— MotoGP Teams preview season finale — Yamaha Preview The MotoGP paddock returns to Spain this weekend for the final Grand Prix of the year, the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana. With just 13 points separating defending champion Jorge Lorenzo and current leader Marc Marquez, the scene is set for a dramatic race on Sunday. Lorenzo arrives in his home country having won the last two races in Australia and Japan and determined to keep the pressure on, fully aware that anything could happen in the last race of the season. He can claim one premier class victory at the circuit in 2010 and a podium with third position in 2009. Teammate Valentino Rossi arrives in Spain intent on fighting for a podium spot and doing what he can to help Lorenzo retain the world title. The nine-time world champion has taken two premier class wins at Valencia in 2003 and 2004 and can claim multiple podiums with a second places in 2002 and 2009 and third places in 2005, 2008 and 2010. The Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia is a true stadium track that always attracts a record crowd to witness the final racing spectacle of the MotoGP season. Completed in 1999, the MotoGP circuit is a 4km run with five right hand corners, eight left and a 650metre straight. Jorge Lorenzo – “So we come to the last race in Valencia. It’s going to be exciting, maybe the most exciting of all the season. We are still in the fight and that is the most important thing right now. I’m very stimulated because three races ago we thought the championship was over. Instead we have a chance to fight for the title. Valencia is my home race and it will be very emotional considering our position in the classification. We don’t have anything to lose but everything to win, and this card plays on our side. Maybe our main rival can feel much more pressure in Valencia than us because he is so close to victory. I look forward to riding there and pushing with all my force. If we can continue to ride at our level we can fight for the win and then wait for the circumstances. You never know what can happen, especially if the forecast is uncertain as it was last year. We trust in ourselves and we expect a good race in front of our fans. We will never give up until the end!” Valentino Rossi – “Usually Valencia is not one of my best tracks but I have had some good podiums there and some wins. As always we have to try and do the maximum for the weekend. If I am strong enough I want to try and help Jorge as much as possible on Sunday and also to arrive on the podium.” Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager – “Well, finally we could complete a couple of great races at Phillip Island and Motegi with two stunning victories from Jorge. The championship is almost over but we have to face Valencia, the last race of the season. Hopefully we will fight for the title there. As everybody knows in one race everything can happen. Let’s see how it goes throughout the weekend and what the climate conditions are because it is autumn; rain and cold are there, threatening. We have to be aware of that tricky track if it’s rain because it is so slippery. Jorge has to be calm and focused but he did a great job all season and we are also able to beat here our rivals. He is very strong physically and mentally and riding in perfect form. We don’t have anything to lose and the opportunities are there.” Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director – “We go to Valencia with the goal to make the best race weekend possible. The World Championship will be decided at the last race and we will be key protagonists. We want to complicate as much as possible the weekend of our opponents. Jorge has proven to be in great form and really strong. In Japan he made a really incredible race. The team was just perfect in the last race so in Valencia we will try to do the same thing. It will be important that Valentino is in good shape. We’ll have to make sure that Valentino can be with the other three riders. He wants it, the team also and we are ready to close the season in the best way.” — HRC Preview The season-ending Valencia Grand Prix will be MotoGP’s biggest weekend in more than half a decade – the first time the World Championship has gone down to the wire since 2006. The Repsol Honda team has great memories of that weekend seven years ago, when its American rider Nicky Hayden secured the title ahead of Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) in a nerve-jangling finale. This weekend Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) faces a similarly thrilling duel for the title with Rossi’s current Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. Thus Sunday’s battle for supremacy is an all-Spanish affair which should guarantee a full house and an electric atmosphere at the stadium-style Spanish track. After 17 races, Marquez leads his compatriot by 13 points. If Lorenzo wins at Valencia, Marquez needs to finish at least fourth to secure the crown. If he does take the title, he will make history as the youngest winner of the premier-class championship in the 65-year history of the sport. The 20-year-old Marquez has already rewritten the record books this year – when he won April’s Grand Prix of the Americas he became the youngest rider to win a premier-class race. Since then he has won a further five victories, a record for a rookie. Marquez may be ahead in the title battle but he is still nursing injuries sustained in a morning warm-up crash at Motegi on October 27. Team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) is also looking for a strong finish to the 2013 season, which he will finish in third position, regardless of Sunday’s result. The former 250 and 125 World Champion had also featured in this year’s title battle, until bad luck once again conspired against him. In July he was leading the points chase when he crashed and broke a collarbone at the German Grand Prix. Even then he was still in with an outside chance of the title until an unlucky tumble at September’s Aragon Grand Prix effectively ended his hopes. In the past Valencia has been kind to both Repsol Honda men. Pedrosa has won no less than six GPs at the track: the MotoGP race in 2007, 2009 and 2012 (when he won in complicated wet/dry conditions, despite starting from pit lane), the 250 race in 2004 and 2005 and the 125 race in 2002. Marquez won last year’s Valencia Moto2 race, despite starting from the back row of the grid. Unfazed by tricky track conditions, he charged through the pack to win the race, a perfect ending to his title-winning season. Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) and Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) will enjoy their own duel on Sunday – to be the next best-placed Honda rider in the final standings. German Bradl had been ahead of his Spanish rival until an unlucky injury sustained during the Malaysian GP. Bradl missed the Malaysian and subsequent Australian races and arrives at Valencia 14 points behind Bautista who has been on excellent form since the middle of the season. In Japan Bautista’s fourth-place finish helped make history by completing the first all-Spanish top four in the premier class. That ride was another great performance from the former 125 World Champion who has only twice finished outside the top five in the last ten races. Bradl had also being showing excellent from until that spill at Sepang. His highlight of the year so far is his first MotoGP podium at Laguna Seca, where he made history as the first German to start a premier-class race from pole position. Australian Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) comes to the end of his rookie MotoGP season hoping for another points-scoring ride on his CBR1000RR-powered CRT machine. The battle for the Honda-powered Moto2 World Championship may already be over, but that won’t take any of the thrills out of the last race of the season. Although Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) wrapped up the Moto2 crown at the last race in Japan, he will be going all out to take his 11th and last win in the class before he graduates to MotoGP, commencing with his first test ride on a MotoGP bike during the post-Valencia tests. The same goes for Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) who led so much of the championship chase until he crashed and broke his left wrist at last month’s Australian round. After having the injury pinned and plated, Redding returned to action in Japan, only to become