MotoGP – Valencia Motorcycle Grand Prix: statements, rankings and analyzes –

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Valencia Motorcycle Grand Prix: statements, rankings and analyzes

MotoGP - Valencia Motorcycle Grand Prix: statements, rankings and analyzes -

After each Moto GP race, find the statements and results of the main protagonists of the premier category, as well as the analysis of their successes (and their failures) by the editorial staff of Site. Debriefing of the 2011 Valencia GP.

Spiced up by a capricious weather, the last Grands Prix of the 2011 season on the circuit of Valence devoted and. For his part, Casey Stoner signed his tenth victory with the RC212V in !

Full of emotions, this 2011 Valencia Grand Prix was also an opportunity to pay a final and noisy tribute to Marco Simoncelli, the Honda-Gresini rider who was on the rise in his 24th year during the Malaysian GP held on 23 October (read)…

Casey Stoner, Honda-Repsol (1st in qualifying and 1st in race) : "My heart was beating fast! We had done a great job throughout the race and then it started to rain quite hard. Being the first to arrive in the wet areas, I wasn’t sure how far I could push and slowed down to make sure I finished the race.".

"If the others caught up with me, I thought I could stay ahead. However, I made a small mistake at the end of the second straight, I came to a standstill instead of putting the first one, and Ben passed in front. I tried to stay with him but he was going very fast, he was very fluid and he looked confident despite the conditions, more than me anyway. He got a bit ahead of the first part of the last lap, but I knew we were strong on the second".

"I told myself that we hadn’t taken any chances this season so now was the time to see what we could do. I knew I had a better line to get out of the last corner and I kept my head in the handlebars until the line. It was amazing to win right on the line, I’ve lost like that in the past but I’ve never won that way! I’m sorry for Ben, he had a great race, and I thank my team for all the hard work this year."

Site analysis : For his first campaign in the official Honda-HRC team, Casey Stoner had a season close to perfect. 2011 Moto GP world champion with 10 wins, 16 podiums out of 17 contested races and 12 pole positions (the new 4-stroke record), the Australian proved to be an unbeatable "Caseyment".

Winner of the first Grand Prix 2011 in Qatar, the future dad (the birth of his wife Adriana is scheduled for February) put all his aggressiveness to win the last race this weekend in Valencia, proving if need be that he knew find the necessary resources to bounce back.

Worried by the return of the rain at the end of the Grand Prix, the HRC official surrendered a few laps from the finish, thinking he could manage his colossal lead (more than 10 seconds!) Over his rivals. Passed by a Ben Spies in great shape, Stoner finally beat the American on the edge at the cost of a better negotiated re-acceleration in the final curve.

A superb maneuver, almost as intense as the crazy exterior performed on his deserving rival Jorge Lorenzo at Laguna Seca! At only 26 years old, Stoner has thus definitely established his place among the greatest champions, and will remain as the holder of the first and last Moto GP coronation in 800 cc..

Statistics addicts will also note with interest that Stoner (pictured opposite with Bradl and Terol) scored more points in 2007 with Ducati (367) than this year with Honda (350), to whom he offered his first and unique title in 800 cc.

However, fans of the little smiling Australian driver will not fail to point out that without the "ball" of a certain Valentino Rossi at Jerez, Stoner’s counter would probably have counted one more podium (or even one victory). !

But to tell the truth, the Aussie makes fun of his arithmetic considerations as a bad idea: the important thing is above all to have demonstrated to all the extent of his talent, a talent that some had tended to minimize in 2007 in constantly emphasizing the mechanical superiority of its Desmosedici…

Ben Spies, Fiat-Yamaha (3rd in qualifying and 2nd in race) : "The conditions were very harsh today. In the rain, it was hard to judge where you could attack and you had to concentrate not to make mistakes. We were able to follow Dani and Dovi then walk past them, then past Casey when he made his little mistake".

"When there is no one in front, you can’t tell how slippery the track is and so it was hard to judge how fast I could go on the last lap. When we got to the last corner, Casey peeled paint off my bike as we walked past! I’m still happy, we launched a good assault at the end of the race and we finished well. Given the month we had before that, it was a nice ending".

"We will focus on the test and try to have the best possible level for next year. Many thanks to Yamaha and my team for providing me with a great bike today. This morning we all set off on the track to make some noise and say goodbye to Marco, I’m sure he heard us and I know he would have liked it !".

Site analysis : Poor Ben Spies: the American held it with the tips of his gloves, his second Moto GP victory! He probably even felt the taste of champagne in his mouth when he straightened his M1 to tackle the finish straight….

