MotoGP – Lorenzo Vs Marquez: the key figures of the ultimate MotoGP duel –

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Lorenzo Vs Marquez: the key figures of the ultimate MotoGP duel

MotoGP - Lorenzo Vs Marquez: the key figures of the ultimate MotoGP duel -

This weekend in Valencia (Spain) will be the 18th and last event of the MotoGP 2013 calendar. In front of their public, the beginner Marc Marquez and the experienced Jorge Lorenzo will fight there their last battle, with the key to the 2013 world title: no excuse will be accepted for missing this final which promises to be sumptuous …

This weekend in Valencia (Spain) will be held the 18th and last round of the. In front of their public, the beginner Marc Marquez and the experienced Jorge Lorenzo will fight their last battle there, with the key to the 2013 world title: no excuse will be accepted for missing this final which promises to be sumptuous. !

The key numbers

Benefiting from a little boost from the circumstances, Jorge Lorenzo relaunched himself in the title race by winning two consecutive races: first thanks to the monumental blunder of the Marquez team, then by taking advantage of his surplus. of experience on the Motegi circuit. 

Now back to 13 points behind Marc Marquez still leader of the championship, Jorge Lorenzo can therefore hope to keep his world crown if he wins and the HRC official finishes beyond fourth place. On a regular basis, it seems complicated since Marquez is mounted (13 for Lorenzo).

Marquez is "obviously aware of what is at stake"…

"We had great races in Valence where I always tried to give the best of myself", recalls Marc Marquez: "I have excellent memories of last year’s race in Moto2 (read again, Editor’s note) but the weather will also be a factor to take into account because it is very changeable. I can’t wait to get into the box and get on the bike! We are obviously aware of the stakes of this last Grand Prix of the year, but we will approach it – as usual – like the other races, working hard from Friday and doing our best ".

"It was nice to spend a week at home after three long weeks abroad", continues the brilliant rookie: "after my fall in Motegi I did some muscle rehabilitation in the neck in preparation for the race, and now it’s much better ".

Also, the two times he did not step on the podium, it was due to a fall () and a disqualification ()…

Still, no one is safe from a small error with all this pressure: the young driver still plays the world title for his first season in the premier category, a scenario that has not happened since the coronation. by Kenny Roberts Senior in 1976! And if he is titled in Spain, Marquez will also become the youngest world champion in the highest category at just 20 years old….

The n ° 93 will therefore have to channel his ardor so as not to make a mistake on the Ricardo Tormo circuit, a more difficult and tricky route – because it is short and narrow – with a MotoGP developing more than 260 hp. Remember Valentino Rossi, who lost the title there during the …

Stoner continues testing for Honda in Sugo

Casey Stoner – the fastest but also the most active Grand Prix retiree in the world! – carried out a new round of tests on behalf of his former employer, Honda, at the Japanese circuit of Sugo. The Australian enjoyed two and a half days of perfect weather conditions, before packing up just before the onset of the rain! Stoner notably tried the 2013 and 2014 versions of the RC213V, as well as a new frame and a new engine. The former two-time world champion was accompanied by test rider Takumi Takahasi, who for his part focused on the development of the RCV1000F, the competitive version (Production Racer) of the Tokyo Reds’ MotoGP..

Stoner found "positive aspects" in the two bikes he tested, but admitted that it was difficult for him to find the feeling on the Sugo circuit because "this was our first time riding here" . Deeming this test "generally positive", the former double world champion especially appreciated having been able to ride for a long time without being interrupted by bad weather conditions..

For his part, Jorge Lorenzo will have to achieve a perfect race and take advantage of his formidable ability to escape as soon as the lights go out, then accumulate the quick loops: since the start of the season, the Yamaha official has spent 208 laps in head against "only" 82 for Marquez !

The Mallorcan will therefore put all the chances on his side to set off with a bang, starting with an attempt to win pole. The exercise will not be easy again, since Marquez started from first position on the grid eight times, twice as often as Lorenzo.

