Round 6: British MotoGP™ – Race
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo put in a masterful display at Silverstone to win the British Grand Prix for his third consecutive MotoGP™ victory.
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- Silverstone, Sunday 17 June 2012
- Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Medium-soft, Medium (Asymmetric)
- Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
- Weather: Dry. Ambient 18-19°C; Track 22-28°C (Bridgestone measurement)
In almost a carbon-copy of the last race at Catalunya, Lorenzo came on strong in the second half of the race to pass Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner for the lead with nine laps remaining. Stoner held on for second place ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa, while pole-sitter Alvaro Bautista claimed his best ever MotoGP™ finish with fourth place. Best of the CRT riders at Silverstone was Power Electronics Aspar rider Aleix Espargaro who emerged the victor in a race-long duel with teammate Randy de Puniet to finish in eleventh place.
Dark clouds threatened to spoil the race with rain as riders lined up on the grid, though the race was run under dry conditions with track temperatures reaching a maximum of 28°C towards the end of the session as the sun began to shine. The possibility of rain at the start of the race saw all but one rider select the softer rear slick while front tyre choice was evenly split between the softer and harder slick options, with some riders preferring the extra braking stability of the harder front over the better warm-up performance of the softer option.
Three wins in a row for Jorge Lorenzo sees him lead Casey Stoner by 25 points in the championship classification, while Dani Pedrosa’s podium at Silverstone consolidates third position overall and he sits 14 points behind Stoner.
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“What a fantastic race we had today! There were so many great battles throughout the field and the pace at the start of the race was very fast, so I think the better warm-up performance offered by the new front slicks allowed riders to push from the first lap. Jorge’s was once again very impressive on the Yamaha today but most of all I was amazed by Cal’s great performance to finish sixth despite starting last and being injured.
“The weather was still unsettled today which made tyre choice difficult for the riders, but Silverstone’s susceptibility to poor weather was the reason we revised the rear slick compounds for this race and I think this development, along with the full availability of the new front slick tyre helped riders cope with the conditions we had this weekend.”
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“Thankfully the morning warm-up session today wasn’t affected by rain which allowed teams to evaluate different slick tyre options for the race. Spots of rain started to fall just as riders went on to the grid and for this reason all but one rider selected the softer rear slick in case conditions worsened. Front tyre choice was more varied with just over half the riders on the harder front and with Jorge and Casey enjoying a good fight though they selected different compound front slicks. I am pleased that both of the new specification front slicks we brought to Silverstone worked well over a race distance.”
Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing – Race Winner
“I was a bit worried at the start of the race as I was in sixth position and the leaders were fast, but I waited for my moment and as the race went on the guys at the front started to slow down. I caught up to them and then Casey and I had a wonderful fight and fortunately for us I had a pace advantage. We have had a perfect season until now so I have to thank Yamaha for all their good work.”
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Team
|
Race Time
|
Gap
|
Front spec
|
Rear spec
|
Tyres
|
|
1
|
Jorge LORENZO
|
Yamaha Factory Racing
|
41:16.439
|
|
Medium
|
Medium-soft
|
Bridgestone
|
|
2
|
Casey STONER
|
Repsol Honda
|
41:19.742
|
3.313
|
Soft
|
Medium-soft
|
Bridgestone
|
|
3
|
Dani PEDROSA
|
Repsol Honda
|
41:20.028
|
3.599
|
Medium
|
Medium-soft
|
Bridgestone
|
|
4
|
Alvaro BAUTISTA
|
San Carlo Honda Gresini
|
41:21.625
|
5.196
|
Medium
|
Medium-soft
|
Bridgestone
|
|
5
|
Ben SPIES
|
Yamaha Factory Racing
|
41:27.960
|
11.531
|
Medium
|
Medium-soft
|
Bridgestone
|
|
6
|
Cal CRUTCHLOW
|
Monster Yamaha Tech 3
|
41:31.541
|
15.112
|
Medium
|
Medium-soft
|
Bridgestone
|
|
7
|
Nicky HAYDEN
|
Ducati Team
|
41:31.956
|
15.527
|
Medium
|
Medium-soft
|
Bridgestone
|
|
8
|
Stefan BRADL
|
LCR Honda
|
41:38.950
|
22.521
|
Medium
|
Medium-soft
|
Bridgestone
|
|
9
|
Valentino ROSSI
|
Ducati Team
|
41:52.567
|
36.138
|
Medium
|
Medium
|
Bridgestone
|
|
10
|
Hector BARBERA
|
Pramac Racing
|
41:57.757
|
41.328
|
Medium
|
Medium-soft
|
Bridgestone
|
DIFFICULT DAY STRENGTHENS MAHINDRA’S RESOLVE
There can be hard days in racing, and the British GP was one of them for the Mahindra Moto3™ squad. Only one of the two riders made the finish, showing a spirit of perseverance that the team is confident will take them through the hard times, as the Indian manufacturer strives to make its mark in MotoGP racing.
Mahindra is relying on independent technology in a field made up of over-the-counter machines from established racing manufacturers. The road is not smooth, but the engineering lessons learned will ultimately be more valuable to the company’s research and development.
The finisher was Marcel Schrötter (19, from Germany), but he was a lap down after having to start the race from pit lane, after the rest of the field was already long gone.
Danny Webb (21, from England) had higher hopes for his home GP, and was moving up towards a points-scoring top-15 place when he was sidelined by a technical glitch.
Schrötter’s troubles began on the start line, when he stalled just before the off. The new-this-year 250cc Moto3 four-strokes are notoriously difficult to push-start, and he had to return to the pits to use the starter roller. From there he pushed on to the end, determined at least to finish what had been so hard to begin.