Unfortunately, the Yamaha official fell into the trap hastily set by Stoner in the last loops: preferring to slow down rather than stick to one while the rain increased in intensity, the defending champion then wisely followed Spies. … before going over it under the checkered flag for only 15 thousandths !

A handsome player, the Texan will admit having procrastinated too much on the conduct to be taken once at the head of the race, a hesitation which costs him the victory. In the absence of Jorge Lorenzo (forfeit in Valencia due to injury), the No. 11 nonetheless carried the colors of Yamaha very high. Sure that Spies employers will fully appreciate his performance, after a season that was ultimately less impressive than expected (5th overall with one victory and four podiums).

Andrea Dovizioso, Honda-Repsol (8th in qualifying and 3rd in race) : "I’m very happy to take third place in the championship, it’s a great accomplishment resulting from a lot of work throughout the year. Before we got here we knew it was going to be hard to stay in front of Dani because he’s still very strong here".

"Dani had also been faster than me throughout the weekend and I had to prepare a strategy to beat him. I had the soft tire up front so I knew I couldn’t push hard for 30 laps. I tried to brake him when I was in front and had to attack every time he passed me. It was a great battle and with the rain coming seven or eight laps from the end, I wanted to keep attacking to play for the win because I’m good in the tough conditions.".

"The third place in the championship was however too important for me to take any more risks. Thank you to my team for these three years spent together, I am very happy to end my career at Honda by being third in the championship, it is my best result in MotoGP. On the last lap, I thought of Marco and in the end I succeeded on a track where I had always been in difficulty. Marco helped me in this challenge, ciao Marco !"

Site analysis : Expelled from the official Honda team in 2012, Andrea Dovizioso had set himself a specific goal when arriving in Valencia: to beat his teammate Dani Pedrosa at all costs to keep his flattering third place in the general classification !

Mission accomplished for "Dovi", who in the process had his best Moto GP race and the fastest lap (1’34.167) ahead of Pedrosa (1’34.214) and Stoner (1’34.259). For the first time this season, the Italian has proven that he is able to really give the answer to his talented teammates … even if the "steamroller Stoner" still stuck a block on the first towers !

Forced to find refuge in the Yamaha Tech 3 satellite team in 2012, the 2004 125 cc world champion left the Honda fold after no less than ten seasons with the first manufacturer (from 2002 to 2011).

Let’s hope that the regular transalpine (16 finishes in the Top 5 including 7 podiums in 17 contested Grands Prix!) Will be done quickly at the YZR-M1 of 1000 cc next season, and that the more convivial atmosphere of the structure of Herve Poncharal helps him take the tiny step that separates him from his second victory in the premier class.

Dani Pedrosa, Honda-Repsol (2nd in qualifying and 5th in race) : "It was not an easy race. I did my best, but I didn’t have a very good feeling on the bike. I was a bit stiff and didn’t ride very well. At the end of the race there was more water on the track and I had as much trouble as in Australia. In the future I will have to work on this".

"I fought well with Andrea and in the last laps I lost to Cal Crutchlow, but I couldn’t do more. Andrea and I had the soft tire up front and maybe we struggled a bit more than Ben and Cal who had the hard tire, but that’s no excuse".

"Now I’m going to think about next year and the test we have on Tuesday. It’s been a tough year, but we will try to keep the positive points and approach 2012 with optimism."

Site analysis : After already six seasons spent racing – in vain – after the supreme title within the most capped team of the Moto GP, Dani Pedrosa suffers the affront of seeing Stoner crown the crown on his first attempt with the Honda-Repsol. .. What to have "las bolas" for the little Catalan, whose dreams of glory have once again vanished because of an injury.

Pugnaceous and revengeful, Alberto Puig’s protege nevertheless managed to console himself by making a fabulous comeback following his broken collarbone in France. Winner in Germany and third at Laguna Seca, the n ° 26 then gave the impression of being able to play for the win in each race, and thus prove that his speed had nothing to envy that of Stoner..

Alas, "Pedro" stupidly tripped over the carpet in the Czech Republic and then only climbed to the top of the podium once in Japan, before going on two dull races in Australia (4th ) and at home in Valence (5th).

Beaten by Dovizioso this weekend at the end of a breathtaking battle, Dani Pedrosa absolutely needs to show more consistency, both in difficult conditions and over the duration of a season, to win the world title. And if luck could smile a little more on him, it is obvious that the task of the gifted Spanish would be greatly simplified. !

