

Dani Pedrosa also made some good overtakes today that allowed him to cross the finish line in seventh place, despite a mishap soon after the start having dropped him from a ninth-place grid spot to 14th at the end of the first lap.

The Repsol Honda Team is now leading the Team standings, Honda the Constructor and Marc Marquez the Rider Standings.

Credit: HRC News

The Repsol Honda Team head to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian GP

With no rest after the Czech Grand Prix and the one-day post-race test that allowed Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa to carry out positive work on their RC213V, the Repsol Honda Team moved on to Austria for Sunday’s Grand Prix von Österreich.

Before heading to the Red Bull Ring, Marquez took part in a special press conference in Vienna at the Österreichischer Automobil, Motorrad und Touring Club (ÖAMTC), in the presence of Austrian Traffic Minister Mr. Norbert Hofer, to support “No Ride without Training”, a campaign promoting safe motorcycle riding on the roads.

At the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich

Marc Marquez has 1 podium (2nd in 2017) and 1 pole position (2017).

Dani Pedrosa has 1 podium (3rd in 2017).

Marc Marquez: 

“We come from a good test in Brno, where we found several positive things. We’ll try some of them at the Red Bull Ring and see how everything works. Austria is another track where Dovizioso and Lorenzo are strong, but we were also strong there last year so we’ll see if it comes down to the last corner again! We’ll try to be fast from the start of the weekend and then fight up at the front. Actually, it will be the second time this year for me at the track, after the unbelievable experience we had with the F1 Toro Rosso test run last June! On the way to the Red Bull Ring, we stopped in Vienna to attend an event dedicated to safe motorcycling riding on the roads, which is something I believe very important. People sometimes forget how vital is to wear the proper gear and not drink before riding, and anytime possible I try and give my inputs about the importance of being fit and lucid before riding.”

Dani Pedrosa

“A day of testing after the Czech Grand Prix gave us the chance to work on our bike setup, to try and sort out the issues we’ve experienced in the recent races. We were able to be fast and consistent, and now we’ll see if that was down to the better track conditions, or if the changes we made there have actually improved our base setup. The Red Bull Ring will be good to check that, as it’s usually a demanding track for us, so to have a good feeling there would be very important. We’ll also have a special Michelin rear tyre there, so we’ll see how it goes putting everything together. Weather will also be a key for the race.”

Credit: HRC News

Marc Marquez celebrates his 100th MotoGP race on Brno podium

At the Czech GP, Marc Marquez celebrated from the third step of the podium the special milestone of 100 MotoGP races, showing once again the reasons behind the impressive numbers of his still relatively short Premier Class career.

His 71st MotoGP podium out of 100 starts (71%) was the best result the young Spaniard could achieve today, so after sticking with Lorenzo and eventual winner Dovizioso until the last lap of the race, he ultimately settled for third. At the same time, he achieved his weekend goal of extending his Championship lead at a track where he did not feel totally comfortable. He arrived in the Czech Republic with a 46-point advantage on Valentino Rossi and left with +49.

The other statistics related to his special 100th MotoGP milestone are 40 wins (40%), 68 Pole positions (68%), and 42 race-fastest-laps (42%).

Teammate Dani Pedrosa, who started from 10th on the grid, continued to struggle in corner exits; only at the end of the race was he able to recover two positions and cross the finish line in eighth place.

Tomorrow, the Repsol Honda Team will remain at Brno for a one-day post-race test before moving on to Austria for next Sunday’s Grand Prix von Österreich at the Red Bull Ring Circuit.

Credit: HRC News

Marc Marquez about to reach the 100 MotoGP race milestone

Following two back-to-back wins and a two-week break, Marc Marquez now has the Czech GP on his radar, an event where he will hit the special milestone of 100 MotoGP races.

The landmark is a good occasion for a quick look at the amazing achievements the 25-year-old has tallied so far in his still relatively short Premier Class career. In the five seasons and 99 MotoGP races since his debut in the class at the 2013 Qatar GP, Marc has so far earned:

40 wins
70 podiums
48 pole positions
42 fastest laps
4 World Titles (the youngest-ever rider to win four premier-class World Championships)

The Championship leader looks forward to updating some of those statistics next Sunday, at a track where he won last year and where he attended a one-day private test in early July alongside teammate Dani Pedrosa, who has also been very successful at the Czech circuit through his career.

