Preview Grand Prix of the Americas, Austin, Texas

2014-04-08 13:00
After a near-perfect double-podium start to the
new MotoGP season under floodlights in the desert
at Qatar, Honda’s factory riders lead the trail
west to Texas for round two, only the second
visit to the spectacular new Circuit of the Americas outside Austin.

For Repsol Honda RC213V rider Marc Marquez, it is
a return to the scene of his first MotoGP pole
position followed by his first win. In each case
he was the youngest in history. Five more wins
swept him to victory in the World Championship,
and the greatest “youngest-ever” record available.

Marquez, who was honoured in the break after the
last race with the Laureus sports foundation’s
“Breakthrough of the Year” award, returns in the
lead on points, after a thrilling victory in the
opening round at Losail. It was the perfect
come-back following six weeks of not being able
to ride at all, after breaking his leg in a training accident.

Second Repsol Honda RC213V rider Dani Pedrosa
consolidated Honda’s performance in the opening
round with a solid third place, to make a strong
start to his own championship campaign in his
ninth season riding the factory Honda.

The pair qualified and finished first and second
at the inaugural Texas race last year, with
Marquez taking a narrow victory at only his
second attempt. One aspect in his favour was that
nobody had prior experience at the new circuit,
which offers a tremendous and varied technical
challenge over its 5.513-km (3.426-mile) lap. His
more seasoned rivals were, like him, starting
from scratch in not only finding the best
cornering lines, but also the right machine set up, gearing and suspension.

This year all have one previous GP to rely on,
with a mass of technical data to analyse and interpret.

Marquez’s Qatar triumph came after another pole
position – his tenth in 19 MotoGP-class races,
and after a fierce battle in the closing laps
with multiple World Champion Valentino Rossi
(Yamaha). After missing two out of three
pre-season tests due to a training injury, it was
the perfect start to the year for the defending
champion, who had previously won both 125cc and
Moto2 titles before moving up to the premier class.

Pedrosa had to fight his way through a gaggle of
fast riders to join the leading group. The former
125cc and double 250cc World Champion showed
experience and race-craft to secure third place,
while four of his erstwhile rivals crashed out
trying to match his relentless pace.

One was satellite Honda rider Alvaro Bautista
(GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V), after qualifying
on the front row, and moving up to second as he
set fastest lap. The Spanish former 125cc World
Champion has a special role race-developing
Japanese Showa suspension and Nissin brakes for
companies with strong links with Honda, and took
comfort from his speed and strength before he
became another victim of the treacherous surface of the desert circuit.

Bautista qualified seventh and finished eighth at
Austin last year, and is confident of a significant improvement on this visit.

Another to fall was German LCR Honda RC213V rider
Stefan Bradl, who took over the lead on the first
lap, and was still in front when he slipped out
of contention after eight of 22 laps. The former
Moto2 World Champion learned important lessons
from his spell up front, as he consolidates his
potential in his third MotoGP season. He
qualified and finished fifth at the Texan race last year.

New for 2014 “Open” category bikes will race for
the first time at Austin. Unlike “Factory Option”
machines like the Honda RC213V, these lower-cost
machines must use control electronics supplied by
the organisers. In compensation, they get 24
rather than 21 litres of fuel for each race, and
access to a softer tyre option, among other technical allowances.

The new Honda RCV1000R MotoGP production-racer is
prominent among the new generation – effectively
prototypes for 2016 rules when all bikes will use
control electronics – with four customer bikes on the grid.

The best of these laid on a stirring battle for
seventh, with class rookie Scott Redding (GO&FUN
Honda Gresini RCV1000R) defeating veteran Nicky
Hayden (Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) by 0.03
seconds. English rider Redding, the youngest-ever
grand prix winner, has moved up to the premier
class after finishing second overall in Moto2;
Hayden was MotoGP World Champion in 2006, riding
a Repsol Honda; he will be anxious to redress the
balance when the pair meet again at Texas, the
first of two home GPs for the American rider.

Hayden’s team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama was 11th; the
Japanese rider won the final 250cc World
Championship on a Honda in 2009, and has returned
to the marque this year. Karel Abraham (Cardion
AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R) was 13th, meaning
points for all Honda finishers. Czech racer
Abraham, who crashed out in qualifying here last
year, is still recovering from major shoulder
surgery that cut short his 2013 campaign.

The Moto2 class guarantees close and reliable
racing, with all entrants powered by identical
race-tuned Honda CBR600 engines provided by the
organisers. Qatar was no exception, with an
ultra-close finish between winner Esteve “Tito”
Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) and Japan’s
Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex).

