Rosberg wins in Spa race, Third “more than I hoped for” – Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton says finishing on the podium in the Belgian Grand Prix was more than he hoped to achieve after starting from the back of the grid.

After a grid penalty of sixty places for multiple excessive power unit component and gearbox changes left him starting on the back row, Hamilton avoided the chaos in front and picked his way through the field to claim third place.

“It’s more than what I hoped for,” said Hamilton after the race.
“I didn’t really know what to expected after yesterday with the tyres the way that they are, blistering a lot. I was thinking a top ten was going to be difficult but obviously there was a lot of commotion up front and that definitely helped. But the pace was quite good, so I definitely enjoyed it.”

Mercedes made a strategic decision to change Hamilton’s engine three times over the course of the weekend and incur multiple penalties to avoid the risk of Hamilton facing further grid drops later in the season.

“It’s been quite an unusual weekend,” said Hamilton.
“I’ve never really experienced anything like that. So much work for the guys in the garage and so easy for any of them to make a mistake and none of them did so congratulations to them and big thank you to them and all the guys back at the factory.”

With Hamilton’s team mate Nico Rosberg taking the victory at Spa, Hamilton’s lead in the drivers’ championship has been reduced to nine points, But Hamilton believes this is a good outcome given the circumstances.
“Up to now it’s kind of worked out perfectly in terms of how the last races have gone,” Hamilton said.

“A nineteen point gap was just enough going into the break and to come back here and only lose ten points – of course I never want to lose ten points but it could be a lot worse. I could’ve not finished today – there were some drivers who didn’t – and could’ve been in a much worse position.”

Memory Challenge: Circuito de Jerez

Check out who remembers the most about one of Europe’s most loved circuits

WorldSBK heads to Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain for the penultimate Round of the 2016 season, so we asked the grid what they could remember about the Andalucian track ahead of the race weekend. Who knows their stuff and who could do with a little revision? Find out in the second of our Memory Challenge specials: Jerez edition!

Schrötter to partner Cortese in Moto2™ for 2017

All-German line-up once again at Dynavolt Intact GP next season

Tags Moto2, 2016

As Moto2™’s most recent race winner Jonas Folger prepares to move up to MotoGP™ for 2017, Dynavolt Intact GP have announced compatriot Marcel Schrötter is set to join the German outfit in 2017. The German will join Sandro Cortese in the team and keep the all-German line-up intact.

Schrötter has been showing solid progress in the Moto2™ class in 2016 as he rides for the AGR Team, and will join more-experienced Cortese to create a strong line-up as the team look to take more victories after their recent first win in Brno.

Marcel Schrötter: "I am really grateful for their trust in me and for the opportunity to ride and develop my skills as part of what is in my opinion one of the best teams in Moto2. I am super excited about the new challenges ahead of me and I hope that we will be able to reach the final breakthrough as a team. Together with Dynavolt Intact GP I would like to be a regular part of the battles for future podiums and more. A huge thank you to the Intact GP team for giving me this once in a lifetime-opportunity. Before the start of our collaboration I am eager to show an improved performance during the second half of this season. On the one side I would like to leave the AGR team on a high and on the other side I would like to justify the trust that has been shown towards me. I am really looking forward to 2017."

Sandro Cortese: "I'm just happy and grateful to get another chance in the Dynavolt Intact GP despite the recent difficult season. It's nice to know that my team still believes in me. Some races were a bit unfortunate, but I believe that we still will be able to manage a good overall result. With so much bad luck, as it has happened to us this year, it can only get better. Of course it was not easy to come back after my knee injury. But we are now on the right track and the season is not over yet. I'll give everything that we can do a good second half of the season. It is important to never give up in difficult times and to go through this together. Next year we will keep pursuing our goals and I'm looking forward to it."

Folger takes faultless wet win

German takes commanding victory after taking the lead in Turn 1

 

Dynavolt Intact GP rider Jonas Folger has taken an incredible win in torrential conditions at the Automotodrom Brno, taking his first win in more than a year. Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) and Sam Lowes (Gresini Racing Moto2) completed the podium in P2 and P3 respectively, both taking a chunk out of championship leader Johann Zarco’s (Ajo Motorsport) lead as the title defender crossed the line in only eleventh place.

Folger: "I tried to pull away in the beginning"

Folger took the lead by sweeping round the outside into Turn 1, and the German was simply unstoppable for the rest of the race. With one small wobble the only drama for the German, he managed the gap to perfection to cross the line for his first win in 2016 ahead of his graduation to MotoGP™ next season.

Rins: "Happy to get more points than Zarco"

Alex Rins had a stunning turnaround in the wet on race day, as the Spaniard took a solid P2 after having struggled so much more in the dry in Brno. The ride to the podium cut the gap to title leader Zarco by 15 points, keeping the championship in the balance in the second half of the season.

Lowes: "This track is great in the rain"

Sam Lowes also benefitted from the wet in Brno, as the Brit impressed with a calm ride to complete the podium. With Zarco having such a difficult day at the office, Lowes was able to capitalize along with Rins to keep his title hopes alive.

There was drama on the final lap as Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) collided, with Cortese unable to collect his top 5 finish after an impressive ride through the field and Pasini crossing the line in fourth.

Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) had a fantastic ride into P5, as the Spaniard converted his front row start into a top five finish. Marquez, who slotted through Turn 1 impressively on the inside, fought with the front before choosing a solid finish at the flag, calm under pressure as he rebuilds his confidence with another top result. Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) made good on his nickname of “the Fish” to finish in P6, ahead of Leopard Racing’s Danny Kent in P7 after both moved up the timesheets in the wet.

Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) crossed the line in P8 after taking less risks than those that saw him crash out of contention in the wet German GP, with the second Leopard Racing machine of Miguel Oliveira crossing the line in ninth.

The man in tenth place was Anthony West (Montaze Broz Racing Team), who took his 3-year old Suter chassis from last place on the grid into the top ten -  as a wildcard – in one of the most stunning displays of the day.

Moto2™ now head to the UK for the next Round, with Silverstone ready to fire up the engines on the 4th September.

Tags Moto2, 2016, HJC HELMETS GRAND PRIX ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY, RAC, #CzechGP, Report

 

Rossi: "I wasn't as brave as Cal!"

9-time world champion goes from desperate to podium finish in chaotic Brno

A fast-charging Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) took a P2 finish in the HJC Helmets Grand Prix České republiky, coming through the field from a “desperate” P12 near the start to hone in on the front and slice through to follow winner Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) home. Rossi, who chose the harder option rear tyre but the softer option front, took some time to get up to speed before the red sectors started to appear and the veteran Italian used his superior grip to haul himself back into contention.

Valentino Rossi (P2): “At the beginning I was desperate because I thought we made a mistake. But after? Lap-by-lap the harder rear was coming better and it was a very long race. You have to stay concentrating and not making any mistakes. It was a great race and I’m very happy for these 20 points, because now I’m second in the championship and I think today we did a good job. And we made the right choice on the rear tyre. Unfortunately we didn’t choose the hard front, that was because in the morning I already didn’t have a good feeling with the soft. I wasn’t as brave as Cal.”

After the parc ferme interview, Rossi was further quizzed on the result – gaining P2 over teammate Jorge Lorenzo and moving closer to Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) in the championship – and whether he thought the 53-point mountain was on he expected to be able to climb.

“No,” was the response, with the Italian saying the goal was simply to do his best in the second half of the season and see what happened.

Tags MotoGP, 2016, HJC HELMETS GRAND PRIX ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY, RAC, Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, Reaction

 

Loris Baz and Barbera give Avintia a dream double top 5

Different strategies but similar, solid finishes see the Frenchman and Spaniard take a P4 and P5 after recent contract renewals

Avintia Racing riders Loris Baz and Hector Barbera took a fastastic double top 5 finish for the team in Brno, with two different strategies paying off for both in different ways. Baz, who went for the same hard compound front and rear tyres as eventual winner Cal Crutchlow, saw his pace improve and improve throughout the race until the former WorldSBK rider took the flag in an impressive P4. Barbera, who challenged at the front throughout the race in an impressive display of wet weather control, suffered more towards the end with the softer option tyres – as did those around him – and a mechanical problem that saw him eventually collect a P5 behind his teammate.

For Baz, who is coming back from injury, the result was a welcome injection of both points and confidence as he equalled his best MotoGP™ result from Misano in 2015. For Barbera, the top five sees him pull to within only 5 points of Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Pol Espargaro at the head of the Independent Teams’ rider championship.

Loris Baz (P4): “We had a great race and we took the right decision with the tyres. Because I weigh so much more than everybody else, I have to use harder tyres and before the race the hard rear seemed to be the right choice for me – but you never know if you’re right because you don’t know if it’s going to rain. We were getting closer and closer but we were missing a bit to be able to get further up. I think we were missing a bit of experience with this tyre, the bike was quite hard and it was difficult to overtake. I’m very happy and this is the best way to thank the team for my renewal. As well, I wanted to have a good race to dedicate it to Luis Salom.”

Hector Barbera (P5): “I’m happy because we had a great race. On lap 12 I had a mechanical problem and I was a bit limited for the further ten laps. I tried to do my best, save the tyres, try to be as smooth as possible, but at the end of the race I had some problems. Anyway, I’m happy because we’re closer every time and sooner or later a great result will come. And I want to congratulate Loris, I’m very happy for him because he’s a great guy and it’s been a tough start to the season for him.”

Tags MotoGP, 2016, HJC HELMETS GRAND PRIX ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY, RAC, Hector Barbera, Loris Baz, Avintia Racing

 

 

Lorenzo’s gamble that wasn't

Reigning champion sees comeback interrupted by a tyre problem

Both Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi had a difficult start to the Czech GP, crossing the line at the end of lap 1 much further back than their qualifying positions and both having chosen the harder option rear tyre. That seemed a mistake in the first few laps, before the rubber began to come into its own and both riders started to make a big impression on the timesheets – with Rossi eventually crossing the line in P2. Lorenzo, who was at one stage out of the points-scoring positions, also started to see his laptimes drop dramatically as the rear tyre choice began to pay off, and moved back up into the top ten on an impressive charge. Then, with seven laps to go, the reigning champion seemed to make a huge gamble – and came into pitlane to change bikes.

Going back out on his second bike, the decision seemed a wrong one as the Mallorcan then dived back into the pits a lap later to get back on his first machine. However, the lap on the second bike was to give the Movistar Yamaha team time to be able to change the front tyre on the number 1 machine - after the rubber had suffered irreparable damage. Going back out in a last dash few laps, Lorenzo unlapped himself past some key rivals, but was unable to regain the gap on the field.

Jorge Lorenzo (P17): “It‘s a big pity because I was doing a great race. I only had some difficulties stopping the bike at the beginning when there was a little bit more water, and especially with the hard tyre on the exit I didn‘t have grip. I needed to be very careful and that is why I was quite far from the top. But little by little, as the track dried, the rear became better and I started to gain confidence. Seven laps before the end the front tyre tore up so I had to change bike twice - and then finished the race on the first bike in seventeenth. Rossi was unlucky in Mugello and I was unlucky today."