The Repsol Honda pair have achieved two 1-2 finishes at the Czech GP, in 2013 and 2017. Marc holds the Pole record of 1’54.596” (2016), Dani the Circuit record at 1’56.027” (2014).

At the Grand Prix České Republiky:

Marc Marquez has 3 wins: 1 x Moto2 (2012) and 2 x MotoGP (2013, 2017), plus an additional 3 podiums and 4 pole positions.

Dani Pedrosa has 4 wins: 1 x 125 (2003), 1 x 250 (2005), and 2 x MotoGP (2012, 2014), plus an additional 7 podiums and 2 pole positions.

 

Credit: HRC News

Marquez takes title at Sachsenring

Marc Marquez perfectly mastered a tactical race to take a stellar ninth straight win at the Sachsenring, after starting from pole position.

The reigning World Champion saved his tyres while following Danilo Petrucci and Jorge Lorenzo in the early phases, took the lead on lap 13 when he decided it was time to try and pull a gap and—in the latter stages of the race, when tyre consumption increased—managed his advantage.

Looking strictly at the numbers, today Marc took a second consecutive win from pole, his fifth victory this season, his 40th MotoGP success, and his 66th across three classes, extending his Championship lead over Valentino Rossi to 46 points with 10 races remaining. In addition, his ninth win at Sachsenring came after nine consecutive poles here, and in his 99th MotoGP race, at the season’s ninth round.

Never really comfortable with his bike’s setup during the weekend, Dani Pedrosa could only improve upon his starting-grid spot by two positions, ending the race in eighth place.

Now the Repsol Honda Team will enjoy a two-week break before heading to Brno for the Czech GP on 5 August.

 

Credit: HRC News

Repsol and Honda renew MotoGP alliance to reach 25 year anniversary in 2019

The Spanish energy company and the Japanese manufacturer extend their contract through to 2020 and consolidate the most successful relationship in motorcycle racing history.

Repsol and Honda have extended their contract in MotoGP for a further two years, thus consolidating an alliance based on technological collaboration and commemorating its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2019.

In 1995, Repsol and Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) joined forces for a project that will be next year celebrating a quarter-century in motorcycle racing. Since then, the energy company and vehicle manufacturer have won 13 rider World Championships in the premier class and taken 163 Grand Prix wins, the most recent coming this past weekend at the Dutch TT through Marc Márquez.

Repsol’s Executive Managing Director of Communications and the Chairman’s Office, Begoña Elices, and HRC President Yoshishige Nomura, signed the extension of the agreement, through which Repsol will continue to be the main sponsor of the Honda factory team in MotoGP and the supplier of the fuel and lubricant used by their bikes -unique prototypes to which technological excellence, products and the innovation of both companies is transferred.

For the 2019 season, current World Championship leader Márquez will team with Jorge Lorenzo. Between the two they have won seven of the last eight MotoGP titles, with the exception being that won by Casey Stoner with Repsol Honda in 2011.

The collaboration between Repsol and Honda goes beyond conventional sports sponsorship and is reflected in a close relationship between the Honda laboratories in Saitama (Japan) and the Repsol Technology Center, which is located in Móstoles (Spain).

This long term teamwork is an example of the enduring collaboration between two global companies that always seek to overcome challenges and aspire to excellence. Repsol and Honda have been able to make the most of their strengths and achieve a winning formula, which is based on the combination of bike, rider, fuel and lubricant.

In the 1990s, the collaboration began with the development of two-stroke engines and fuel, moving on to the challenge of developing the best four-stroke engines and fuels in the world.

More than half of the premier class world titles won since 1995 have gone to the Repsol Honda team. In addition, the Repsol-Honda collaboration has led to the winning of the Team Championship on seven occasions since the award was created in 2002. A record of 163 wins and 419 podiums in 500cc and MotoGP has been reached thanks to riders such as Mick Doohan, Álex Crivillé, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez.

The team with the most recognisable colours in the MotoGP World Championship will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Repsol and Honda’s relationship in 2019, an event that coincides with the 50th anniversary of the energy company as a sports sponsor.

 

Credit: HRC News 2018