Loris Capirossi, Ducati-Pramac (12th in qualifying and 9th in race) : "What can I say ? Now it’s really over. The race was complicated by the rain and I couldn’t push on the last laps because I would have risked a crash. I wanted to end my career by paying tribute to Marco. I did my best. Thanks to everyone who supported me. Now i’m going on retreat"…

Site analysis : For his very last race in Grand Prix, Loris Capirossi unfortunately did not have any sparks. The famous n ° 65 hangs up the leather after another mixed season, with the best results three modest ninth places (Catalonia, Australia and Valencia)…

Seventeenth and last rider in the general classification, "Capi-T-Rex" is poorly rewarded for his efforts with the capricious Ducati. Because if at 38 years old the old lion naturally roared a little less loudly, and that after 22 seasons and 328 Grand Prix starts (!) He no longer had the speed and impetuosity of a young wolf, his commitment and his passion had nevertheless remained the same as when he began in 1990.

For that alone, this great gentleman of motorcycle sport would have deserved to see his last wish fulfilled: to climb to his 100th podium in the Grand Prix, a goal after which he was chasing from his third place with the Suzuki at the Grand Prix de Republique. Czech 2008.

Obviously moved after the race – especially since he was racing with the No. 58 in homage to Simoncelli – the three-time world champion left the Moto GP with his head held high and full of beautiful memories. "Capi" will now enjoy a well-deserved retirement with his wife Ingrid and his son Ricardo (4 years) in his Monegasque residence. Ciao Loris !

Valentino Rossi, Ducati (6th in qualifying and in the race) : "I don’t have much to say about today, other than that I’m sorry I couldn’t put on Sic’s t-shirt (discovered during the ceremony after the warm up, Editor’s note) for the lap of honor. It’s a shame. I got off to a good start and the conditions were going to allow us to have a good race".

"We had no luck, nor a point. We end the season tied with Sic, he is just ahead of me in the standings. I guess that’s my tribute to him !"

Site analysis : Always more at ease in the wet with the Ducati, Valentino Rossi thought he would be able to pay tribute to his friend Marco by showing off his helmet and his t-shirt in the colors of the late n ° 58 on the podium in Valencia.

Alas, it seems written that the genius of the Alpine pastures will drink his chalice to the dregs! Unwittingly involved in a collective fall from the first round, he ended his catastrophic first season with the Reds flat on his stomach: quite a symbol…

Relegated to seventh overall on equal points with "Super Sic" (his worst place in the premier class), the Doctor has never been able to cure the ailments of his stormy GP11, despite 18 "consultations" and several important "operations"…

Following the prescriptions of the nine-time world champion, Ducati has thus achieved the feat of significantly overhauling the Desmosedici on no less than two occasions: the first time by adapting the 800 cc engine to the chassis of the 2012 1000 cc ( the "GP11.1") and a second time by swapping the carbon of the front subframe for aluminum.

All without significant improvement since, on a regular basis, the n ° 46 has never once been able to worry its rivals. For the first time in his exceptional career which began in 1996, "Vale" has not won any victory and his 2011 record has only one podium at Le Mans….

Suffice to say that the Tavullia prodigy has high expectations for the 2012 Ducati, which will compete for the first time against its rivals next Tuesday and Wednesday in Valencia during the first official offseason tests !

Nicky Hayden, Ducati (7th in qualifying and retirement in the race) : "I felt that some pilots were coming inside very quickly in turn 1. Then something happened and it had the domino effect, the race was over from the first corner. I’m fine, even though my hand hurts a little".

"Too bad. One of the great things about our bike is that it warms the tires up pretty quickly and that’s important on a cold and wet track like the one we had today. The bike was already behaving very well during the warm-up. It’s easy to say now, but I think we could have fought very well today"

Site analysis : With the arrival of Rossi at his side, Hayden no doubt imagined that the Desmosedici would quickly go straight and that he could find his way back to the podiums. The least we can say is that the American must have quickly become disillusioned…

Finally even more in difficulty with the GP11 than with the GP10, the Kentucky Kid ends the season less well classified than the previous one (8th in 2011, 7th in 2010) and his record is 31 points less (132 against 163).

However, the 2006 world champion has never (publicly) given up and continues to believe in a better tomorrow: brought up at the Dirt Track school, Nicky indeed sees a very positive response to the return to the liter of displacement. on the 2012 Moto GP, more powerful and above all more torquey machines whose kicks will have to be mastered with an expert hand.

