Circuit Info
Length: 4.801 m / 2.983 miles
Width: 15m
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 8
Longest straight: 762 m / 0.473 miles
Constructed: 1997
Modified: 1997
Race Length: 24 laps - 115.2 km - 71.6 miles
Weather courtesy of Weather.com
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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| 76°F/57°F CHANCE OF RAIN: 10% WIND: SSW at 8 mph | 71°/54° CHANCE OF RAIN: 0% WIND: E at 9 mph | 68°/56° CHANCE OF RAIN: 0% WIND: ESE at 7 mph |
Picking Up the Pieces
Movistar Yamaha
Jorge Lorenzo #99
Ladies and gentlemen please welcome to the stage your latest race winner for 2014.... Jorge Lorenzo!
It's been a long time coming, and the road has been close to miserable for the former world champion. Yet his performance at the start of the season is light years away from what we witnessed at Aragon. It is hard to reconcile the brash, near rookie mistakes of pushing the front too hard at the most notorious corner at Qatar with the poise and control that he displayed at the last outing; or rocketing to the first corner in Austin while the rest of the field was seemingly still gridding up, with the masterful decision to pit early for wets before the deluge came. Whatever came before, Lorenzo has shown that he can be every bit a masterful tactician when under pressure. Credit should be given here for one of the unique rules for moto-racing, that leaves the decision on whether to enter the pits in the riders' hands. It creates a spectacle all its own, and an air of tension as the viewers - with access to so much more information - are forced to watch the race play out. On track, with limited access to data about his competitors or the weather, Lorenzo had to read the situation like braille to assess whether and when to come. He wasn't the first to do so, but he managed it at just the right time to secure the win. Claiming the top step will be just the boost that Lorenzo's confidence needs, and with his sterling record here at Motegi he will be a force to be reckoned with. However Lorenzo doesn't usually get pushy during races, and the front has gotten progressively more physical of late. With a dry race predicted Lorenzo may need to put on his boxing gloves and be prepared to stick and move if he hopes for a repeat performance.
Key to success: Setup! The Honda can be quite tricky to setup and the chance of rain on Friday may put team Repsol a step behind. If Lorenzo's side of the garage can get a jump on making the bike work he might stand a chance at a repeat.
2013 - Yamaha Factory: 1st
2012 - Yamaha Factory: 2nd
2011 - Yamaha Factory: 2nd
Valentino Rossi #46
On the other side of the garage, Valentino Rossi didn't fare quite so well. Unless you count his uncanny ability to avoid serious injury - in which case he fared very well indeed. With all of the accolades and records that he has set in his career (including another one with his win at San Marino) one of the most remarkable facets about Rossi is that he has quite simply avoided being hurt. It's not that he doesn't crash; Aragon showed that he hits the dirt just like any other rider. The difference is that in Rossi's case the damage is typically minimal compared to what it could have been. When Rossi went off track there was an expectation that bad things were going to happen. When he hit the astro-turf (on a motorcycle course? in the rain?) there was a collective groan from the motorcycling world. When his erstwhile M1 came hurtling toward his skull.... For all the hoopla made about how light and flickable a MotoGP machine it was suddenly easy to remember in those moments that it is actually a several hundred pound ballistic missile anchored to the ground by the will of the pilot. By the time the dust settled Rossi was back on his feetly, mostly. Some of the best medical treatment took a look on the inside and other then a headache from potentially losing consciousness and a concussion Rossi is apparently back to being 100%. This is good, because he'll need every performance advantage that he can muster. Rossi doesn't have the best record at this track compared to his rivals this year, his last podium coming aboard the Fiat Yamaha he rode in 2010 where he beat Lorenzo for 3rd, and they will all be gunning to keep him off the podium.
Key to success: Consistency. Rossi's team has proven that they can get the bike tuned to his needs this year. As late as Aragon, despite a slow start due to setup issues, the team reinstated the Rossi trademark of "finding something" by race day. However Rossi cannot afford to make the same mistakes that he made last time out. If he can find the speed early to get to the front, he can't be so involved in the brawl that he gets shoved off track and out of the race.
