June 21, 2017
Marquez and Pedrosa Ready for Five-Way Title Fight
Factory Honda team-mates Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) travel north to the Netherlands for this weekend’s Dutch TT, aiming to regain further ground in what is becoming an increasingly close, five-way fight for the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.
Both Spaniards come to Assen from podium results at the Catalan Grand Prix, where the track offered minimal grip in the punishing summer heat. Marquez’s second-place finish at his home race puts him third overall, within 23 points of championship leader Maverick Vinales (Yamaha), while Pedrosa’s third-place result at Catalunya puts him fourth, 27 points back.
Assen hosts the third of four races in a tight five-weekend schedule that precedes the summer break. The Dutch venue has been a happy hunting ground for reigning World Champion Marquez. Not only did he score wins at the historic venue in the 125cc class (2010) and in Moto2 (2011 and 2012), he has placed either first or second each year at Assen since his promotion to the class of kings in 2013.
After crashing out of May’s French Grand Prix, the 24-year-old brought home all-important points at Mugello and Catalunya to secure his place in the championship fight. Last year’s Assen round was one of the races that proved critical in Marquez’s title success – the youngster claiming a valuable second-place finish when his challengers faltered.
Pedrosa also finds himself in the middle of an enthralling battle for the MotoGP crown, the only honor that has proved elusive during his illustrious career. Assen holds one particularly happy memory for the 31-year-old – he won his very first Grand Prix victory at the track in 2002, when he was 16-years-old and contesting the 125cc class. Pedrosa has scored five MotoGP podiums at the track.
Honda’s top independent-team rider Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V) will be hoping to get back among the top six after two tough races. Like many riders, the Briton struggled with traction at Catalunya but is looking forward to better grip conditions at Assen, a track he knows well from his time in the World Supersport and Superbike classes. Crutchlow scored a fine third place at Assen in 2013 and was in the running for the race win in last year’s rainy conditions, until a crash in the restarted race put paid to his chances.
The Dutch venue also holds special memories for 22-year old Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V), who scored his maiden premier-class triumph at this circuit a year ago. Not only was this the first MotoGP win for the Belgian-based Marc VDS squad, it was the first occasion an independent machine had won a premier-class race since 2006; a major achievement.
A great wet-weather rider, Miller will once again fancy his chances should the usual unpredictable Assen weather materialize this weekend. The former Moto3 runner-up was unfortunate to fall out of a promising tenth place the last time out at the Circuit of Catalunya, when placed just six seconds behind eventual race winner Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati).
Team-mate Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) will be aiming to continue his consistent campaign, which has yielded point-scoring finishes at six of the seven races so far. The 2014 Moto2 World Champion has climbed the podium at Assen just once in his career, when he was the reigning Moto2 champion.
The fight for this year’s Moto2 crown has come alive in recent weeks. Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex) won four of the first five races but Thomas Luthi (CarXpert Interwetten Kalex) and Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex) are now closing in on the 22-year-old Italian.
At Catalunya two weeks ago the younger of the two Marquez brothers took his second victory in the Honda CBR600-powered intermediate class. Two wins, a third place and a fourth place from the last four races have taken Marquez to third overall, within 20 points of team-mate and championship leader Morbidelli.
Despite Marquez’s recent form, Morbidelli will also be worrying about Luthi, who is second in the standings, just seven points down. The Swiss rider has yet to score a victory this year but he achieved an impressive six top-three finishes from seven outings in 2017, the same number of podiums he achieved in the whole of last year. Luthi, who has competed in Moto2 since its inception in 2010, has never finished inside the top three on more than six occasions in one campaign, suggesting he has finally found the consistency to challenge for the world title.
Morbidelli, whose fourth- and sixth-place finishes at the last two races changed the championship chase, will be aiming to get his season back on track at Assen.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM) finished fourth last time out to consolidate his fourth place in the championship, 40 points off the lead. Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) has struck gold recently, with his first Moto2 win and another podium at the last two races which have taken him to fifth in the standings, one place ahead of impressive rookie Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46 Kalex). Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex) sits seventh overall, nine points behind Bagnaia and level on points with Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing Suter).
In the ever-exciting Moto3 category, the strength of Honda’s NSF250RW can be gauged by the placing of NSF250RW riders in the World Championship: each of the top four are Honda-powered riders, while seven of the top ten are Honda men. Furthermore, Honda has occupied 19 of the 21 podium places at the first seven races of 2017.
Ironically, the class that usually produces the closest racing is the most drawn out in terms of championship points. That is largely due to the stellar form of Moto3 championship leader Joan Mir (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW).
Mir won his fourth race of the season two weeks ago, thanks to a couple of superb maneuvers in the final six corners. Mir’s fifth career GP victory puts him 45 points clear of Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers Honda NSF250RW) in second place.
It’s a tight affair among the riders contesting second in the series. Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) sits just three points behind Fenati, while Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) is a further five behind.
Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) has become something of a qualifying specialist in recent weeks, securing three of the past four Moto3 pole positions. The Spaniard stands sixth in the championship, four points behind Di Giannantonio.
Assen has the honor of being the only circuit to feature on the GP calendar every year since the inaugural 1949 World Championship season. Although the current 4.5km/2.8 mile layout shorter than the old track, Assen still retains some of its original character. The final sector, which includes Meeuwenmeer, Hoge Heide, Ramshoek and the infamous Geert Timmer Bocht chicane, remains one of the finest stretches of asphalt on the calendar, a full-blown test of technique and bravery. Not only does the circuit offer up a challenge; the Dutch weather can often throw a curveball at riders, with two of the previous three MotoGP outings contested in wet conditions.
