MotoGP – Dutch Motorcycle Grand Prix: statements, rankings and analysis –

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Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Netherlands: statements, rankings and analysis

MotoGP - Dutch Motorcycle Grand Prix: statements, rankings and analysis -

After each Moto GP race, find the statements and results of the main protagonists of the premier category, with the analysis of their successes (and their failures) by Site. Debriefing of the 2011 Dutch Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Contested in cold and wet conditions, the 2011 edition of the Country Motorcycle Grand Prix will certainly not be remembered for the spectacle offered on the track … once Jorge Lorenzo has been sent into the gravel by Marco Simoncelli from the first turns, the race came down to a superb solo rider of Ben Spies who signs his first Moto GP victory with more than seven seconds ahead of Casey Stoner (read our race summaries, and).

Ben Spies, Fiat-Yamaha (2nd in qualifying and 1st in race) : "It was weird because it was a pretty easy race and in the end I got the win … I had a good feeling from the start of the race so I attacked to widen the gap. When I was three or four seconds behind Casey and he was trying to catch up with me, I still had a bit of reserve to attack more so I could have gone faster if needed.".

"I’m very happy to win here this weekend, with Yamaha’s 50th anniversary colors and a lot of people watching the race, especially great riders, and I think that added a bit of pressure".

"Now people won’t ask me "when are you going to win your first race?" I was asked this question all the time and now I will be able to focus on the development of the bike for next year and continue to race with pleasure !".

It’s heating up for Bridgestone !

Long enough to bring to their ideal operating temperature, Bridgestone slicks are regularly the object of the wrath of MotoGP riders who would like a faster start..

In Assen, the cool temperatures caused many crashes during testing (Stoner, Dovizioso) and even the withdrawal of Loris Capirossi due to a chronic lack of feeling with the front. In the race, the situation did not improve much and several drivers (Bautista, Edwards, Crutchlow and Dovizioso) did not hide their discontent: in contention for a probable Top 5, Cal Crutchlow had to go back to his box to change his front tire, while Bautista admitted that at times he had the impression of driving on ice !

After having considered modifying the tire allocation for a while, Bridgestone acknowledged that the track temperature (15 ° C lower than in 2010) disrupted the rise in temperature, but reminds that Simoncelli’s pole is only 0.2 sec from that of Lorenzo last season (1’34.718 against 1’34.515).

Site analysis : Ultra-competitive since the start of a weekend marked by the vagaries of the weather and the grumbling of some drivers about Bridgestone tires (see box opposite), Ben Spies signed his first Grand Prix victory with style..

On the attack as soon as the lights went out, the American seized the reins of the race from the first corner and then intelligently managed his substantial lead: more than seven seconds separated his Yamaha from the Honda de Stoner under the checkered flag !

Recovering his splendor since he had made some ergonomic changes on his M1, the 2009 Superbike world champion has enriched his record, which for the moment only had "only" three podiums and a pole position..

Casey Stoner, Honda-Repsol (3rd in qualifying and 2nd in race) : "We would have liked to have fought for the victory today, but I’m very happy to be on the podium after the weekend we had. We weren’t really happy with our setup yesterday and today we tried to make some changes to get a better feel. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow us to do this during the warm up and we had to run with settings that we had not confirmed.".

"After my crash yesterday, I still had some pain and started to have pain in my shoulder at the halfway point. Either way, we just didn’t have the pace to keep up with Ben. I did everything I could to catch up with him but he managed to keep his advantage and even widen the gap. I congratulate him, he had a great race! For us, the important thing was to score points"

Site analysis : Cooled down by his big bowl in free practice, Casey Stoner clearly did not tempt the devil with an RC212V with perfectible settings. Cautious (too?) At the start of the race, the Australian thus conceded seconds by handfuls to Spies before trying to join him by signing several laps under 1’35.5.

But Spies, well paneled, immediately reacted by setting the fastest lap in the race (1’35.240). Understanding that his attempt to come back was doomed to failure, the n ° 27 therefore decided to secure his second place, synonymous with big points in the championship which he now dominates with 28 lengths in advance..

Andrea Dovizioso, Honda-Repsol (5th in qualifying and 3rd race) : "I am very happy with my podium. It’s a good result for the championship and it also comes after a tough weekend. The track conditions were difficult, the weather was unpredictable when we were on the grid and the track was not completely dry. We took no risks by choosing the soft tire up front"’.

