300th GP for Rossi this weekend

Moto GP 2014

maddix park mx

www.motorcycle-usa.com  By Byron Wilson

MotoGP Mugello Saturday Qualifying Results 2014

 

In conditions much improved over the previous day, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez scored his sixth consecutive pole position of the 2014 MotoGP season at Mugello. Joining the defending champion on the front row of the grid are Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone and Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo in second and third, respectively.



From his first flying lap on, Marquez commanded the top-spot on the timesheet. Late in the session his lap time approached the pole record set by teammate Dani Pedrosa during last year’s stop at the Italian circuit, but never bettered it. Pedrosa, on the other hand, struggled with suspension issues early in Q2 and was forced to make adjustments mid-session. After the fix he was able to push up to fourth on the grid.

Tech 3 Yamaha’s Pol Espargaro finished in fifth, a fortunate outcome for the Spaniard following a late session crash on an out lap that left him unable to push for a better result.

“I am pretty happy with P5 but at the same time I think we were a little lucky that nobody beat my lap time after I fell off,” explained Espargaro. “With regards to fall it was a rookie crash as I was too keen to get going and ride fast a bit too fast on the new tires which were cold. I pushed a little to warm them up but then fell at the fast corner.”

Ducati’s Cal Crutchlow rounds out the second row in sixth. Espargaro’s teammate, Bradley Smith, finished in seventh ahead of Crutchlow’s teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, in eighth. LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl took ninth-place followed by local hero Valentino Rossi of Movistar Yamaha in 10th. Rossi’s disappointing grid position comes as a result of a mid-session pit decision which cost him valuable time and negatively affected the feel of his machine.

“We made a big mistake in the qualifying, we decided to change the front tire at the same time as the second rear. It was the wrong decision, I felt really bad with the softer front and I was unable to improve my lap time. It's a great shame, because I had a good potential and could have started on the front, my pace is good and I feel good with the bike, but it’s like this.”

American rider Nicky Hayden of Drive M7 Aspar decided before the start of morning practice on Saturday to withdraw from the round due to wrist pain and swelling. Hayden is scheduled to undergo surgery two days after the Mugello Grand Prix. 

“My wrist isn't getting any better so as hard a decision as it is to take the best thing for me is to listen to the doctors and skip this race,” said Hayden. “We need to stop thinking about riding and start thinking about a plan for the operation next week and my subsequent recovery. Mugello is a fast and physical circuit at the best of times but with the pain and loss of strength in my right hand it was getting really difficult to brake properly and it was risky to continue.”

MotoGP Mugello Qualifying Results 2014 
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1’47.270 
2. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1’47.450 
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’47.521 
4. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’47.584 
5. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1’47.612 
6. Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) 1’47.659 
7. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 1’47.681 
8. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1’47.754 
9. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1’47.765 
10. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’47.791 
MotoGP Mugello Friday Results 2014

MotoGP Mugello Friday Free Practice Results 2014

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez finished fastest in Free Practice at Mugello, Round 6 of the 2014 MotoGP season. The defending world champion was followed by Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi in second, who celebrates his 300th Grand Prix this weekend at the Italian circuit. Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone ended in third position.



The day started under ominous conditions, with heavy cloud cover threatening rain during the morning session. Riders were able to complete a full 45 minutes on track in the dry in FP1, however by the afternoon the skies opened up enough to dissuade most from turning laps in FP2. Only four competitors ventured out during the second session: Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, Drive M7 Aspar’s Nicky Hayden, Go & Fun Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista and Hayden’s teammate, Hiroshi Aoyama. None remained in action for long though, with just nine full laps completed collectively in FP2.

Marquez was quickly comfortable on the Italian track this time around, the site of his only DNF due to a crash during a stellar rookie season in 2013.

"Today was a really good day, I began with a few questions on my mind after last year –when this track was one of those that I found most difficult– and I saw that things have changed completely after a year of experience,” explained Marquez. “The morning went well and the feeling was good, but in the afternoon we didn't go out as it was raining on-and-off and the surface was neither fit for dry riding nor wet tires. I felt very comfortable on the bike, there was a big difference compared to last year and I'm feeling much better about things and we hope to continue improving.”

Rossi ended three-tenths adrift of Marquez’s best time, and is looking to notch a 10th career win at his home circuit on Sunday. The Doctor also sported a special message on his leathers during practice, which read “#thisisforSIC58,” in memory of the late Marco Simoncelli, who was honored as a MotoGP Legend after FP1.

Iannone slipped into the number three spot on his final fast lap of the morning, followed by Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso in fourth. Rossi’s teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, paced fifth-fastest. The Mallorcan has won the past three years at Mugello and will be focused on improving the feel of his machine on Saturday in order to contend for a fourth consecutive win.

NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro finished in sixth followed by LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl in seventh. Dovi’s teammate, Cal Crutchlow, paced eighth-fastest trailed by Bautista and Tech 3 Yamaha’s Bradley Smith in ninth and 10th, respectively. 

Smith’s teammate, Pol Espargaro, had a difficult opening day at Mugello, crashing mid-way through FP1. He opted out of any laps in FP2, having never ridden a MotoGP machine in the wet before, deciding instead to “undertake a brief technical check to discover the behavior of the steel brakes,” according to a Tech 3 team press release. Bautista suffered an off as well just before the end of the opening session, coming off his bike at Bucine. According to Bautista, the incident was caused because of Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham, who was rolling through the corner too slowly, forcing Bautista to “lean the bike a lot to avoid touching him, and as a result I lost grip and crashed.”

Finally, IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci, who had planned his return to action at Mugello, was declared unfit for competition and will miss another round owing to a fractured left wrist he sustained at Jerez. 

MotoGP Mugello Friday Results 2014 
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1’48.004 
2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’48.386 
3. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1’48.434 
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1’48.518 
5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’48.665 
6. Aleix Espargaro (Forward-Yamaha) 1’48.743 
7. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1’48.925 
8. Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) 1’48.980 
9. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) 1’49.030 
10. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 1’49.030 
11. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’49.203 
12. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1’49.308 
13. Colin Edwards (Forward-Yamaha) 1’49.818 
14. Michele Pirro (Ducati) 1’50.030 
15. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) 1’50.143 
16. Yonny Hernandez (Ducati) 1’50.189 
17. Karel Abraham (Honda) 1’50.327 
18. Scott Redding (Honda) 1’50.440 
19. Hector Barbera (Avintia) 1’51.369 
20. Mike di Meglio (Avintia) 1’52.164 
21. Michael Laverty (PBM) 1’52.748 
22. Broc Parkes (PBM) 1’53.775 
23. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’55.369 
 
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