There will be no time to rest at the close of this weekend, as the MotoGP circus heads to the German Grand Prix on July 2nd.
Honda MotoGP rider quotes
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team:
“We’re coming off a positive race and a promising day of testing in Catalunya, so we’re looking forward to getting back on the bike and continuing on the same level in the next race. I like Assen. We’ve had some exciting races there, and many good memories. Of course the weather is always unpredictable and makes things change very quickly, so we must be ready to adapt as we did in 2014 and last year. That, coupled with the fact that every race this season also seems quite unpredictable, means we’ll have to keep totally focused and work particularly hard beginning Friday morning to find a good set-up for our bike and tires, with the target of fighting for the podium in the race.”
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team:
“This weekend we head to the Dutch TT fresh from a podium in Catalunya. This is a race which usually requires great concentration in order to be prepared and deal with every situation the weekend may throw at us! You never know how much dry-track time you’ll get there and because you have to try several tires during the weekend you must fully exploit every session. It’s a fast track that I like and we’ll push from Friday morning, ready to make our best to be able to fight again at the front on Sunday.”
Cal Crutchlow, LCR Honda:
“Our priority now is to get back towards the podium positions, so hopefully we’ve done a good job [at the test in Barcelona] and we can do that now when we go to Assen. I look forward to being there, it’s a good circuit and I’ve had a podium there before. The team are working hard and so are Honda over the last few races. It’s been a difficult period but they’re doing a great job.”
Jack Miller, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:
“Obviously I’ve got some decent memories of Assen, after standing on the top step of a MotoGP podium for the first time there last year, and I’m looking forward to this year’s race. We go to the Netherlands after a solid weekend in Barcelona that was spoilt only by the crash in the race. I like the Assen track and I think we can do a good job there, we just need to keep working in the same way we’ve done since the start of the season. Conditions will be cooler than the last two races, but I don’t think that will make a big difference, but rain could shake things up a bit. It might be summer, but this is Assen we’re talking about, so the weather can change in an instant. We’re ready whatever it throws at us.”
Tito Rabat, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:
“Last year Assen was a disaster for me, but we go there this season in much better shape. My feeling with the bike and the Michelin tires has improved as the season has progressed and we also enjoyed a very positive test in Barcelona immediately after the last race. I’ve scored points in every race I’ve finished so far this season but, while I’m strong towards the end, I still need to improve at the start. I need to be more aggressive from the start, to make up places early rather than having to pick people off as the race enters the final stages. Like always I will be giving it 100 percent this weekend and I hope I can continue my run of points scoring finishes in Assen.”
Moto2 rider quotes
Franco Morbidelli, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:
“The last two races have been difficult and I’ve seen my lead in the championship reduced as a result, but that doesn’t add any pressure going into Assen. The pressure is the same as it has been for the first seven races and our approach to the weekend will remain the same also. We know where we need to improve after Mugello and Barcelona, where we were struggling a little on the brakes, but I’m confident that if we put in the work this weekend then we can improve in this area and come away from Assen with another good result.”
Thomas Luthi, CarXpert Interwetten:
“Assen is always one of the great weekends of the year, so I always look forward to going there: it’s an interesting track and the fans are very enthusiastic. We have shown this year that we are faster and more consistent than ever before, so we need to keep that kind of result going. Of course, I think we need to win a race after so many podiums, and that will be our focus this weekend, as always.”
Alex Marquez, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:
“Assen ranks as one of my favorite tracks and from the first time I raced there with the Moto3 bike I was fast. I won in 2014, after also winning in Barcelona, but I think it will be difficult to repeat that this weekend. Of course I go there to try and win, but not at any cost. I won in Jerez, but I made mistakes in the race. In Barcelona I didn’t make one mistake and I need to continue in this way now, racing for the win when it’s possible and racing intelligently when it’s not. It’s close in the championship standings, but you win the championship not before the summer break, but in the last races of the season. To go into these two races looking to claw back a 20-point deficit just to lead into the summer break would be a mistake, one that increases the risk of a crash and zero points. If we can close the gap to Franco in Assen and at the Sachsenring then I’ll be happy, as it will set us up nicely for the second half of the season. Of course, it won’t be easy, but that’s the goal.”
Honda Moto3 rider quotes
Joan Mir, Leopard Racing:
“After another exciting race in Spain we go to Assen, where we continue the fight for the championship. We won’t change anything in our approach because we treat every race as new and different, so we start working in the same way from Friday. No doubt, Assen will be another close fight, so we must once again be intelligent and time our attack to perfection.”
Romano Fenati, Marinelli Rivacold Snipers:
“I had never finished on the podium at Barcelona before our last race, so that was a big thing. Also, I have never finished on the podium at Assen, so I hope we can change that this weekend. My best at Assen was fourth last year, so I will be hoping for better this time with the help of Honda power. But it won’t be easy – Moto3 is crazy at the moment – so the strategy is very important.”
Aron Canet, Estrella Galicia 0,0:
“I like the Dutch TT quite a lot, because I’m very fast at Assen. Last year, although I wasn’t familiar with the track, it suited me right from the start and we rode with a very good pace. It’s a circuit like Le Mans or Austin, which fits my riding style very well. We will have to work intensively on our braking to get out of the corners faster, because they are very tight, fast and flowing. If you lose a tenth of a second at one corner, it carries over to the following turns. We hope to achieve a great result in the race and do what we couldn’t last year.”
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