an innocent victim of a first-lap pile-up, triggered by Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex). Like Espargaro, Redding is moving up to MotoGP and will make his debut on a prototype of the Honda production racer he will race in 2014 during the post-Valencia tests. Rabat has been the other star of the 2013 Moto2 season, taking his first three victories in the class. He will want a fourth success to propel him towards the 2014 season, which he hopes to start as title favourite. Finn Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) has already secured fourth place in the notoriously hard-fought series, but there’s a three-way battle for fifth overall in which Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert Suter), Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Suter) and Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) are separated by six points. Of all the championship contests, the fiercest is unfolding in the Moto3 class, in which three riders have a chance of taking the title. The all-KTM trio of Luis Salom, Maverick Vinales and Alex Rins are covered by just five points, so whoever wins on Sunday will carry off the title. Although there are no Honda riders involved at the very top of the table, all of them will be trying to finish 2013 in style. Stand-out performer of the year on an NSF250R machine has been tough Aussie teenager Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR Honda), who lies seventh overall, just ahead of Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda). Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda) will be doing everything in his powers to secure a place in the championship top ten. He is currently tenth overall, equal on points with KTM rider Jakub Kornfiel. Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo (named in honour of the late Ricardo Tormo, who won the 50cc World Championship in 1978) is a tight, technical and very asymmetric racetrack, dominated by left-handers, which places very different demands on the left and right sides of the tyres. Machine priorities are agile handling for the many changes of direction and edge grip – Valencia packs 14 corners into just 4 km (2.5 miles). The circuit is surrounded by grandstands, giving the venue a unique stadium feel. It is usually a hugely popular event with more than 200,000 fans expected over the weekend. Honda has enjoyed considerable success at Valencia, with five different riders winning the elite class on RCV machinery since the venue joined the MotoGP calendar in 1999: Alex Barros (2002), Rossi (2003), Marco Melandri (2005), Casey Stoner (2011) and Pedrosa (2007, 2009 and 2012). Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: “It’s been nice to have a week at home after a long three weeks away, after my accident in Motegi I’ve doing muscular rehabilitation on my neck in anticipation for the race, and it now feels much better. We’ve had good races in Valencia; I’ve always tried to give it my best there. I have fond memories of last year’s race in Moto2 but the weather will also be a factor to consider because it is very changeable. I’m already looking forward to getting back in the pit garage and getting on the bike! Obviously we know what is at stake in this final Grand Prix of the year, but we will – as ever – approach it as we have done every other race, and work hard from the Friday and do our best.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: “I’m looking forward to going to Valencia and racing in front of the home fans! We’ve had a long trip in Asia and it will be nice to race in Valencia again, where the atmosphere is always very special. Even though we are out of the championship now, I’ve had good results here in the past with many victories – including last year when we won after starting from the pits – and I want to end the season on a high.” Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: “Japan was a good race for us even though it was a difficult weekend because of the weather, which limited track time and made it hard to find a set-up. We didn’t make a perfect start but made up positions well, so it was a shame that we were too far back to fight for the podium. Anyway, it was satisfying for us to finish as the top satellite bike with a factory rider behind us and in a way it is a shame that the season is finishing this weekend with us in such great form. Unfortunately we haven’t managed to finish on the podium this season but I maintain that we have been more competitive than last year and we have one more opportunity to show it this weekend at Valencia. It is a decisive race for the outcome of the championship but I also want to be running at the front and there to take advantage of any situation that could favour us. Valencia is tight and twisty, not one of my favourite circuits because you don’t get chance to make the most of the power of a MotoGP bike. We will need to work hard on the setting to make sure the bike handles well through the tight sections.” Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: “I am heading to Valencia with extra motivation after this tough period. In Japan I felt a little bit of pain during the race, when my right leg was kind of pumping the muscle, so fifth place was an extraordinary result, considering my conditions. The mobility of my ankle is better now but not yet at 100 per cent. I have continued my standard training programme since returning to Germany because I aim to finish the season with another positive result. Missing two races cost me a lot, including sixth position in the points standings. By the way, I think we have done a pretty good season, including my first podium at Laguna Seca.” Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: “Valencia will be an important weekend for me. It is the last race of the season and I want to sign off with my best performance. Unfortunately the season has not met our expectations in terms of results and that is disappointing for myself and for the team. However, overall it has been an incredible experience for me and I would like to end it in the best possible way.” Moto2 rider quotes Pol Espargaro, Tuenti HP40 Pons: “I can’t wait for Valencia – it will be great to be able to race without thinking about the championship. It’s been an amazing year – I made some mistakes at the beginning but finally we got the title because the team and I never gave up. It was wonderful to win the crown in Japan, but before the trip I didn’t expect to win it there so I didn’t prepare any celebrations, so maybe we do something at Valencia!” Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team: “I was pretty banged up in the Motegi crash, so it’s been all about recovery since I got back home. The swelling on my lower back and right elbow means I haven’t been able to do any training since Japan, but both have improved over the last few days, so I should be good by the time I get to Valencia. This weekend will be my final race in Moto2 and my last appearance for the Marc VDS Racing Team, so I’m keen to finish the season with a good result at Valencia.” Esteve Rabat, Tuenti HP 40 Pons: “After what happened on the first lap at Motegi, I hope to have the chance of a good race at Valencia to complete this season. It will be the last race of 2013, but also in another way it will be the start of my work to prepare all the bases to fight for the 2014 championship. I was quite lucky when I crashed at Motegi – just some bruising and a knock on my head – so this will not affect me this weekend.” Honda Moto3 Rider quotes Jack Miller, Caretta Technology – RTG: “I think Valencia will be good. I think the track will be okay for us, even though we never really know until we get to a track. I like the circuit more than I like Motegi, anyway, and I hope to be fighting as close to the front as possible.” Alexis Masbou, Ongetta-Rivacold: “Valencia isn’t among my favorite tracks – I prefer fast, flowing tracks – it’s too slow for me. Anyway, we have an excellent bike, and since Malaysia we have got the settings right and we have been very fast. So the bike is working well and we’re working well, but, to be honest, I’m already working thinking about next season!” Romano Fenati, San Carlo Team Italia: “Valencia is the last race and everyone always wants to do well at the last race to give them good motivation into the winter. I don’t think it will be an easy track for us, but we will do our best and see how it goes.” — Ducati With seven months and seventeen races having passed since the 2013 season-opening round in Qatar, the MotoGP teams and riders are headed to Spain for the finale event of the year, the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana. The fourth Spanish host circuit of the year, Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo is a stadium-like facility housing a relatively tight track that runs in an anticlockwise direction. The season-finale atmosphere is invariably exciting and party-like, although there’s also plenty of hard work, with the three-day GP to be followed by three additional days of testing as the teams begin preparation for the 2014 season. Past years have seen the Ducati Team post a pair of wins at Valencia with riders Troy Bayliss and Casey Stoner (2006 and ’08, respectively). Andrea Dovizioso scored a MotoGP podium finish at the circuit two years ago and was runner-up in the 125cc class back in 2004. Nicky Hayden has a pair of premier-class podium finishes at Valencia, and although he’s been plagued by bad luck in recent years with crashes having cut his last three Valencian GPs short, he likes the track and has good memories of wrapping up his 2006 World Championship at the circuit. Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – “For us Valencia should be a better track than the latest ones we’ve been to. Of course a lot will depend on the weather, which in this period of the year can be a bit unreliable, but I think that the track will be more suited to our GP13 because there is more grip and the surface is pretty new, so we should go a bit better. Then after the race we’ll see what there is to try out during the three days of testing. In any case I don’t have a particularly great rapport with this circuit… I’ve got good memories of the 2011 race when I beat Dani for third place in the championship, but I don’t like the track very much, and I don’t think I’m the only rider who thinks this way.” Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – “I’ve got some great memories from Valencia. Some people think it’s a bit tight for MotoGP, but I actually like it. I think it’s a fun, scrappy little track, and in the past, it’s been pretty good for Ducati. The new pavement is grippy and doesn’t have a lot of bumps, which is good for us. We’ll see what the weather does. It’s the last one of the year, and although we know it’ll be tough to do something great, we’ll put our heads down, try to have some fun and finish in the best way possible.” Vittoriano Guareschi – Team Manager – “This is the final round of the championship, Nicky’s last race with us after five years, and also my last one with Ducati. Valencia is a circuit where, in view of its characteristics and numerous ‘stop-and-go’ sections, our bike goes pretty well, so it could be a nice opportunity to bring our adventure to an end and sign off with a good race. I’d also like to add that Valencia is the track where my relation with the Desmosedici began in 2002 and it’ll also be where this cycle, full of memories of the last 13 years spent in Ducati, comes to an end.” — PBM The final round of the MotoGP World Championship takes place at Valencia this weekend with the PBM MotoGP Team looking to end the season in style after a run of bad luck has meant a string of disappointing results for the Penrith based squad. Ulsterman Michael Laverty will once again be on board the Rapid Solicitors and Silkolene sponsored Aprilia ART which he has campaigned in recent rounds whereas Australian Damian Cudlin will continue on the Rapid Solicitors and Silkolene sponsored PBM machine once again. Both riders suffered varying degrees of misfortune at the three flyaway races recently and are looking forward to returning to Europe in the hope of ending the season in positive fashion for MotoGP’s only British team. Meanwhile, team owner Paul Bird has recently met with senior personnel from a major manufacturer and is planning further negotiations in Spain this weekend with a view to confirming his team’s MotoGP plans for 2014 imminently. Paul Bird, Team Owner: “We’ve had a disappointing season and our luck in recent rounds has certainly compounded that so I’m hoping we can turn things around for the final race of the season. When we entered MotoGP, we didn’t underestimate the challenge and we are fully aware of what it takes to compete in this series so we are now ready to step up a level. Valencia is still a very important race for us as we are finalising plans for next season and we are hoping to make a very exciting announcement regarding our participation in MotoGP next season shortly.” — Bridgestone Preview Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Extra-soft & Soft. Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main) & Hard (Alternative) For the first time since 2006, the MotoGP™ World Championship will be decided at the last race of the year, as Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo prepare for an end-of-season spectacular in front of a vocal Spanish crowd at Valencia. Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo Circuit is a tight and technical track that offers tyres little respite over the course of a lap, so a good bike setup is very important to ensure the most efficient use of the tyres allocated for this Grand Prix. The layout of the circuit means more stress is placed on the left shoulder of the tyres, and an unbalanced bike setup can cause excessive rear tyre temperatures which can lead to a loss of performance and accelerated tyre wear. To manage the unbalanced layout of Valencia, the asymmetric rear slicks feature rubber on the right shoulder that is two grades softer than on the left side. This ensures the lesser-used right shoulder of the rear tyre stays at its ideal operating temperature and that the left shoulder provides the durability and stability needed for the many left hand turns. Additionally, the front slick compounds allocated for this weekend need to provide enhanced warm-up performance and grip in the temperate weather. Rear tyre options for the CRT riders at Valencia are the soft and medium compounds, while the works riders will be able to use the medium and a brand new hard compound rear slick, which received extremely positive feedback from riders when tested at Misano this year. Front options at Valencia are the soft and medium compound slicks, while the main wet tyre for the Valencia Grand Prix is the soft compound wet tyre. Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “I am pleased that after such an exciting MotoGP season, the championship will be decided at the last race at Valencia this weekend. There have been many highlights throughout this year but ultimately, Marc and Jorge have proven to be the most consistent performers and I expect a large and passionate Spanish crowd will be present to cheer them on as they vie for the championship title. This will also be an important week for Bridgestone, as the Valencia Grand Prix sees the introduction of our new specification of hard compound rear slick which we brought into our tyre line-up after it was positively received in testing. Also, our technical team will be on hand to assist teams in the post-race MotoGP test where not only will teams get to test their 2014-spec machinery, it is also an opportunity for riders moving up to the premier class to try the 1000cc machinery and also sample Bridgestone tyres for the first time. One of the important things for us is we need to evaluate the performance of the new ‘open’ class machines like the Honda Production Racer and the Forward Racing Yamaha M1. The data we acquire at the Valencia test gives us a good base to work with for our tyre development programme over the winter.” Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “The venue of the traditional season finale, Valencia is a low-grip and technically complex circuit with a slow and twisty asymmetric layout. The frequency of corners at this circuit means the tyres spend a lot of time at high lean angles and have little chance to cool down over the course of a whole lap. The high number of corners and moderate grip level means that if a bike’s setup isn’t optimised at this circuit, it is easy to generate excess tyre temperatures. As this race is the last of the season, low ambient and track temperatures are usually encountered, suggesting the use of softer compounds, however harder compounds are needed on the left shoulder of the rear tyres because of the temperature generated by the penultimate corner, and turns one, two and three. We will debut our new specification hard compound rear slick at Valencia after it was praised by riders in the Misano test, so I am looking forward to seeing it put to good use this weekend.” RND 17 – LORENZO WINS MOTEGI — MotoGP 2013 – Round 18 – Valencia — Marquez vs Lorenzo – The Showdown! In Valencia this weekend at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, MotoGP™ fans the world over will enjoy a final-race title decider for the first time in seven years, as Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez looks to hold off the charge from Yamaha Factory Racing’s reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. The last time such a showdown occurred was in 2006 when Honda’s Nicky Hayden claimed the ultimate honour as Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi made a rare mistake. Seven years on, more drama is certain as Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo go head-to-head at the climax of what has been a riveting season. Marquez heads to Valencia with a championship-leading advantage of 13 points, meaning a single fourth place would guarantee the title no matter what Lorenzo is capable of. Looking at the rookie’s track record this looks to be a certain, however if Valencia’s rain-hit race of last year is anything to go by, anything can happen. It was Repsol’s Dani Pedrosa who won the race last year, and will this year be out to prove a point, as he saw his title chances go after his third place in Motegi. Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi could prove to be a big factor in the outcome of the race, as he looks to hold off Marquez’s charge and help out his teammate Lorenzo. Another player could be Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow, who has not only cemented fifth place in the championship, but also contests his last race on board a Yamaha before his switch to Ducati. GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista has been continually improving throughout the season and will hope to impress his home fans, whilst LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl should be much closer to full fitness after fracturing his right ankle in Malaysia. Nicky Hayden will aim to have a good weekend on his last for the Ducati Team and get one over on his teammate Andrea Dovizioso, whilst the Ignite Pramac and Energy T.I. Pramac machines of Yonny Hernandez and Andrea Dovizioso will hope to hold off Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro. Espargaro has already collected top CRT honours, but will aim to celebrate that with another spot in Parc Ferme in front of local support. The grid will be two riders stronger, as Michele Pirro lines up for the Ducati Test team, and Austrian Martin Bauer makes another appearance with his S&B Suter with the Remus Racing Team. World Championship Standings MotoGP™ 1 Marc Marquez 318 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 2 Jorge Lorenzo 305 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 3 Dani Pedrosa 280 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 4 Valentino Rossi 224 pts ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 5 Cal Crutchlow 188 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 6 Alvaro Bautista 160 pts SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini 7 Stefan Bradl 146 pts GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP 8 Andrea Dovizioso 133 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team 9 Nicky Hayden 118 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team 10 Bradley Smith 107 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 11 Aleix Espargaro 88 pts SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar 12 Andrea Iannone 57 pts ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team 13 Michele Pirro 50 pts ITA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team 14 Colin Edwards 40 pts USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 15 Randy De Puniet 36 pts FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Test Team 16 Hector Barbera 31 pts SPA FTR Avintia Blusens 17 Danilo Petrucci 24 pts ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project 18 Yonny Hernandez 21 pts COL DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team 19 Hiroshi Aoyama 13 pts JAP FTR Avintia Blusens 20 Claudio Corti 11 pts ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing — Moto2 Heading to Valencia for the last round of 2013, Moto2™ is the only category in which the title has already been decided, in favour of Pol Espargaro. However, plenty of rivals will be looking for a confidence-boosting victory at the end of another tiring campaign. With just the sole round still to run, Espargaro (Tuenti HP 40) heads the luckless Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) by the unassailable margin of 41 points, with a maximum of 25 still on offer. Compounding a dreadful end to the triple-header, Redding was taken out of the Japanese Grand Prix in a crash triggered by third title contender and Espargaro’s teammate, Tito Rabat. Both men will now be looking to put one over the Champion in Valencia, with Espargaro and Redding then heading to MotoGP™ for 2014, while Rabat remains in Moto2™ with Marc VDS. There will be plenty more to fight for at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, as well. Fourth, eighth and tenth in the championship, Mika Kallio (Marc VDS), and Aspar Team Moto2 pairing Nico Terol and Jordi Torres will all be searching for one more win before the end of the season, whereas no less than four of the riders in the overall top ten are still on the lookout for a victory before moving into the off-season. Regular wildcard Gino Rea will be taking part once more with his Gino Rea Montaze Broz Racing team, as will other familiar, Malaysian Hafiz Syahrin, with the Petronas Raceline Malaysia outfit. — World Championship Standings Moto2™ 1- Pol Espargaro SPA Kalex 265 2- Scott Redding GBR Kalex 224 3- Tito Rabat SPA Kalex 204 4- Mika Kallio FIN Kalex 185 5- Dominique Aegerter SWI Suter 151 — Moto3 Any one of three riders could leave Valencia this weekend with a maiden Moto3™ world title. At present, a blanket could be thrown over the trio, with Luis Salom, Maverick Viñales and Alex Rins covered by just five points. In 2012, Germany’s Sandro Cortese clinched the first ever Moto3™ title with a pair of races to spare. A year later, a campaign of mixed results has left Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Luis Salom, Team Calvo’s Maverick Viñales and Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins with almost equal opportunities heading into Valencia. Salom leads Viñales by just two points, with Rins only a further three in arrears. It was those three, in that very order, who won the opening three races of the year and, until Rins’ teammate Alex Marquez triumphed for the first time in Japan, no other rider had clinched a lightweight class victory in 2013. At the same time, Marquez will be keen to complete the year with back-to-back wins, while Jonas Folger (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3) and Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing) would certainly be deserving of a victory should they achieve the feat. There will be two wildcards in the line-up with Jorge Navarro racing for MIR Racing, and Venezuelan Michael Ruben Rinaldi taking part on a third Mahindra. As for the Constructors’ fight, KTM has hit its fourth century of points and was the first title winner in any class this year, sealing that particular honour back at Silverstone. World Championship Standings Moto3™ 1- Luis Salom SPA KTM 300 2- Maverick Viñales SPA KTM 298 3- Alex Rins SPA KTM 295 4- Alex Marquez SPA KTM 200 5- Jonas Folger GER Kalex KTM 163 Check out the latest from KTM Moto National — MotoGP 2013 – Round 17 – Motegi — Championship goes down to the wire after impressive Lorenzo victory in Japan Jorge Lorenzo has triumphed for the seventh time in 2013, winning Sunday’s AirAsia Grand Prix of Japan. The Yamaha Factory Racing rider fought off a stiff challenge from Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa to ensure that the MotoGP™ title battle goes down to the wire for the first time since 2006. Providing a truly unpredictable end to the late-season triple-header, the Motegi weekend was very much shaken up by inclement weather conditions; this led to the cancellation of all track action on Friday as well as heavy modifications to the Saturday agenda. Ironically, Sunday’s race took place under clear blue skies in Japan. From his fourth pole position of the year, it would be a lights-to-flag victory for Lorenzo to move one win ahead of Marquez in the 2013 season. Teammate Valentino Rossi looked to be providing a buffer between the current titleholder and the pair of factory Hondas, but suffered braking issues at Turn 11 twice, and fell back down the order. Lorenzo would come under severe pressure from Marquez at the mid-way point of the race, with Pedrosa in hot pursuit. However, the Mallorcan was spared some breathing space as Marquez made mistakes at both Turn 11 and Turn 1. The 20-year-old would never be as close to Lorenzo again, eventually ending the day 3.1 seconds in arrears. Pedrosa’s third place marked his 12th podium finish of the season, but the Sabadell rider was unable to complete a hat trick of Motegi victories, as his chances for the 2013 world title officially evaporated. Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl rounded out the top five, with the GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider having slipstreamed his way past the LCR Honda MotoGP bike at the start of the eighth lap. Rossi fought back to sixth place after running as low as 11th, while Cal Crutchlow, who suffered from overheating brakes, got the better of impressive Monster Yamaha Tech3 teammate Bradley Smith in seventh and eighth spots. Ducati Team completed the top ten with Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso, while 11th place was taken by wildcard Katsuyuki Nakasuga for the Yamaha YSP Racing Team. In 12th was lead CRT rider Colin Edwards (NGM Mobile Forward Racing), with Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro having become the third of three retirements courtesy of a high-speed accident due to loss of braking power – he escaped with a left hip contusion. Lukas Pesek (Came IodaRacing Project) was first to retire, while Cardion AB Motoracing’s Luca Scassa pulled into the pit lane with a loose right foot peg. Sunday’s result – marking the 200th premier class race victory for Yamaha – sees Lorenzo move to within 13 points of Marquez with just the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana remaining. This signals the first final-race MotoGP™ title-decider for seven years; in 2006 it was also a duel between the Honda and Yamaha factory teams, with the crown won by Nicky Hayden as the American picked up a maiden title from then reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi. — MotoGP™ Race Classification 1 Jorge Lorenzo 42’34.291 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 2 Marc Marquez +3.188 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 3 Dani Pedrosa +4.592 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 4 Alvaro Bautista +19.755 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini 5 Stefan Bradl +22.810 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP 6 Valentino Rossi +24.637 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 7 Cal Crutchlow +27.496 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 8 Bradley Smith +30.969 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 9 Nicky Hayden +37.010 USA DUCATI Ducati Team 10 Andrea Dovizioso +42.944 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team 11 Katsayuki Nakasuga +53.345 JPN YAMAHA Yamaha YSP Racing Team 12 Colin Edwards +1’03.213 USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 13 Randy De Puniet +1’06.840 FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Test Team 14 Andrea Iannone +1’08.218 ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team 15 Yonny Hernandez +1’18.240 COL DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team 16 Hector Barbera +1’19.108 SPA FTR Avintia Blusens 17 Hiroshi Aoyama +1’21.174 JAP FTR Avintia Blusens 18 Danilo Petrucci +1’30.546 ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project 19 Michael Laverty +2’23.358 GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport 20 Claudio Corti +1 lap ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 21 Damian Cudlin +1 lap AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport 22 Bryan Staring +1 lap AUS FTR-HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini 23 Aleix Espargaro DNF SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar 24 Luca Scassa DNF ITA ART Cardion AB Motoracing 25 Lukas Pesek DNF CZE IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project — Championship standings 1 Marc Marquez 318 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 2 Jorge Lorenzo 305 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 3 Dani Pedrosa 280 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 4 Valentino Rossi 224 pts ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 5 Cal Crutchlow 188 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 6 Alvaro Bautista 160 pts SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini 7 Stefan Bradl 146 pts GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP 8 Andrea Dovizioso 133 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team 9 Nicky Hayden 118 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team 10 Bradley Smith 107 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 11 Aleix Espargaro 88 pts SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar 12 Andrea Iannone 57 pts ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team 13 Michele Pirro 50 pts ITA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team 14 Colin Edwards 40 pts USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 15 Randy De Puniet 36 pts FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Test Team 16 Hector Barbera 31 pts SPA FTR Avintia Blusens 17 Danilo Petrucci 24 pts ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project 18 Yonny Hernandez 21 pts COL DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team 19 Hiroshi Aoyama 13 pts JAP FTR Avintia Blusens 20 Claudio Corti 11 pts ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing 21 Ben Spies 9 pts USA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team 22 Katsayuki Nakasuga 5 pts JPN YAMAHA Yamaha YSP Racing Team 23 Karel Abraham 5 pts CZE ART Cardion AB Motoracing 24 Alex De Angelis 5 pts RSM DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team 25 Michael Laverty 3 pts GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport 26 Bryan Staring 2 pts AUS FTR-HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini 27 Javier Del Amor 1 pts SPA FTR Avintia Blusens 28 Martin Bauer 0 pts AUT S&B SUTER Remus Racing Team 29 Lukas Pesek 0 pts CZE IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project 30 Luca Scassa 0 pts ITA ART Cardion AB Motoracing 31 Ivan Silva 0 pts SPA FTR Avintia Blusens 32 Damian Cudlin 0 pts AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport 33 Blake Young 0 pts USA APR CRT Attack Performance — Moto2™ Pol Espargaro has become Moto2™ World Champion of 2013, winning Sunday’s AirAsia Grand Prix of Japan in fine style. The Spaniard’s task was aided when chief rivals Scott Redding and Tito Rabat were both removed from the action in a multiple collision on the first lap. Mika Kallio and Tom Luthi completed the podium. Under clear skies and with ambient temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius, it was a clean start to proceedings until a crash occurred on the exit of the second corner; Redding, Rabat (Tuenti HP 40) and Alex Mariñelarena (Blusens Avintia) were involved, and none of the trio would restart. Mariñelarena unfortunately suffered a broken left wrist. At Turn 3, Dominique Aegerter suffered a separate incident but the Technomag carXpert rider was able to re-join the grid following a red flag stoppage. On the first of 15 laps for the restarted race, Espargaro took the lead from Marc VDS’ Kallio and would not be headed for the rest of the afternoon. This left the Finn second from a pole position start, with Interwetten Paddock Moto2’s Tom Luthi on the podium for the third race in a row and the sixth time this season. Xavier Simeon (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team) and Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team) completed the top five from Aspar Team Moto2’s Nico Terol, NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis and Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami – the leading Japanese rider in his home event. It was a race of high attrition, with no less than nine riders failing to make the finish, although the aforementioned Aegerter impressively fought back to eighth position