A shock announcement after the race however
disqualified Nakagami for a minor technical
infringement, moving Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing
Team Kalex – barely a second adrift) – to second,
and promoting Swiss former 125cc World Champion
Thomas Luthi to the final podium position.

It was a great race for class rookies. Reigning
Moto3 World Champion Maverick Vinales (Pons HP 40
Kalex) followed veteran Luthi toward the front,
and claimed a debut fourth, complete grand prix
newcomer, Sam Lowes, made a sparkling debut in sixth.

Former 125cc World Champion Nico Terol (Mapfre
Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) claimed his first Moto2
win at Austin last year, and returns with the
same team hoping for a repeat. With the season
just two races old, results are even harder to
predict than usual in this volatile class.

The Moto3 class sees rival manufacturers field
entries with strictly controlled 250cc
four-stroke engines, and again the new Honda
RS250FW made a brilliant debut at Qatar, claiming
two out of three rostrum places with another
Honda fifth, in a race so close that only a
photo-finish could establish the final order.

Best of the Honda riders was Mark Marquez’s
younger brother Alex, Estrella Galicia 0,0 team,
now in his second full season, who finished
second behind race winner Jack Miller (KTM).
Saxoprint-RTG Honda rider Efren Vazquez was
third. Marquez’s team-mate Alex Rins – winner at
Austin last year – was fifth. All three are new to Honda this year.

Two more Honda riders finished in the top 15 to
open their championships: Alexis Masbou
(Ongetta-Rivacold Honda) was seventh; and John
McPhee (Saxoprint-RTG Honda) eleventh.

Last year’s inaugural Moto3 race in Texas was
red-flagged after an accident, and re-run as a
hectic five-lap sprint. Rins was the winner of
the first leg, and took victory by two tenths of
a second in the restart. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (now
on an Ongetta-AirAsia Honda) was seventh, and Masbou eighth.

The Circuit of the Americas is the first circuit
in the US designed specifically for World
Championship racing, and was completed in 2012.
COTA was inaugurated as a World Championship
venue by MotoGP last year. It offers a great
variety of challenges over the lap, starting with
a dramatic 134ft (40.2m) climb from the start to the first corner.

Top international race-track designer Hermann
Tilke had help from former 500cc World Champion
Kevin Schwantz in devising the layout, which has
sections reminiscent of a number of other
circuits. Early in the lap a continuous series of
sinuous swerves reminded riders of Britain’s
Silverstone; while a long 1.2-km (0.746-mile)
straight culminating in one of several slow
corners puts a premium on braking and
acceleration. There are 11 left-hand corners, and nine to the right.

After the race in Texas, MotoGP makes a
long-delayed return visit to Argentina, to the
new Termas del Rio Hondo circuit in the hinterland.


Honda MotoGP rider quotes


Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez says:
“Since Qatar I’ve been focusing on getting my leg
stronger and my body fitter in preparation for
the Austin race this weekend. This track is one
of my favourite tracks, I had a good race here
last year where I have good memories of taking my
first win in the MotoGP class. We’ll have to wait
and see the situation with the new rules for this
year, but anyway we will be focused on our work.
Thankfully the majority of hard turns are left
handers at this track which is easier on my leg
as I’m still not 100 percent fit.”

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:
“I’ve had a good training week at home and now
I’m looking forward to getting to Austin, to see
the team and ride at a track I like. We had a
good race there last year and we’ll have to see
how the bike works there this year. I hope to
ride well and that we are greeted by the usual
good atmosphere in America at this second visit to Austin for the Red Bull GP.”

GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista says:
“Despite suffering a fall, the entire race
weekend in Qatar was very positive, so we head to
Texas with a great optimism. Unlike last year,
when we raced there for the first time, this year
we already have some data from 2013, although
Austin still remains a complicated track in terms
of finding a good set-up. We will have to work
well if we want to find a good compromise between
the first part, characterized by many quick
changes of direction, and the slower part, where
there are three or four very tight corners. Last
season we struggled a lot, not being able to find
a good compromise, but this year we can count on
a very good package, so we are confident. The
goal is to try to stay with the fastest from the
first practice session, like we did at Losail,
then we will give our best, as always, hoping for better fortune this time.”

GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Scott Redding says:
“Riding a MotoGP bike at the Circuit of the
Americas will be very interesting. I feel very
comfortable on this track, in fact last year in
Moto2 I was really fast, setting pole position
with a 0.6s gap on everyone else. I also think
that the track could suit our bike’s
characteristics well, both in terms of handling
and of stability under braking. We will also
focus our work on the tyres, because this track
is quite demanding from this point of view, so
probably we will need to start to work more on
the hard tyre for this race, rather than the
softer option, which we used in Qatar.”

LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl says:
“I am really looking forward to the Austin race
week end. It’s a fantastic race track and I like
the atmosphere in the US. Last year it was a
great week end for me, finishing fifth, and after
our short but impressive performance at Qatar,
the expectations are high, and also the will to
be up in the front pack again. Three weeks break
was too much for me… when you lead a race for
almost nine laps and you suddenly crash, you just
want to be back racing as soon as possible. We
are strong as we demonstrated at Losail, so if we
can better manage the tyres situation, we could go for another strong result.”

Drive M7 Aspar Honda rider Nicky Hayden says:
“A home Grand Prix is always something very
special and I really look forward to getting
there, seeing all the fans that support me so
much and getting back on track. Austin is really
a great track, it is a very state-of-the-art
facility – safe, long, and wide but honestly last
year there I didn’t get on with it great and was
never able to be fast, especially in the first
half of the track. That’s got to change this year
and even though I know the acceleration off those
slow corners won’t be kind to us all the changes
of direction should suit me and this bike well.
So let’s hope we can get a result to make the home crowd proud!”

Drive M7 Aspar Honda rider Hiroshi Aoyama says:
“The result at the first race of the season was
pretty positive. Even though we had a few
problems with the bike at the start of the
weekend we found the right way forward. This is
only the second time any of us have been to COTA
so that should level things out a little amongst
the riders. I think the final part of the track,
with its flowing corners, should suit our bike
and the chassis should allow us to feel
comfortable through the tight turns. Sunday night
in Qatar was a boost for us and the objective is
to keep this going and to continue improving the
bike. I think we can take another step forward in
Austin. It is a demanding circuit from a physical
perspective so I put some extra training in last
week and even had a medical so I definitely feel ready.”

Cardion AB Motoracing Honda Karel Abraham says:
“My shoulder is recovering but still in Qatar I
was having trouble with the slow left-hand
corners, and Austin is a left-hand track, which
makes it difficult. The new bike is good. We have
to go faster, but the potential is there. Last
year I broke my collarbone at Austin, and this
year will be even harder with the shoulder injury
– but I have been working really hard in the
break to be in better condition for this race.”


Moto2 Rider quotes

Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex rider Esteve Rabat says:
“It was good to start with a win in Qatar, but
that was only the first race of what promises to
be a very long season. Now we need to focus on
Austin, then Argentina and then each race as it
comes. We need to go into every weekend with the
aim of winning. Even if it’s impossible to win
every race, this is what we need to fight for.
The Austin track is an interesting one in terms
of finding a good set up, but I’m confident my
crew will find exactly what we need from the bike
this weekend. I improved in every session last
year, eventually finishing second in the race,
and I hope we can do the same again this time
around, but maybe one place better.”

Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex rider Mika Kallio says:
“Qatar was a great way to start the season, but
now we need to carry that momentum into the
Austin weekend. We struggled a little with set up
for the Circuit of the Americas last year,
because you need to find a good compromise
between stability for the four or five hard
braking areas and the agility needed for fast
changes in direction. We didn’t manage to find
this compromise until the Saturday night last
season, so we need to focus on this during the
first free practice sessions on Friday. It would
be great to repeat the result from Qatar, with
the positions reversed of course, but I think the
other riders may well have something to say about that!”

Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Suter rider Thomas Luthi says:

I don’t have good memories of Austin. Last year I
was still trying to come back from injury and I
had to pull out after practice. This year my
conditions are a great deal different. I am
physically fit, and straight from a strong third
place at Losail. I’m looking forward to getting to know the track.


Honda Moto3 Rider quotes

Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda rider Alex Marquez says:
“Last year we struggled a bit at this circuit. We
weren’t happy with the set-up, and I did not feel
very comfortable. This year I hope it will be
better on the Honda, though I will have to be
concentrated as much as possible and give my best
in every practice session. The fact that we were
second in Qatar further motivates us to work
hard. It is a fast circuit, and also needs good
acceleration. I think our new bike can adapt
quite well, and be a favourable circuit for us.”

Saxoprint-RTG Honda rider Efren Vazquez says:
“Last year in Texas, we didn’t have a great
experience, but my first Moto3 rostrum at the
first round in Qatar has boosted my confidence. I
have more experience with the new Honda, and the
team knows how to make the bike work at its best
… so, why not? I’ll be looking for another good result.”

Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda rider Alex Rins says:
“Austin is a circuit that treated us pretty well
last year. Perhaps this season will cost us more,
as we arrived with a brand-new bike, and have to
find the set-up. Hopefully we can adapt quickly.
I think at the Circuit of the Americas the Honda
should go well; it has very good corner speed
mid-curve, it turns quite well, and it has good
acceleration – so we’ll see in Friday’s first sessions.”

Source: Honda Pro Image

Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story

Headlines