MotoGP – The Japanese Grand Prix 125 lap by lap –

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The Japanese Grand Prix 125 lap by lap

MotoGP - The Japanese Grand Prix 125 lap by lap -

Mistreated by his opponents for a few races, Mike di Meglio wants to react in Japan to get closer to a title that he feels within reach of his gloves. But in front of him, the Bradl, Corsi, Talmacsi and other Terols are determined to shine !

Arriving on Motegi with 25 points ahead of his rival Simone Corsi, the Toulouse driver can only mathematically be reached on equal points with three races from the end of the season. Suffice to say, that the suspense remains intact in the eighth-liter category !

Zoom on …

Nico Terol, surprise winner in Indianapolis (read lap by lap): after an unconvincing 2007 season – 22nd overall – the Jack & Jones WRB team driver has just won his first GP victory and now appears in 5th place in the general: "I have worked a lot, but I have been trusted and given a lot of support in bad times. It made me feel stronger, and here I am", says the Spanish pilot.

But n ° 63 does not bother with clever calculations and defensive strategies: annoyed by the increasingly frequent "harpooning" of his opponents – in particular Corsi -, Mike wishes to set the record straight on a route where he finished 4th in the rain in 2007 … after a fall! Recently operated on for scaphoid and visibly in terrible pain, defending champion Gabor Talmacsi proves to be weakened, but nevertheless quick and still in contention for the supreme title.

Not to mention Terol and Olive who play at the forefront from the first sessions on Friday: the task promises to be difficult for di Meglio, but that does not prevent him from taking pole position – his first in GP 125 – Saturday afternoon, ahead of Stefan Bradl, whose swift Aprilia Grizzly is reveling in the stretches and the raises imposed by the Motegi! The two men precede Nico Terol, Sandro Cortese, Gabor Talmacsi, Scott Redding, Dominique Aegerter, Pol Espargaro and Joan Olive.

Alexis Masbou and his Loncin grabbed an encouraging 22nd place on the grid – on a track where the Chinese motorcycle suffers from a severe engine deficit – while Jules Cluzel appears in 36th position, just ahead of Cyril Carrillo who continues to discover the circuits and the high level of piloting worldwide! Too bad that worrying prospects surround the participation of the team of France Honda, for 2009, which would live its last year in GP…

The race !

Departure : Mike di Meglio is the quickest to release the clutch of his Derbi, but it is indeed Nico Terol who will take the lead in this Japanese Grand Prix! The Spaniard takes Talmacsi, Bradl and di Meglio on his wheels. Big fall involving Dominique Aegerter, Pol Espargaro – who seems well sounded – and the young Marc Marquez.

Gabor Talmacsi quickly overtakes Terol, while Cortese takes advantage of a gap from "Magic Mike" to steal 4th place! The Derbi driver reacted immediately and relegated Cortese to Redding, Olive, Koyama, Rabat and de Rosa. The collective fall created significant gaps at the start of the race and the five leading men already have a considerable lead. Nico Terol takes the leadership by delaying his braking in the right that controls the tunnel.

For the second time in one lap, a huge collision occurs in the last chicane: Iannone loses the rear of her motorcycle and it flies across the track failing to cut the unfortunate Esteve Rabat in two! Hugo Van Den Berg and Jules Cluzel also bear the brunt of this spectacular accident.

2nd round : Nico Terol is the first to pass the timing unit ahead of Gabor Talmacsi who braves the pain of his scaphoid, Stefan Bradl, Mike di Meglio who comes back to the Aprilia Grizzly and Sandro Cortese a few lengths away. The Derbi n ° 63 is done with more pressure on Bradl’s bike, but it pulls out forcefully from the turns and spins at the slightest stretch of straight !

Taking advantage of his top speed and his mastery of driving, the German swerves inside Talmacsi and the brake tax, before plunging under the wheels of Terol in the looming left! # 17 is coming – once again! – to overtake two pilots in a single maneuver! Sandro Cortese took advantage of these attacks to come back ahead of Olive, Redding, Koyama, de Rosa, Corsi, Smith and Gadea.

Alexis Masbou appears in 17th position ahead of Bonsey and Nieto, while Cyril Carrillo took advantage of the numerous falls to return to 28th place ahead of Iwata, Martin, Watanabe and Muresan. Joan Olive gives everything to get back in touch with Cortese, largely sowing Scott Redding and Koyama.