after running last at the restart. With the title wrapped up in favour of Espargaro, a single race remains on the 2013 Moto2™ calendar. The Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana will take place at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit on 10 November. Moto2™ Race Classification 1 / Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Tuenti HP 40 / KALEX / 28’15.162 / 152.9 / 2 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX / 28’16.506 / 152.8 / 1.344 3 / Thomas LUTHI / SWI / Interwetten Paddock Moto2 / SUTER / 28’18.541 / 152.6 / 3.379 4 / Xavier SIMEON / BEL / Maptaq SAG Zelos Team / KALEX / 28’23.582 / 152.1 / 8.42 5 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Italtrans Racing Team / KALEX / 28’25.477 / 152 / 10.315 6 / Nicolas TEROL / SPA / Aspar Team Moto2 / SUTER / 28’26.526 / 151.9 / 11.364 7 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / NGM Mobile Forward Racing / SPEED UP / 28’27.880 / 151.7 / 12.718 8 / Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Technomag carXpert / SUTER / 28’30.771 / 151.5 / 15.609 9 / Takaaki NAKAGAMI / JPN / Italtrans Racing Team / KALEX / 28’33.576 / 151.2 / 18.414 10 / Mattia PASINI / ITA / NGM Mobile Racing / SPEED UP / 28’35.841 / 151 / 20.679 11 / Anthony WEST / AUS / QMMF Racing Team / SPEED UP / 28’45.921 / 150.2 / 30.759 12 / Marcel SCHROTTER / GER / Maptaq SAG Zelos Team / KALEX / 28’46.296 / 150.1 / 31.134 13 / Axel PONS / SPA / Tuenti HP 40 / KALEX / 28’46.497 / 150.1 / 31.335 14 / Gino REA / GBR / Argiñano & Gines Racing / SPEED UP / 28’46.667 / 150.1 / 31.505 15 / Sandro CORTESE / GER / Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 28’46.963 / 150.1 / 31.801 Pole Position: Mika KALLIO 2’01.248 142.5 Km/h Fastest Lap: Pol ESPARGARO 1’52.028 154.2 Km/h Lap 9 Circuit Record Lap: Pol ESPARGARO 1’51.100 155.5 Km/h 2012 Circuit Best Lap: Pol ESPARGARO 1’50.886 155.8 Km/h 2012 CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TILL DATE: 1 ESPARGARO 265, 2 REDDING 224, 3 RABAT 204, 4 KALLIO 185, 5 AEGERTER 151, 6 LUTHI 146, 7 NAKAGAMI 145, 8 TEROL 125, 9 ZARCO 123, 10 TORRES 106, 11 CORSI 92, 12 SIMEON 84, 13 SIMON 74, 14 DE ANGELIS 66, 15 WEST 53. — Moto3™ Alex Marquez has claimed his first ever World Championship race victory in the Moto3™ AirAsia Grand Prix of Japan. In a race full of surprises, title contenders Luis Salom and Alex Rins both suffered crashes before Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Marquez beat Maverick Viñales by just two hundredths of a second. The events of Sunday could not have been scripted at Twin Ring Motegi. Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) started from his seventh pole position of the season, whereas championship leader Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was fourth on the grid and would claim the title if he won with Rins 11th or lower. However, the destiny of the championship would be shaken up on various occasions throughout the race. It was a shocking opening lap for Red Bull KTM Ajo. Just seconds after Zulfahmi Khairuddin was taken out in a Turn 1 incident with Ambrogio Racing’s Brad Binder, Salom was collected in V Corner by Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Isaac Viñales. The Mallorcan re-joined the race and proceeded to post lap records as he began a charge back up the order, only to highside out of contention at Turn 4 on Lap 8. Knowing the championship leader was out, Rins was set to top the points table as he ran third behind Viñales (Team Calvo) and teammate Marquez on the 14th lap, following an entertaining scrap with both of the riders in front of him. Unbelievably, a mistake from Rins saw him lose control to throw the championship fight wide open once again. He re-joined the race but recovered only to 24th position, out of the points. It was Viñales who led into the final tour, but an error at the Turn 10 hairpin was more than the invitation Marquez needed. The younger brother of MotoGP™ World Championship leader Marc would hold on for his first victory by the slim margin of 27 thousandths of a second. Viñales shot back up into title contention with second place, with the podium completed by Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Jonas Folger. A somewhat quiet place for Mahindra Racing’s Miguel Oliveira ended with fourth position, while a dramatic fight for fifth saw San Carlo Team Italia’s Romano Fenati beating Caretta Technology – RTG duo Jack Miller and John McPhee. The top ten was rounded out by Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno), Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini Moto3) and the aforementioned Binder. There was also contentment for Japan’s Hyuga Watanabe, who scored for La Fonte Tascaracing. Nine riders failed to make the finish, including Ongetta-Rivacold’s Alexis Masbou who crashed on the final lap. The remarkable events of Motegi leave Moto3™ with a triangular final round shootout for the title. Salom will head into the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana with a two-point lead over Viñales, with Rins only a further three in arrears. Moto3™ Race Classification 1 / Alex MARQUEZ / SPA / Estrella Galicia 0,0 / KTM / 39’45.953 / 144.8 / 2 / Maverick VIÑALES / SPA / Team Calvo / KTM / 39’45.980 / 144.8 / 0.027 3 / Jonas FOLGER / GER / Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 / KALEX KTM / 39’53.703 / 144.4 / 7.75 4 / Miguel OLIVEIRA / POR / Mahindra Racing / MAHINDRA / 40’01.842 / 143.9 / 15.889 5 / Romano FENATI / ITA / San Carlo Team Italia / FTR HONDA / 40’04.276 / 143.7 / 18.323 6 / Jack MILLER / AUS / Caretta Technology – RTG / FTR HONDA / 40’04.385 / 143.7 / 18.432 7 / John MCPHEE / GBR / Caretta Technology – RTG / FTR HONDA / 40’04.392 / 143.7 / 18.439 8 / Niklas AJO / FIN / Avant Tecno / KTM / 40’11.561 / 143.3 / 25.608 9 / Niccolò ANTONELLI / ITA / GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 / FTR HONDA / 40’11.903 / 143.3 / 25.95 10 / Brad BINDER / RSA / Ambrogio Racing / MAHINDRA / 40’18.886 / 142.9 / 32.933 11 / Jakub KORNFEIL / CZE / Redox RW Racing GP / KALEX KTM / 40’19.020 / 142.8 / 33.067 12 / Livio LOI / BEL / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX KTM / 40’19.184 / 142.8 / 33.231 13 / Philipp OETTL / GER / Interwetten Paddock Moto3 / KALEX KTM / 40’19.621 / 142.8 / 33.668 14 / Alan TECHER / FRA / CIP Moto3 / TSR HONDA / 40’24.959 / 142.5 / 39.006 15 / Hyuga WATANABE / JPN / La Fonte Tascaracing / FTR HONDA / 40’25.212 / 142.5 / 39.259 Pole Position: Alex RINS 2’09.387 133.5 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Alex MARQUEZ 1’58.380 146.0 Km/h Lap 11 Old Circuit Record Lap: Alessandro TONUCCI 1’59.111 145.1 Km/h 2012 Circuit Best Lap: Danny KENT 1’58.371 146.0 Km/h 2012 CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TILL DATE: 1 SALOM 300, 2 VIÑALES 298, 3 RINS 295, 4 MARQUEZ 200, 5 FOLGER 163, 6 OLIVEIRA 144, 7 MILLER 110, 8 MASBOU 84, 9 VAZQUEZ 71, 10 KORNFEIL 68, 11 FENATI 68, 12 KHAIRUDDIN 65, 13 BINDER 62, 14 AJO 62, 15 SISSIS 59. — Yamaha Report Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo delivered an incredible performance today to take victory in the Grand Prix of Japan, claiming the Motegi circuit for Yamaha. A dramatic weekend dominated by complicated weather conditions meant the only dry set up time for today’s race was this morning in the final warm up session. Lorenzo rose to the occasion, firing off the start line like a bullet in front of Yamaha’s home crowd to lead the race into the first laps. The Mallorcan was able to build a gap of nearly two seconds in the first three laps then saw it cut as championship rival Marc Marquez closed in. Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were able to get onto the heels of Lorenzo but unable to pass. The defending champion held on to the line to score his 51st Grand Prix victory, crossing the line just over three seconds clear of Marquez. Teammate Valentino Rossi made a great start to the race from the second row and tucked in behind Lorenzo in second position as the Japanese Grand prix got underway. Unfortunately a lack of braking power on turn 11 of the second lap caused him to run wide, allowing Marquez and Pedrosa past. He then got back on track but suffered the same issue the following lap, dropping down to 11th in the process. In typical Rossi fashion he then put his head down and made several passes as he fought back up the field to finish in sixth position. The stunning victory by Lorenzo brings him five points closer to Marquez. 