Repsol Honda Team head to Assen still leading the Championship after positive test in Aragon

2013-06-25 18:44
Dani Pedrosa will arrive in Assen for this week's Dutch TT, leading the Championship after six rounds of the 2013 season. His teammate, Marc Marquez, is 3rd after another impressive podium finish in Catalunya just 9 days ago.

A favourite for the fans and for the riders, Assen is the only venue to have held a round of the Motorcycle World Championship every year since its creation in 1949. Both Repsol Honda riders have enjoyed good results in Assen with Dani taking seven podium finishes there including a victory in 2002 (125cc). Marc has a fantastic recent history at the circuit having won in 2012 (Moto2), 2011 (Moto2) and also in 2010 (125cc).

Last week, Honda Racing Corporation tested their new 2014 prototype machine in Aragon. The bike has been introduced earlier than normal due to the absence of the usual Brno post-race test after the Summer break. If the team had waited until the Misano test (16th September) it would be too late to make any big changes as a result of the feedback from factory riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez.

The test was positive and both Dani and Marc had similar comments about the 2014 RC213V, as did LCR's Stefan Bradl. As well as normal upgrades to the bike, HRC have had to target specific regulation changes such as a smaller fuel tank for 2014 (by 1 litre), in addition to other areas that the factory riders have requested be developed.

Both riders have chosen not to use this new evolution immediately, as they are happy with the current bike, leaving HRC some time to perfect the new prototype and allowing the riders to concentrate on their current programme and fight for the World Championship.

The race weekend in Assen begins on Thursday with Qualifying on Friday and the race on Saturday, as it was originally frowned upon for the race to be hosted on Sunday for religious reasons.


Dani Pedrosa Championship Standing: 1st - 123 points
"After a good race in Catalunya and an important 20 points, I still lead the Championship and I am looking forward to Assen. I won my first ever race there and have very special memories. The weather can be temperamental so I hope we get some dry track time on Friday to find a good setting! It is a good track but it's important to have a good feeling with the tyres because there are several fast corners. I hope we can keep the momentum going and do a good race"


Marc Marquez Championship Standing: 3rd - 93 points
"I had a difficult weekend in Catalunya but in the race, riding behind Dani, I was able to learn many things. The Aragon test was useful and we were able to solve some problems we've experienced in the last few races and also get to know the Honda RC213V a lot better! I know the weather in Assen can be unpredictable so it will be important to make the most of the dry track time we have. I like the circuit and I am feeling really good at the moment so it will be interesting to get there on the MotoGP machine!"


Shuhei Nakamoto HRC Executive Vice President
"The test of the RC213V 2014 prototype has been very constructive. Dani, Marc and Stefan all gave us similar comments regarding the positive and negative aspects of the new bike and these will be very important in order to proceed with the development for next season. This test has also been very useful to work with the set up of the current bike and help Dani and Marc find something they both like. The fact that they are happy with the 2013 version of the RC213V puts no pressure on us to race with the new prototype, so we will continue with its development as planned, and will be back in Europe to the test after Misano or for the one after Valencia"

Rider Statistics - Dani Pedrosa

Age 27
Racing number 26
Race machine Honda RC213V
Date of birth September 29, 1985
Birthplace Sabadell - Spain
Height 160cm
Weight 51kg
Hobbies Cycling, Music
Grand Prix debut 2001, 125cc Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka
First GP win 2002, 125cc Dutch Grand Prix, Assen
GP wins 48: 8 x 125cc, 15 x 250cc, 24 x MotoGP
GP podiums 116: 17 x 125cc, 24 x 250cc, 75 x MotoGP
GP pole positions 44: 9 x 125cc, 9 x 250cc, 26 x MotoGP
World Championships 3: 1 x 125cc (2003); 2 x 250cc (2004, 2005)
Previous results at Assen 2012 2nd (MotoGP), 2011 DNS (MotoGP), 2010 2nd (MotoGP), 2009 DNF (MotoGP), 2008 2nd (MotoGP), 2007 4th (MotoGP), 2006 3rd (MotoGP), 2005 2nd (250cc), 2004 2nd (250cc), 2003 8th (125cc), 2002 1st (125cc), 2001 DNF (125cc)

Rider Statistics - Marc Marquez

Age 20
Racing number 93
Race machine Honda RC213V
Date of birth February 17, 1993
Birthplace Lleida, (Catalonia) - Spain
Height 168cm
Weight 59kg
Hobbies Mountain Biking, Video games
Grand Prix debut 2008, 125cc Portugal GP, Estoril
First GP win 2010, 125cc Italian GP, Mugello
GP wins 27: 10 x 125cc, 16 x Moto2, 1 x MotoGP
GP podiums 44: 14 x 125cc, 25 x Moto2, 5 x MotoGP
GP pole positions 29: 14 x 125cc, 14 x Moto2, 1 x MotoGP
World Championships 2: 1 x 125cc (2010), 1 x Moto2 (2012)
Previous results at Assen 2012 1st (Moto2), 2011 1st (Moto2), 2010 1st (125cc), 2009 10th (Moto2), 2008 DNF (125cc)


Championship standings

1 Dani Pedrosa 123 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 116 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Marc Marquez 93 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Cal Crutchlow 71 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5 Valentino Rossi 60 pts ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
6 Andrea Dovizioso 59 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Nicky Hayden 45 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team
8 Stefan Bradl 41 pts GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
9 Alvaro Bautista 38 pts SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
10 Aleix Espargaro 36 pts SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar
11 Bradley Smith 34 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
12 Michele Pirro 28 pts ITA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team
13 Andrea Iannone 21 pts ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
14 Danilo Petrucci 13 pts ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
15 Hector Barbera 13 pts SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
16 Randy De Puniet 11 pts FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Test Team
17 Colin Edwards 10 pts USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
18 Ben Spies 9 pts USA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team
19 Yonny Hernandez 6 pts COL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
20 Claudio Corti 4 pts ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
21 Michael Laverty 3 pts GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
22 Bryan Staring 2 pts AUS FTR Go & Fun Honda Gresini
23 Karel Abraham 2 pts CZE ART Cardion AB Motoracing
24 Javier Del Amor 1 pts SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
25 Hiroshi Aoyama 1 pts JAP FTR Avintia Blusens
26 Lukas Pesek 0 pts CZE IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
27 Blake Young 0 pts USA APR CRT Attack Performance

Circuit information


First race 1949
GPs held 64
Laps 26
Race distance 118.430km / 73.580 miles
Track length 4.542km / 2.822 miles
Track width 10-14m
Longest straight 0.487km / 0.303 miles
Corners 18 (12 right, 6 left)
Pole position Left

TT Circuit Assen
De Haar 9
9405 TE Assen
The Netherlands
www.ttcircuit.com





Circuit records


Pole position 1m 33.713s (174.481km/h) Casey Stoner (Honda, 2012)
Race lap 1m 34.548s (172.940km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2012)
2010 Race time 41m 18.629s (171.518km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2010)
2012 Winner Casey Stoner, Honda

Source: Repsol Honda Team

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