2013 - Yamaha Factory: 6th
2012 - Ducati Factory: 7th
2011 - Ducati Factory: DNF
Ducati Factory
Cal Crutchlow #35
"Yeah baby! Still got it!"
There is little doubt about the nature of what Crutchlow was shouting in his helmet, though knowing the outspoken Brit there is no denying that the content was undoubtedly substantially more colorful. If Lorenzo has had a hard year with Yamaha, Crutchlow's season has been absolutely disastrous aboard Ducati's GP14. So badly in fact that he jumped at the first chance, a late night offer for a satellite Honda that rumor has it came after the deadline to opt out of Ducati for 2015 expired. To their credit Ducati still allowed Crutchlow to depart at the end of 2014, with (public) well wishes for services rendered. As expected however, and as always happens in any garage, Crutchlow became Cinderella and he certainly wasn't going to the ball. While his stablemates got all the shiny new toys fresh from Dal'Igna's workshop Crutchlow contented himself with the near obsolete GP14.01. So it came as quite a shock when the spray settled and Crutchlow was the last man standing with both GP14.02 prototypes down. Then to add insult to injury Crutchlow had the nerve, the sheer moxie, to put the old bike on the box while the new one couldn't even finish. Cheeky sod! Cinderalla not only got to the ball, but had her big reveal and made out with the prince right there on the dance floor in one fell swoop. With a dry race predicted for Sunday's race we could see a return of the status quo amidst the Ducati garage, however Crutchlow may have learned something from wrestling the red machine around in less than ideal conditions. Challenging the evil stepsisters may be a bit of an ask, but he might get to slip out of the cottage again.
Key to success: Weather. Crutchlow did extremely well in the wet, beating both teammates to the finish (easy to do when they hitchhiked back to the pits) and most of the field to the podium. Though Sunday is predicted to be dry, there is a chance for rain at least on Friday that may just hold over for the weekend. Even if it doesn't, temperatures for the weekend will be brisk enough that grip may just be a problem. This may just give the wet weather riders an edge when the flag drops.
2013 - Tech 3 Yamaha: 7th
2012 - Tech 3 Yamaha: DNF
2011 - Tech 3 Yamaha: 11th
Andrea Dovizioso #4
<explitive deleted>
I'll just go ahead and save your tender ears from what Dovi probably said when the world went sideways and he tossed the second of 2 GP14.02 prototypes down the road. The Italian rider hadn't really gotten along well with the latest prototype on delivery, calling it a potentially mild improvement over the previous iteration and claiming that he needed more time to understand it. In contrast Andrea Iannone gave it a much warmer review, and then took it to the head of the race when the lights went green. It could have been quite the spectacle if the race stayed dry, or if the track owners had opted for natural grass instead of astro turf, or if Iannone had held back just a little, or.... Whatever the case Iannone bit the dust and Dovi was left holding the bag for Ducati's latest greatest hope. Then he had an oopsie moment and he too was out. We'll chalk that up to wet weather willies, and keep an eye out for what Dovi can do with the new bike on Sunday. Iannone may not be his teammate, yet, but there is still a huge amount of drive to beat the only other man on the new prototype. Iannone had it running up front before he hit the eject button, so much will be expected of Dovi as the official factory rider.
Key to success: Relax! Dovi has claimed to be unconvinced of the benefits of the new bike, which includes being slimmer to allow more shifting of body positioning. That showed clearly in his riding as he languished mid pack in Aragon - which was really in the back of the pack of real factory bikes. Gigi is shaking things up, and the 14.02 is a clear sign of the direction that he is taking. Dovi will need to learn to adapt to survive, and the first thing on the list will be relaxing and going with the flow to get the best out of the new bike.
2013 - Ducati Factory - 10th
2012 - Yamaha Tech 3 - 4th
2011 - Repsol Honda - 5th