Webb finished the first lap two places down on his 21st-place qualifying position. As the race wore he picked up a couple of places, hopeful of taking more profit in the usual drama of the final laps. But after 11 of 17 laps a technical issue forced him to pull off the track, his race over.
The race was won by Spaniard Maverick Vinales.
MARCEL SCHRÖTTER – 26th position
As I came to the line I put the bike in neutral and the engine died, and though I tried to push-start, it is really difficult to do. By the time I got going everyone else was almost a lap ahead. But I was quite pleased that when the leaders came past to lap me I was able to stay with them through the corners. It was too late to get any sort of result.
DANNY WEBB – Did not finish
Today the bike felt different from yesterday, and then in the race it broke on me. I’m really frustrated, also to see Marcel a lap behind was a shame. He is a really good rider and it is a shame that we are just not in a position to get results at the moment. I thought we’d made a step at the last race, but we need to keep pushing.
source: mahindraracing.com , mahindra.com
Home World Championship Points For Ellison
PBMUK rider James Ellison overcame some minor problems during practice and qualifying to score more World Championship points at today’s Hertz British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Aboard the Claiming Rules Team (CRT) specification Aprilia ART and cheered on by a partisan 65,000 crowd, the 31-year-old from Kendal could only manage 17th fastest time in qualifying meaning a row seven start and his cause wasn’t helped when he suffered a crash in MotoGP morning warm up.
However, the former World Endurance Champion and double European Superstock Champion bounced back as he fought his way through the field over the 20 lap race to claim an impressive 14th place to add to the points he scored at the French Grand Prix at Le Mans last month for the Penrith-based Paul Bird Motorsport team.
James Ellison: “Overall, it’s a good, positive result and I’m pleased with scoring more points although the problems we encountered in qualifying didn’t help us. It’s vitally important to get some fast laps in on new tyres and I have to figure that out myself because the further up the grid we are, the better chance we have in the race. We made a big step forward with the electronics this weekend which, in turn, helped the chatter problem so thanks to the team and to Aprilia for working hard on that as it showed in the race. The support this weekend has been amazing and thanks to all the fans and the PBMUK sponsors for that.”
Paul Bird, Team Owner: “It was a good solid weekend for James and the PBMUK team and I’m very pleased with how our home Grand Prix went. We just need to find a little more speed in the first part of the race and then we’ll be regularly challenging the leading CRT riders. To see the support we had this weekend blew us away and just goes to show how popular and important a British team is to fans at the British Grand Prix.”
For more information, please visit www.pbmuk.net, www.motogp.com , and www.silverstone.co.uk
Results – Hertz British Grand Prix
1, Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing
2, Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team
3, Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team
4, Alvaro Bautista (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini
5, Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing
6, Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3
14, James Ellison (GBR) Paul Bird Motorsport
source: www.cartersport.com
Byrne Takes Silverstone 200 Victory
The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki British Superbike Team were in action at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend where they were taking part in the inaugural Silverstone 200 support race whereby Shane Byrne took a comprehensive overall victory after easily winning both races.
Aboard the Paul Bird Motorsport Ninja ZX-10R, the double British Superbike Champion from the Isle of Sheppey qualified on pole position for Saturday’s 16-lap race around the full 3.66-mile Arena GP track ahead of Scottish team-mate Stuart Easton but as rain started to fall, the race was reduced to nine laps.
However, after missing the pit lane closing slot as tyres were being changed, Byrne and Easton started the race from the back of the grid but Byrne was soon into his stride and despite the tricky conditions, took an easy victory.
Sadly for Easton, the Hawick rider crashed out of a podium placing after six laps causing the race to be stopped as he received medical attention but after a quick check up, it was revealed he had nothing more than knee ligament damage which meant he didn’t take part in today’s race.
In front of over 65,000 fans, Byrne encountered no problems as he won today’s full 16-lap race by over half a minute to take the prestigious Silverstone 200 title ahead of a number of British and World Championship regulars.
Shane Byrne: “The main idea was to use the meeting as a test and get some serious mileage and although the weather did its best to cause us problems, it has been a very worthwhile exercise for us. We were a bit off the pace I need to be at to be winning BSB races round here but it’s hard to know how hard to push with a 35 second lead! It’s a shame Stuart crashed out otherwise we could have had even more success but now I’m looking forward to Knockhill next weekend and getting back to BSB action.”
Stuart Easton: “I’ve been a bit under the weather with an infection in my leg this past couple of weeks and the last thing I needed was to fall off but luckily I didn’t do too much damage to myself other than to my knee. I’m disappointed of course as I really needed this time on the bike and had it been dry on Saturday it may have been different but well done to Shakey on the win.”
Paul Bird: “I was annoyed that the team messed up and as a result Shakey and Stuart had to start from the back of the grid on Saturday which wasn’t ideal and then Stuart ended up in a heap which certainly wasn’t in the plan. It came good in the end for Shakey and we got some valuable dry track time although we will have to assess Stuart’s injuries over the next few days.”
Results – Silverstone 200: Race 1
1, Shane Byrne (Kawasaki – Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki)
2, Richard Cooper (Triumph – Oxford TAG Triumph)
3, Christian Iddon (Triumph – Oxford TAG Triumph)
Stuart Easton (Kawasaki – Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) DNF
Results – Silverstone 200: Race 2
1, Shane Byrne (Kawasaki – Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki)
2, David Johnson (BMW – Carbontek Racing)
3, Luke Jones (BMW – 777RR Motorsport)
Stuart Easton (Kawasaki – Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) DNS
Images attached (courtesy of Jon Jessop): Shane Byrne in action and on the podium at Silverstone today.
source: Paul Bird Motorsport, btconnect.com