Still, managing the exits of curves with the manner, it is good, but to strike a pendulum still it is necessary that the Ducati 2012 be shown less surly in entering of curves and not as unpredictable at the point of chord as the GP11 !

Randy de Puniet, Ducati-Pramac (4th in qualifying and retirement in the race) : "I am angry, very upset and hugely disappointed. I was really unlucky this year. Bautista’s fall caused mine and two other falls. I was convinced that I could have a very good race. I wanted to end the season in the best possible way. Apart from that, it has been a pleasure to be Capirex’s teammate for his last season.".

Site analysis : Fourth on the starting grid, Randy was at ease both in the wet and in the dry in Valence. Under these conditions, the Frenchman could legitimately claim a good race, or even finish at the edge of the leaders..

But the resident of Andorra was once again unlucky … as usual, would one be tempted to write as it is true that n ° 14 always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time! Trained by the "strike" of Bautista, the Pramac driver leaves Valencia with a new white result, the sixth in a season he finished 16th and penultimate titular driver.

Currently in negotiations with Suzuki and Honda-LCR to try to keep a Moto GP handlebars in 2012, Randy de Puniet also broke his teeth on the Ducati, a motorcycle he was eager to try at the end of 2010. Sure that at the moment, the n ° 14 must rather dream of rediscovering the relative "docility" of a Honda, but also the professionalism of a team like that of Lucio Cecchinello….

Alvaro Bautista, Suzuki (5th in qualifying and retirement in the race) : "Andrea unfortunately hit my front wheel with his rear tire and I couldn’t do anything to avoid the fall. The worst part is that I hit three other pilots who also fell. I am sorry for them but also for the teams and the fans. It’s been a tough year, it started badly when I broke my left femur and despite all our work – especially in the middle of the season, when I was physically and mentally well – we didn’t have a lot of good results".

"I have been more and more confident on the bike this season and we have done a great job. Thanks to Suzuki and my team for everything they did, they were 100% in every race and everyone was able to witness our progress. Thanks to everyone who supported me and who were behind Suzuki in 2011. Now we will see what awaits us for next year.".

Site analysis : Also very lively in Valencia (best time in), Alvaro Bautista could see himself slamming a podium for the last Grand Prix of the season! In reality, failing to "break the house", the Iberian broke his Suzuki from the first corner … but also the Ducatis of Rossi, Hayden and De Puniet !

Sorry for the incident and undoubtedly a bit annoyed, n ° 19 did not hesitate to designate Dovizioso as responsible for his "dumpling" … while the latter has absolutely nothing to do with it insofar as he was in front of the Suzuki at the time of the collision !

Let’s move on to this inglorious episode to only remember the excellent end of the season for Hamamatsu’s only rider: if he did not win a podium in 2011, Bautista scrapped several times with official motorcycles and signed a nice 5th place in Great Britain as well as two promising 6th places in Indianapolis and Aragon.

Tired of waiting for Suzuki’s intentions – which is slow to confirm its commitment to Moto GP in 2012 – the 2006 125 cc world champion has approached the Honda-LCR team in order to drive an RC213V next season. This same Honda-LRC team has just announced that the Moto 2 world champion, Stefan Bradl, will test – exceptionally – the Honda 2012 during the tests scheduled for this week in Valence..

"In agreement of course with Honda and our partners, we will take a final decision in the days to come as to the driver who will wear the colors of the LCR team in 2012. In the meantime, we have responded favorably to the request of the HRC to put our structure and our RC212V at Stefan Bradl’s disposal so that he can ride a MotoGP during a day of testing", said this morning Lucio Cecchinello, the Honda-LCR team manager.

General classification of the 2011 Moto GP World Championship

  1. Casey STONER AUS 350
  2. Jorge LORENZO SPA 260
  3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA 228
  4. Dani PEDROSA SPA 219
  5. Ben SPIES USA 176
  6. Marco SIMONCELLI ITA 139
  7. Valentino ROSSI ITA 139
  8. Nicky HAYDEN USA 132
  9. Colin EDWARDS USA 109
  10. Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN 98
  11. Hector BARBERA SPA 82
  12. Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR 70
  13. Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA 67
  14. Karel ABRAHAM CZE 64
  15. Toni ELIAS SPA 61
  16. Randy DE PUNIET FRA 49
  17. Loris CAPIROSSI ITA 43
  18. Katsuyuki NAKASUGA JPN 10
  19. Josh HAYES USA 9
  20. Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN 7
  21. John HOPKINS USA 6
  22. Shinichi ITO JPN 3

Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR

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