Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Alex Rins and Brad Binder were the guests at the Aragon Grand Prix press conference.
For this penultimate meeting of the season before starting the overseas tour, everyone is keen to shine and secure their place in the Championship. Marc Marquez hopes to win and secure a comfortable lead in the standings ahead of Valentino Rossi et Jorge Lorenzo.
Marquez must contain the Yamahas
Although Marquez maintains a lead of 43 points in the provisional standings, he has not won or finished second in four races, “We struggled in the last few events for various reasons and we were not able to be the fastest on Sunday,” He explains. “We are leading the Championship and we will try to manage as best we can. We will have to be wary of the Yamahas, but for the moment I am rather satisfied.”
In Misano, the Spaniard missed the podium and conceded a few points to his rivals, “You always want to attack and be at the top of the podium. In Misano, I attacked at the start of the race and I was able to be the fastest for a few laps, but then I had too many problems with the front tire.” Despite this, Marquez highlights his teammate's victory which saved him in the Championship standings, “Aragon is one of my favorite circuits and, normally, my pace is pretty good there.”
Marquez and Pedrosa carried out a private test in Misano on the Tuesday following the Grand Prix to begin the development of the new RC213V version 2017 and try to correct the problems that the Hondas have suffered since the start of the season, “We've gathered a lot of information that I can't share yet, but I'm delighted because we put this new engine on track before Valencia. Last year, one of the mistakes was that we arrived in Valencia with the new engine, and if we needed to modify something, there was not enough time.”
Dani Pedrosa does not give more details about this new mount, “We compared the current bike with the new one by doing a lot of laps.”
Second in the ranking, Valentino Rossi admits to being satisfied with the start of the second half of the season, “Unfortunately I didn't win a race, but I scored points to make up for the mistakes I made before,” says Rossi. “The gap compared to Marquez remains significant and I have only made up a few points.”
“This weekend may be difficult,” adds the Italian rider in relation to the route which hardly corresponds to the Yamahas. “This circuit is not one of the best for me. Last year we had a lot of difficulties, but the race was quite good.”
After a third place on the podium in Misano, unlike his teammate, Jorge Lorenzo thinks that this route can smile on his Yamaha, “Dani was very fast in Misano and I was one or two tenths short of securing the victory. In Aragon, I won twice and the Yamahas are competitive there. This circuit offers a long straight line where the top speed is important. It’s not favorable to the Yamahas, but I’ve still won there the last two years.”
For Lorenzo, the objective is clear, “I want to win races to finish second in the Championnant, which is always better than third.”
In Misano we witnessed the redemption of Pedrosa after several difficult Grands Prix, “It’s a great feeling, especially after average races,” he said. “It gives us confidence, but we have to stay focused. Everything went well in Misano, except for qualifying, as usual this season.”
Who will be the 9th?
Pedrosa is the 8th different winner of the season after his victory at Misano, “No one expected 8 different winners this year,” Rossi answers. “Even more so after the last few seasons where only a few drivers were able to win. 8 winners in 8 races make the championship interesting. The balance is more important between riders and bikes, and when conditions change, some reveal themselves.”
Nicky Hayden will replace Jack Miller, who is convalescing, in the Marc VDS team. Can Hayden be a threat just like Miller was at Assen, “I’m happy to see Nicky again. He was always good with Michelins,” Rossi explains. “But I also remember Valencia in 2006, when he was World Champion [against me] and Troy Bayliss [wildcard] won.”
But then who could be the 9th of the season, the answer is unanimous and everyone agrees on this point: Andrea Dovizioso.
A coronation this weekend?
In Moto2, alex rins is only three points behind Johann Zarco, “The end of the season could be interesting,” explains Rins, who feels in great shape. “My collarbone no longer causes me any problems and I am 100% recovered (although ill). I took back a lot of points from Zarco, even at Silverstone. This three-point gap is tiny and we have to stay focused.”
In Moto3, Brad Binder is already about to play his first match point, “I asked my friends to stay home,” declares the South African whose last World Champion dates back to Jon Ekerold in 1981 (350cc). “I never had the chance to meet him, but I would have liked to. I didn’t expect to find myself in such a situation and I’m not stressed.”
2017, again and again
The Grand Prix is traditionally the ideal venue for the final announcements before the overseas tour. In Moto2, the IntactGP team has formalized its partnership with Suter next season. The Swiss manufacturer will enter two Suter MMX-2s. Other orders are probably expected for the CarXpert team.
Still in Moto2, the team Leopard Racing, managed by Stefan Kiefer, should continue with Danny Kent. Simone Courses is prioritized on the team's roster to become their teammate.
In Moto3, the team Leopard Racing has made its return to Honda official in 2017 with Joan Mir and Livio Loi who will leave the RW Racing team at the end of the season. This place could return to Tatsuki suzuki, still looking for a Honda handlebar. This announcement officially reveals the departure of Fabio Quartararo who will join the Pons team in Moto2.
Among other transfers, Maria Herrera is at the center of attention since it seems that she is of great interest Mahindra who wishes to offer his services for 2017. As a reminder, the Aspar team has been looking for a new driver since the announcement of Jorge Martin leaves for Gresini and CIP looking for a second pilot alongside Marco Bezzecchi.