3rd and 4th rounds : Stefan Bradl leads the race, containing the attacks of Terol and Talmacsi who try – in vain – to deport themselves with each hard braking! Mike di Meglio seems to take the measure of his opponents, without trying to rush, ahead of Cortese and Joan Olive who came back in contact with the group with lap records. Quick, the n ° 6 quickly takes the advantage over Cortese and is now targeting the seat backrest of Di Meglio as a brake benchmark !

Gabor Talmacsi postpones his braking to the edge of the right which determines the tunnel and the Hungarian manages to slip past Terol who resists! Mike di Meglio is under threat from a supercharged Olive, while his rival for the title, Simone Corsi quickly comes back from his poor position on the starting grid.

5th and 6th rounds : Stefan Bradl sets the pace for this Japanese race, even if just behind, Talmacsi seems faster on some sections. Nico Terol is selling his place dearly and for the moment, the Spaniard does not concede a crumb to Mike di Meglio who seems to be looking for an opportunity to pass cleanly. Joan Olive and Cortese are on the prowl in the Derbi aspiration, ready to take advantage of any gap from the leading men.

Simone Corsi gradually returns to Cortese, who has a considerable lead over Smith, Koyama, Redding and Gadea. Alexis Masbou battle closes in 18th place, only three positions from points! For his part, Mike di Meglio finally manages to get rid of Terol, at the start of a rapid left. Very keen on the change of angle, the French reunites Talmacsi in just one turn !

Joan Olive also decides to raise the tone and hoists his official Derbi to the height of Aprilia Jack and Jones of Terol: the two Spaniards do not give each other gifts in the entrance to the tunnel bend, but Olive manages to s ‘impose !

From the next turn, it’s di Meglio’s turn to perform the same attack, in the same place at a helpless Talmacsi! While his teammate Bradl prances in the lead, Robert Murausan makes a mistake in a quick right.

7th and 8th laps : Stefan Bradl drags Mike di Meglio, Gabor Talmacsi, Joan Olive, Nico Terol and Sandro Cortese in his wake, while Bradley Smith puts down Simone Corsi under braking from the pit straight. Mike and Bradl have widened a slight gap on Talmacsi: Mike di Meglio even sets the fastest lap in the race to put pressure on his rival.

Gabor Talmacsi nevertheless grits his teeth and manages to keep the gap, the Hungarian contains Olive, Terol and Cortese, while at three seconds come Smith and Corsi. Scott Redding, Tomoyoshi Koyama, Raffaele de Rosa, Sergio Gadea and Danny Webb are in battle five seconds behind.

9th round : The leading order does not change, but Talmacsi has now returned to contact with di Meglio who seems to have trouble finding the loophole in Bradl. De Rosa gets rid of Koyama in favor of an unstoppable interior. Alexis Masbou has recovered slightly and appears in 16th place. During the quick pif-paf Stefan Bradl is passed by Mike di Meglio in the left, then by Talmacsi just before the next right !

The young German tries to resist the favor of the little stretch that is looming, but the stubborn reigning world champion keeps a protective trajectory and plunges the first into the next left! Nice demonstration of piloting from the injured Hungarian, but which unfortunately did not serve long: taking advantage – once again – of the incredible top speed of his machine, Bradl tax Talmacsi and di Meglio in the straight line which leads back to the end of the route !

Whether the German can drop off two official motorcycles with such ease remains a mystery and certain that several riders must envy the talents of the mechanics of the Grizzly team !

10th round : Stefan Bradl crosses the pit straight again in the lead, ahead of Di Meglio and Talmacsi. Mike di Meglio tries to deport himself at the entrance to the first right, but his rival’s Aprilia is decidedly too swift for him to be able to attempt anything! However, the French will hold his revenge, since temporarily decentralized, Bradl widens in a left and lets pass Di Meglio and Talmacsi.

Joan Olive took the opportunity to try to get back into contact, but if his Derbi had the advantage over Cortese and Terol, he still had a few lengths to fill to take the aspiration of the leading group. Gabor Talmacsi swerves after the straight line that leads to the tunnel and passes the Derbi of "Magic Mike" from the inside! But the Hungarian was too generous in his entry speed and is forced to widen at the point of rope: Mike takes the opportunity immediately to take his place !

11th and 12th rounds : The three pilots fight hard and Bradl tries an attack at every stretch! Joan Olive returned to Bradl’s exhaust, as Cortese still features Nico Terol, a few steps ahead of the Smith / Corsi battle !

Swiss rider Bastien Chesaux suffered a huge high side at the exit of a fast right and the young man was propelled very high above his motorcycle! No.48 looks stunned, but he doesn’t appear to have hurt himself.

13th and 14th laps : In their turn, di Meglio and Talmacsi gained a slight ascendancy over Bradl who seemed slower in the winding. Joan Olive is again slightly off the hook and appears 3.5 seconds from the lead.