13 points separate them now as they head to the final round in Valencia. Rossi increases his point score to 224 and remains in fourth place in the standings. Jorge Lorenzo – 1st / 42’34.291 / 24 laps “We chose the soft tyre and the others chose the hard tyre, we knew that at the end of the race we might have problems but finally I could push even more the lap times. The strategy could have been different but to take this win at the home of Honda makes me very happy.” Valentino Rossi – 6th / +24.637 / 24 laps “I made a great start but on the second lap when I arrived at turn 11 I had not enough power on the brakes and I went too deep and lost two positions. On the next lap it was the same. It was my mistake then because I should have remembered from the lap before that I didn’t have enough on the brakes. I couldn’t stay on the track and lost a lot of positions. After that I tried to do the maximum. My pace was quite good and think I could have been in fourth place but it wasn’t enough to get on the podium.” Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager “A fantastic 200th victory for Yamaha. To do it here in Japan and with the state of the championship is great. The way the team worked together with jorge today with the tyre choice was great, it was risky but we went for it, and finally made the difference with it. It’s a big reward for a great season so far. We made two mistakes with the collarbone injuries but we are still alive in the championship standings so lets see what happens in Valencia.” Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director “A perfect race in really difficult circumstances. We were able to capitalise on the best results even if the weekend started with much less track time and we knew we were in a place where our competitors were stronger than us. I think the team and Jorge did a fantastic job. We came here with the target to lead the practices and win the race and we were able to do that. It has been a really amazing weekend. To win in Motegi gives us double points! Unfortunately Vale made a couple of mistakes that compromised his race, he had a good start and could have finished much further in front. We are ready to fight in Valencia!” Crutchlow prevails in exciting Tech 3 battle in Japan Cal Crutchlow triumphed in an exciting duel with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate Bradley Smith in today’s Japanese Grand Prix to claim a hard fought seventh position that secured the British rider the honour of finishing leading non-factory rider in 2013. With only 45 minutes of dry track time available on a weather-hit weekend at the Twin Ring Motegi ahead of this afternoon’s 24-lap race, Crutchlow and Smith engaged in a thrilling battle in the first half of the race. In easily the best conditions of the weekend, it was Smith who led the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 charge after he made another one of his super fast reactions off the line to rocket from 13th on the grid into the top six. Smith opted to race the extra soft compound Bridgestone rear tyre to boost his speed in the early laps and it was a strategy the paid off handsomely, as he hunted down Stefan Bradl for a place in the top five. A mistake by Valentino Rossi in the hard braking zone for Turn 11 on lap three elevated Smith into the top five and he then rode magnificently to keep hard charging Crutchlow at bay until lap nine. Crutchlow went for a different tyre selection strategy and the harder option rear tyre kept him firmly in contention for the top six until the final stages when he was unable to maintain a challenge to Rossi. Crutchlow’s seventh position moved him to 188-points in the Championship rankings and with just one race remaining, Alvaro Bautista can no longer catch him to claim the accolade of being the top non-factory rider this season. Smith’s brilliant ride to eighth saw him take a giant leap towards securing 10th in the overall World Championship standings, now he is 19-points clear of Aleix Espargaro. Smith’s impressive rookie season is certainly finishing strongly, with the 22-year-old claiming six top 10 finishes in the last seven races and he finished just over three seconds behind Crutchlow this afternoon. After a gruelling three-week world tour to Malaysia, Australia and Japan, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now heads back to Europe for a well-deserved rest ahead of the final race in Valencia on November 10. Cal Crutchlow – 7th – 188 points “It was a very difficult race because from the first lap I realised I was having an issue with the front brake overheating and choosing the harder rear tyre was not the best choice. Bradley used the softer tyre and in the first few laps, the problem with the brake meant I was having to focus on not running into is the back. My tyre was good for the second half of the race and I could pass Bradley but when Valentino came through he was a bit faster. We were just missing a few things to be more competitive but even with the soft tyre like Lorenzo, I wasn’t going to be racing at his pace. He really did a great job. The positive is with today’s result assured the fifth position in the Championship, and my target before the first race was to finish best non-factory rider. Now we can go home and get some rest after a tough period before trying to end the season strongly in Valencia.” Bradley Smith – 8th – 107 points “I’m pleased with the eighth position. I knew it would be been a tricky race starting from 13th, but fortunately I made a good start and I was trying to push at my maximum right from the off so that I was able to follow Bradl during the first laps. We definitely made some improvements on a full fuel load during this weekend and it helped me a lot to find a good rhythm. I saw Valentino making a mistake at the beginning of the race, so I knew he might come back and I just tried to follow him when he passed me. Today was probably the smallest gap to the other satellite riders so far and that makes me happy, especially considering that we had just one dry session this morning to set the bike up. I’m pleased with the progress we made during the season and this 10th place seems to be safe and now I’m just looking forward to make a good race in Valencia to end the Championship on a high.” Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha YSP Racing Team – 11th Time: +53.345 sec “My participation in the race this time was coupled with development responsibilities for the Yamaha YZR-M1 machine. Since my machine was fitted with test parts and I was able to finish the entire race successfully, I was able to provide the development team with a lot of good data. I believe that we have gotten a clear vision of things that need to be done and I think this is going to help next year’s YZR-M1 evolve into an even better machine. For the development team, this is our second time participating in a MotoGP race, following the one last year. I feel that this kind of experience helps build our motivation and contributes to making the machine even better. However, I must say that I was disappointed with my result in the race, I don’t think we were able to get the set-up as good as it should have been.” — HRC Report Repsol Honda RC213V rider Marc Marquez rode to a strategic second place at today’s Japanese Grand Prix, preferring not to risk his world championship lead in pitched battle, with just one round remaining for a tense final decider. Second Repsol Honda RC213V rider Dani Pedrosa was third, making it a double rostrum for Honda – with two more Hondas taking the next two places to make four out of the top five. The double podium secured the Teams Championship for Repsol Honda, with one race to spare. Honda also leads the Constructors Championship by 13 points from Yamaha, with a maximum of 25 available. Today’s race was won by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) adding momentum to his late-season challenge to regain the title lead at the final race. The Spanish defending champion’s chances were revived last weekend in Australia, where Marquez was disqualified for an error in interpreting special one-race pit-stop rules. It means the World Championship battle will be decided at the final race for the first time since Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden defeated Valentino Rossi at Valencia in 2006. A separate battle for fourth was won by Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Gresini Honda RC213V) from Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda); while