The fact remains that at the moment, the n ° 99 has one more victory than its young rival: seven against six…

Pedrosa, Rossi and Co to the rescue ?

For Lorenzo to retain the title he must win and hope that Marquez finishes beyond fourth place. This means that three pilots must stand between the Mallorcan – who must win the race – and Marquez. However, in pure speed, only Dani Pedrosa is really capable of playing the spoilsport in this duel of chefs, and one can decently think that the HRC will give him strict instructions so that he does not interfere.

Will he respect them? Very likely: anyway out of the race for the title and for the place of vice-world champion, Dani cannot take the risk of alienating the entire official Honda team by in any way spoiling the chances of ‘to be titled by his teammate. Especially not in this delicate period for him, insofar as Marquez’s talent necessarily eclipsed him in the eyes of Japanese decision-makers….

Valentino Rossi could possibly be a valuable ally for Lorenzo, especially since he has made it known on several occasions that he would be delighted to help his Yamaha teammate. The concern is that the Doctor lacks the speed to claim to be really able to give concrete form to this support: in the last eight races, the n ° 46 has only been on the podium twice. And as mentioned above, the circuit of Valence is not really among the favorites of "Vale"…

The possibility that Cal Crutchlow manages to return to the forefront in Valencia to afford a superb last stand with the M1 before moving to Ducati is also to be taken into account, which could complicate Marquez’s task … or Lorenzo !

Alvaro Bautista is not to be neglected either: in Valencia, the Honda Gresini rider will also be at home and his consistency in the Top 5 during the last races shows that he has the speed to do well. From there to being able to tease Lorenzo and Marquez in the race? Why not, given the circumstances and the stakes !

And more bitter would be the fall…

The last possibility to take into account is of course a fall of Marc Marquez: even if he has fallen only once in the race for his first season (Mugello), the rookie of Cervera has dabbled much more often than Lorenzo during practice or qualifying (15 falls against 3). A statistic that is ultimately not surprising since it starts from zero in MotoGP on each circuit !

But this fatally exposes him to a higher risk of injury than Lorenzo, even if a lucky star seems to be watching over the new MotoGP star: despite spectacular antics – including his incredible crash at over 330 km / h au -, Marquez never seriously hurt himself.

Jorge Lorenzo cannot say the same, he who broke his collarbone twice, causing his forfeit in! The two Spaniards will therefore have to make the best possible use of their exceptional talent to win the cup, but also to rely – a little – on luck….

Provisional classification of the 2013 MotoGP championship

  1. Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 318
  2. Jorge LORENZO Yamaha SPA 305
  3. Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 280
  4. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 224
  5. Cal CRUTCHLOW Yamaha GBR 188
  6. Alvaro BAUTISTA Honda SPA 160
  7. Stefan BRADL Honda GER 146
  8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 133
  9. Nicky HAYDEN Ducati USA 118
  10. Bradley SMITH Yamaha GBR 107
  11. Aleix ESPARGARO ART SPA 88
  12. Andrea IANNONE Ducati ITA 57
  13. Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 50
  14. Colin EDWARDS FTR Kawasaki USA 40
  15. Randy DE PUNIET ART FRA 36
  16. Hector BARBERA FTR SPA 31
  17. Danilo PETRUCCI Ioda-Suter ITA 24
  18. Yonny HERNANDEZ Ducati COL 21
  19. Hiroshi AOYAMA FTR JPN 13
  20. Claudio CORTI FTR Kawasaki ITA 11
  21. Ben SPIES Ducati USA 9
  22. Katsuyuki NAKASUGA Yamaha JPN 5
  23. Alex DE ANGELIS Ducati RSM 5
  24. Karel ABRAHAM ART CZE 5
  25. Michael LAVERTY PBM GBR 3
  26. Bryan STARING FTR Honda AUS 2
  27. Javier DEL AMOR FTR SPA 1

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