Stefan Bradl is forcing himself to come back and now the German is only two tenths behind the leader! The leading order can once again be completely exploded, in view of the will of the three pilots! Nico Terol manages to pass Cortese again thanks to an interior. Mike drives his bike to the limits so as not to pass the aspiration, but on his side Talmacsi can not fight and is passed in the pit straight !

15th round : Stefan Bradl seems determined to regain the leadership of the event and quickly threatens Mike di Meglio. The Frenchman once again raises the tone in the winding, to gain a lead over the German at the start of the straight lines to come! The strategy pays off, but Stefan Bradl does not give up and manages to catch up on the two long straights.

16th and 17th rounds : The three leading riders are on a different pace and Olive seems definitely let down. Terol and Cortese continue to provoke each other, as Corsi fails to pass Smith. Webb and Gadea are now back in front of Rosa.

As with each of his overtaking, Bradl takes advantage of his top speed to pass Di Meglio to the straight line braking of the tunnel: but the "Frenchie" fights and keeps the interior, while the German is forced to widen! Profiting Simone Corsi, Bradley Smith commits the irreparable and goes to the fault.

18th round : Mike di Meglio leads the race, ahead of Bradl and Talmacsi, more than three seconds ahead of Olive, Terol and Cortese. Simone Corsi has almost made the junction with Cortese and Terol: the Italian is giving everything to get valuable points in the championship! Despite lap times slightly lower than those of the French, Bradl manages to dislodge Mike with a long stretch and the German takes back first place !

19th round : The three leading men are wheel to wheel, while Joan Olive still contains Nico Terol, Sandro Cortese and Simone Corsi. Mike di Meglio tries an attack on a change of angle, but his entry speed is too high and the Toulouse driver has to widen and let Bradl continue to lead the race !

Last round : The German of the Grizzly team takes the opportunity to put on a final push and his Aprilia is now half a second ahead of Mike di Meglio’s Derbi. Joan Olive is now under threat from Terol and Cortese, while Corsi grabs meter after meter on this group of three drivers.

Stefan Bradl makes a last lap in "apnea", while Mike di Meglio understands that he will not be able to come back to the German: thinking of the championship, the Ajo pilot tries to contain Gabor Talmacsi who is much more dangerous in the ranking !

Stefan Bradl therefore won this Motegi race ahead of Mike di Meglio, Gabor Talmacsi – who holds his wrist during his lap of honor -, Joan Olive, Nico Terol, Sandro Cortese, Simone Corsi, Scott Redding, Sergio Gadea and Danny Webb. Alexis Masbou scores his first point of the season by finishing 15th, while Cyril Carrillo finishes 26th.

Mike di Meglio therefore consolidates his advantage over Corsi in the standings and the Toulouse driver now has 36 points ahead of his direct opponent. Too bad his repeated success does not directly open the doors to the 250 category: Alain Roger from Aprilia France recently explained to Site, the probable grant of an Aprilia LE – model of the previous year – to Mike in 2009, which means – unlike a factory motorcycle – that the rider and the team have to find significant funds to rent the motorcycles. Let’s hope for our frenchie that the situation evolves favorably – why not with another brand? -, as it seems obvious that n ° 63 no longer has much to prove in 125…

They are explained:

Stefan Bradl (1st) : "My season just keeps getting better. I’ve been on the podium four times in the last five races, it’s really perfect. I’m happy because the bike worked really well and I performed well all weekend. I found good set-up during practice and I was very comfortable on the bike during the race. Thanks to my team, because I’m very happy with them and Aprilia. It was a tough race and I was ready to fight".

Mike di Meglio (2nd) : "Stefan was very quick on the last lap, and I made a small mistake on the second to last. I’m happy because the last two races went well and I took some important points for the championship. It’s nice to be back on the podium, I will be able to enjoy it a little more".

Gabor Talmacsi (3rd) : "The race was very, very painful. I’m happy with my result, but my wrist hurts so much that I can’t smile. I want to thank the doctors for the operation and all the work they have done. Yesterday I was thinking of quitting before the race but they worked a lot and I felt my hand was better. I couldn’t overtake because of my wrist"

Cyril Carrillo (26th) : "It was a difficult race and on such a technical circuit, I find it difficult to progress. I lack very high level driving and I still have a lot of work to do. However, I got off to a decent start but I did not manage to stay in a good group and I found myself all alone. However, I really forced the bike. I had a better feeling than during practice, but the effort I made did not translate into a gradual improvement in the lap times over the laps."

Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR and F. KIRN

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