CRT-category competitor Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) finished 22nd on his first visit to the Twin Ring Motegi circuit. The penultimate round of the World Championship was dogged by bad weather – the legacy of fading Typhoon Francisco – with no practice possible all Friday and on Saturday morning. Each class ran one extended session to determine qualifying positions, and then extended race-day morning sessions – by when the weather had cleared and the track was dry for the first time. It posed an extra challenge for former 125 and Moto2 World Champion Marquez, whose blazing rookie season in the premier class has brought him tantalisingly close to a maiden MotoGP World Championship. With no previous experience of the class-leading Honda RC213V at the Honda-owned circuit, the severe lack of dry practice cost him vital set-up time. Even so he challenged for the lead mid-race, before deciding that a safe 20 points would be the wiser choice. His lead now stands at 13 points: should Lorenzo win at the final round in two weeks, Marquez must be no lower than third if he is to win the crown at his first attempt. The 20-year-old from Catalunya in Spain has made a blazing impact on the top class. Aside from the Australian mishap, he has been on the rostrum at every race bar one, and amassed a total of six race wins, including four in a row. All year he has been breaking “youngest-ever” records … but even if it all goes wrong at Valencia and he has to wait one more year, he will still be in line to be youngest-ever premier-class world champion, provided he ties it up before the end of October. The previous youngest champion was Honda rider Freddie Spencer, in 1983. Pedrosa has also had a season of consistent strength, but for a mid-year interruption with an injury that ultimately cost him his own championship chances. Aside from that two-race spell, the former 125 and double 250 champion has won three races and stood on the podium 12 times altogether. The experienced 28-year-old’s third victory came three races ago in Malaysia, as his improving physical condition was matched by an important step in finding machine settings more suited to his style. Third in today’s race was a disappointment after winning the previous two events at the circuit in the hills to the north of Tokyo, and meant an end to his hopes of finishing higher than third overall in the final standings. Fourth place for Bautista equalled his best results of the year and continued a strong late-season run for the former 125 World Champion. The Spanish rider has an extra role for Honda: the only rider race-developing Showa suspension and Nissin brakes, made by Japanese associates of Honda. This position further improved his chances of retaining sixth overall. His nearest rival is LCR Honda RC213V rider Stefan Bradl, for him this was a comeback ride after missing the last two races with a fractured ankle. The race was just over two weeks after surgery in Malaysia, and to finish fifth proved the determination of the German former Moto2 champion. While the title stays alive in the premier class, a new champion was crowned in the all-Honda powered Moto2 class, as Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) gained an unassailable advantage with his sixth victory of the season. His last rival, Englishman Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) was absent from a race cut from 23 to 15 laps – one of the victims of a first-corner crash that brought out the red flags at the first attempt. Redding had led on points from round four until last weekend in Australia, when he broke his wrist and missed the race. His return a week later in Japan was a brave but ultimately unsuccessful last-ditch effort. The organiser supply identical sealed race-tuned Honda CBR600 engines to all competitors to guarantee reliable and usually close racing, but Espargaro’s pace in the second shortened race in a row stretched out the pursuit. First-time pole qualifier Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) was second after a race-long chase, three seconds down at the flag. Swiss former 125 World Champion Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Suter) a slightly lesser distance behind for third. It was Brno winner Kallio’s third visit to the rostrum; and a sixth for Luthi. Xavier Simeon (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team Kalex) eventually escaped from a race-long battle with Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) for fifth; double race winner Nico Terol (Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) closed to within a second of his Spanish compatriot by the finish. Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert Suter) was eighth. Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) had a strong ride through from 22nd on the grid to ninth, finally outpacing Mattia Pasini (NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up). Ten seconds away, Anthony West (QMMF Racing Team Speed Up) forced his way to the front of a quartet disputing 11th, taking the place narrowly from Marcel Schrotter (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team Kalex), Axel Pons (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex), Gino Rea (Arginano & Gines Racing Speed Up) and Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex). Eleventh to 15th and last point were covered by just over one second. The costly first-corner crash was triggered when three-race winner Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) fell near the front of the pack. Redding, who had qualified 15th, was unable to avoid his bike, and also fell heavily, while Blusens Avintia Kalex replacement rider Alex Marinelarena also crashed and was stretchered away. None made the restart. Espargaro now the new World Champion with hi unassailable lead on points, but Rabat still has the chance to claim second from Redding, who is 20 points clear. An exciting Moto3 race threw the championship wide open and yielded a best result of the year for the Honda riders, with the top trio in a close fight to the end over fifth place, and a fourth in ninth place. Until the last corner there had been five Hondas in the top ten … but Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda) crashed out of a potential fifth almost within sight of the chequered flag. While Alex Marquez won his first grand prix after title leaders Luis Salom and Alex Rins crashed out (all KTM), four Honda riders were in the big battle not far behind the remaining leading quartet. Masbou, Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italian FTR Honda), John McPhee (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda) had caught fast-starting Jack Miller (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda). The quartet changed places repeatedly, then crossed the line Fenati, Miller and McPhee after Masbou went missing, all over the line within 0.12 seconds. Isaac Vinales (Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR Honda) had been with the leaders when he crashed on the first lap, taking down points leader Alex Salom. Later in the race fellow KTM rider Alex Rins also crashed, handing a slender points lead to Maverick Vinales (KTM), a narrow second in today’s race. Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda, 2nd – “Second place today is a very good result. After my crash in warm-up, I knew that it would be difficult to be consistent – because in the morning I hadn’t managed that either. This was my first time at this track with a MotoGP bike and in practice I was unable to get any references in the dry, leaving me with only the warm-up and the race in which to find my way. I saw that Jorge was a little stronger than us here and I had a couple of scary moments, making me decide that 20 points and the gap being reduced by only five points would be a decent result. There is only one race remaining – the most important of the year – so we shall try to be more focused than ever at Valencia.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd – “It was a bit of a boring race for me, because I tried to give everything but I had a lot of problems exiting the corners; I was unable to get on the gas fully and I lost a lot of time to Marc and Jorge. I was third for the entire race, trying to hold onto them. However, at the midway point of the race my pace started to become slower than theirs. Now we have to focus on the next race, in Valencia, where we shall try to do as well as possible.” Alvaro