"This choice influenced my race because I was losing the front end trying to stay with Casey and I couldn’t really attack. After the race we saw that the front tires had a problem that Bridgestone will analyze".

"It was boring, but I had a good lead over Valentino so I didn’t take any chances and secured third place. Anyway this is my second podium in a row, the third so far and we have proven that we are there in the important moments".

Site analysis : If the gap between Spies and Stoner is already substantial (7.697 sec), the one separating Andrea Dovizioso from the winner is squarely a punishment: third, the Italian crossed the finish line 27.506 seconds after the Yamaha n ° 11 !

In delicacy with his front tire, "Dovi" limited the damage despite a worrying drop in pace in the last third of the race: being up to two seconds behind the leader’s times (1’38.086 against 1’36.076 for Spies in the 21st lap), the n ° 4 clearly took advantage of the falls of Lorenzo and Simoncelli to save his second podium in a row.

Admittedly, the multiple changes in weather and the relative freshness of the track undoubtedly did not facilitate the development of the demanding MotoGP. But on a circuit as well known as Assen – which has been on the world championship calendar since its creation in 1949! – how to explain that pilots and their technicians do not have enough data and experience to find a satisfactory setting ?

Valentino Rossi, Ducati (11th in qualifying and 4th in race) : "We are quite happy with this result because it is a nice improvement compared to our free practice results. It would have been even better if we had found the right direction earlier, but this is a new bike and we are discovering it. In the end, we had settings that allowed me to ride properly but I had to be careful because I hadn’t tried them".

"We were unlucky in the warm up because the rain prevented us from testing the settings. Overall, the weekend was positive because we had confirmation that this bike is better than the previous one, in many respects and in particular in terms of the rear axle which is much more stable. On the other hand, we also have to keep working hard because we are lagging behind our competitors.".

Site analysis : The Doctor and his fans expected a lot from his new GP11.1 which mixes the engine of the current GP11 with the chassis he is developing for the GP12. However, once again, the "Rossi-Ducati" tandem was hardly at ease, at least on a dry track..

Author of the seventh fastest time in the race (1’46 sec from Spies!), Rossi did not perform the miracles expected by his fans, Ducati engineers … and the sponsors of the Bologna brand! Relegated to more than 30 seconds behind the winner under the checkered flag, the Italian also took advantage of the collision between Lorenzo and Simoncelli to score big points.

Believing that the GP11.1 is not their "last option", the n ° 46 will admit however on the evening of the race to be confronted with problems to which he was not accustomed on the Japanese motorcycles,"because the Japanese have more experience".

"But I’m not saying that the people at Ducati can’t fix this kind of problem, on the contrary: there are a lot of people working with me to improve the situation.", assures the nine-time world champion…

Nicky Hayden, Ducati (9th in qualifying and 5th in race) : "The conditions were really unpredictable this weekend and that was also the case for the race. On the grid we had a set-up for the rain but we had to change everything very quickly when we saw that the track was drying out. There were a few wet areas at the start, but it went well".

"We had made a small change for the race, but nothing major. During the first two laps the tires were warming up and I had a very good feeling, but then I made two mistakes: I hit a white line and then cut the chicane. Colin walked past me but then I was able to take the suction".

"This fifth place is not a result to celebrate, but it is my best dry result since the start of the season and it also gives us fifth place overall. Congratulations to my compatriot Ben! I would have liked to be in his place, but he and his team deserved it".

Site analysis : Although he had to wait until Laguna Seca to access the new features of the Desmosedici released by Rossi at Assen, Nicky Hayden – as usual – tried to get the best out of his package.

The American is also floundering in the development of his Ducati and made two errors in the race which cost him precious seconds. More worrying however, his best time in the race – just 64 thousandths behind Rossi’s! – tends to show that the benefits offered by the GP11.1 and its new gearbox are not so far transcendent…

Moto GP 2012: Yamaha postpones the 1st official test of its M1 1000cc

While their competitors – Ducati in the lead – have already accumulated a lot of driving with their 1000 cc prototypes designed for the next Moto GP 2012 season, Yamaha managers have decided to postpone their first official test of the 2012 M1 which was to have take place at Mugello next week. Lorenzo and Spies will therefore have to wait for Brno on August 14 to discover their next bike … To be continued: on Site: stay tuned !

Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat-Yamaha (4th in qualifying and 6th in race) : "I am very disappointed because it was a race where we could aim for victory, but as you saw, Simoncelli wanted to overtake me in a very difficult place, with cold tires, and I believe that it was really not the right time"…

"He surely didn’t intend to fall or knock me down, but I think it’s serious because he’s still not aware of what he’s doing after what has happened to him, after the controversies and the harm he has done to other pilots. Apparently he doesn’t understand and learn"…

"I was able to finish sixth and score a few points. We are relatively close to Stoner but we are still 28 points behind. I believe we have to aim for race wins, we have a bike that is capable of winning right now and Ben has demonstrated that today".

Site analysis : Arrived pumped up in Assen following his crash in Great Britain, Jorge Lorenzo had the pace to win in the race, as he proved by making an impressive comeback after his crash, signing the third fastest lap in the process race.

Alas for him, he was the victim of the ardor of Marco Simoncelli and must concede a bunch of points to his rival Casey Stoner … For a little, he could thank the pilot Gresini, so much the escapades of "Super Sic" do their business at the championship !

Marco Simoncelli, Honda-Gresini (1st in qualifying and 10th in race) : "This time, we can absolutely not speak of bad luck and the truth is that I was naive … It was the first left turn, the asphalt was cold, and even though I did not have the impression of attacking excessively by passing Lorenzo, I could have avoided this maneuver because I was third and close to the two leaders. I had plenty of time, I could have waited … I lost the rear half of the turn because the tire was cold and I fell. It also caused Lorenzo’s downfall and I’m sorry for him".

"I had a very good race pace today, as I had already shown in qualifying and free practice, so I’m quite disappointed. Either way, we must keep moving forward and we will try to restore the situation in Mugello. It’s a fantastic track that I like a lot. The crowd is fantastic, there are a lot of Italian fans and I can’t wait to go !"

Site analysis : Obviously, Marco Simoncelli is not directly responsible for Lorenzo’s fall and the whole paddock is well aware of it, this is an unfortunate fact of the race.

Moreover Valentino Rossi – yet very critical of Super Sic’s attack on Pedrosa at Le Mans – immediately took his defense by specifying that the n ° 58 had "nothing exaggerated or incorrect".

Nevertheless, one cannot help but think that by dint of playing with fire, the Gresini pilot burns himself more often than in his turn, at the same time stoking the anger of his rivals … Of course, his overtaking on Lorenzo had nothing dangerous, even if he packs it down a bit at the entry of a curve, but it is rather his lack of control and recoil that annoys: by choosing to go inside in the first left turn, while the sidewall of the tire is still cold, Simoncelli knowingly took a risky option.

Randy de Puniet, Ducati-Pramac (10th in qualifying and retirement in the race) : "I am really angry with what happened today. I wanted to finish this race with a good result, but I slipped at the start of the second lap. We’re going through a negative time and we’re not getting through it"…

"Today I could have finished eighth or ninth. I’m really sorry, I apologized to the team and my teammates who work very hard for me, but today I made a big mistake and lost control of my bike. I hope Ducati will be ready to give us the best at Mugello and I will try to do my best".

Site analysis : Completely demolished after this new race ended in the gravel, Randy de Puniet seems unable to straighten the bar. With five white results in seven races, the French driver is visibly slowly being devoured by a GP11 which is not far from pushing his teammate Loris Capirossi to retire….

Next meeting this weekend at Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix which will take place on a completely resurfaced track: stay tuned !

Provisional general classification Moto GP 2011

Position-Rider-Motorcycle-Points

  • 1 Casey STONER Honda 136

  • 2 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha 108

  • 3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Honda 99

  • 4 Valentino ROSSI Ducati 81

  • 5 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati 71

  • 6 Dani PEDROSA Honda 61

  • 7 Ben SPIES Yamaha 61

  • 8 Hiroshi AOYAMA Honda 51

  • 9 Colin EDWARDS Yamaha 46

  • 10 Marco SIMONCELLI Honda 39

  • 11 Hector BARBERA Ducati 35

  • 12 Toni ELIAS Honda 34

  • 13 Karel ABRAHAM Ducati 33

  • 14 Cal CRUTCHLOW Yamaha 32

  • 15 Alvaro BAUTISTA Suzuki 27

  • 16 Loris CAPIROSSI Ducati 22

  • 17 Randy DE PUNIET Ducati 10

  • 18 John HOPKINS Suzuki 6

  • 19 Kousuke AKIYOSHI Honda 3

    • Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR

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