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Category: Moto GP
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SIXTH ROW FOR THE APRILIA RS-GP MACHINES IN THE SPECIAL (RED) LIVERY
The Aprilia RS-GP bikes, once again in their red livery today to celebrate (RED), will start from the sixth row tomorrow for the Valencia GP that closes the curtain on the 2016 MotoGP season.
The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders dedicated the final free practice sessions to solving the grip problems highlighted in the Friday sessions. In the qualifying session, the one that decides the starting grid order tomorrow, Bautista had the right confidence, but then he slid out on turn five, just as he was putting in his best performance, interrupting his efforts for a spot farther forward on the grid. This means that he is forced to settle for the time he made in his first Q1 run (18th at 1’31.847) that places him on the sixth row. Stefan Bradl did better with 1’31.813, overtaking his teammate by one spot on the grid, where he will start alongside him on the sixth row.
The Aprilia RS-GP stand out during the Valencia weekend with an entirely red livery, without any other sponsors or even the Aprilia logo, in order to celebrate (RED), the organization founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver that, with $360 million in assistance, has contributed to the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in African countries since 2006.
#iRideRED is the hashtag that all of the fans can share on social media in order to show their support for this cause.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
"In FP3 and FP4, we tried some different settings and in the end I felt good with them, lapping well in the low 32s and feeling confident with the bike. That is how I went into qualifying, but with the first tyre I felt a slight vibration that kept me from pushing too hard. With the second tyre I felt good straight away. I did a lap without pushing, just to warm up the tyres, and I was already on the same level as my best time. But when I started to push, I fell on turn five. A pity, because I could have even shaved off half a second. But I am still optimistic. I have a good pace and in the past we have already shown that we can make up a lot of positions in the race".
STEFAN BRADL
"Today did not go extremely well. Despite trying a lot of changes in terms of balance, we were unable to entirely solve the difficulty in getting the bike to turn. This penalized us more than we had expected it to in qualifying, where we struggled and were unable to improve as much as the others did. On the other hand, our pace is not bad. We are able to be consistent even with used tyres, but today the flying lap just wasn't there. I'm sure that we will be able to make up a few positions in the race".
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BRADL AND BAUTISTA'S RS-GP MACHINES ON THE SEVENTH ROW
Sunday at the Red Bull Ring promises to be fiery, and not only because of the temperatures that are back to pleasant summer values. On the second day of practice on the Austrian circuit, the MotoGP riders saw their times drop as the conditions improved, as well as the gaps: just over 2 seconds separated the first from the last in the FP3 and FP4 standings, with an extremely compact ranking, especially in the central pack.
These are positions just outside of the top 10 for which the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders are battling.
On one of the most difficult circuits because of the characteristics of the RS-GP, Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl worked mainly in view of the race. The goal is to manage to maintain a consistent pace, setting up the bike so that it is easy to ride and stable in the violent Austrian braking sections.
In qualifying, the Aprilia riders had to reckon with the difficulty of expressing the potential they had demonstrated on the flying lap, for example, in terms of race pace. In particular, Bautista lost tenths in the more flowing section, a direct consequence of a setting oriented more toward stability than handling. Bradl, on the other hand, had to face a less than perfect feeling in braking.
Both Alvaro and Stefan will work on these parameters with the Aprilia technicians as they look for solutions to test in the warm up that will allow them, in the race, to improve on the 19th and 21st positions they achieved in qualifying, placing both of them on the seventh row.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
"Tomorrow anything could happen. On a track where overtaking is complicated, the start is crucial. From a physical point of view, this is not a circuit that creates particular problems, so we'll need to push throughout the entire race, maintaining a good pace. From this point of view, I am satisfied with the work we've done so far. The gaps behind the top 10 are extremely close and we are in a good position in terms of pace. Even the improvements to power are small but tangible along the entire output range. For tomorrow we will try to improve the ride: when you set up a stable bike, inevitably you lose something in handling, so we will try to find a good compromise".
STEFAN BRADL
"Compared to yesterday we were able to work much better, thanks in part to the improved conditions. I am still struggling to get the bike stopped the way I would like to. We knew that it would not be easy on this track, but looking at the gaps, I think that with another step forward in terms of setup, the situation could improve. We will try to work on braking during warm up. Right now it seems like this is the phase that is limiting us the most. For us, every weekend is a race unto itself. With a completely new bike like the RS-GP and particular circuit like this one, we need time to put all the pieces of the puzzle in the right place".
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The Honda WorldSBK Team is pleased to announce the signing of 26-year-old Stefan Bradl from Germany for the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship. Crowned Moto2 World Champion in 2011, Bradl will join former MotoGP™ Champion Nicky Hayden to complete a stellar line-up for Honda next season.
Despite his young age, Bradl has a wealth of experience at international level. Since his 125cc debut in 2005, he has collected nineteen podium finishes and seven wins across all Grand Prix classes. After winning the Moto2 World Championship in 2011, Stefan made his MotoGP debut with the LCR Honda Team in 2012 where his best result was a second-place finish at Laguna Seca in 2013.
The Honda WorldSBK Team would like to thank Michael van der Mark for his outstanding efforts and title-winning contribution during his tenure as a Honda rider. The team will maintain its unconditional support for Michael for the remainder of the season, with the goal of achieving the best possible results.
The Honda WorldSBK Team is pleased to confirm that its riders for the 2017 season will be Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl.
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TWO DAYS OF TESTS FOR BAUTISTA, LOWES AND DI MEGLIO ON THE NEW AUSTRIAN CIRCUIT
The MotoGP riders had a chance to discover the Austrian Red Bull Ring circuit, one of the new additions to the 2016 calendar. Characterised by hard braking, fast acceleration and steep slope changes, the new track will host the next round on the weekend of 14 August.
Only Alvaro Bautista was on the track for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, whereas his teammate, Stefan Bradl, is still recovering after his crash during the warm-up session at the Sachsenring last weekend.
Two more RS-GP machines available to the Aprilia Test Team were ridden by tester Mike Di Meglio and Same Lowes, the English rider currently on the Gresini Moto2 Team, on his second time out with the Italian MotoGP bike that he will ride next season. Sam is continuing his apprenticeship on the RS-GP that began recently in Misano, completing 58 laps on the first day of testing.
Bautista focused on preparatory tests for the race, therefore working on the chassis and electronics setup, in addition to tyre choice. The Austrian track proved to be rather particular straight away. There are a lot of blind corners and the braking and acceleration sections become extremely important, just as much as engine performance that is put to the test on the long, uphill straight stretches. Alvaro also conducted some comparative tests with a new type of front wing and the lighter swingarm that had already been tested at the Sachsenring, two elements that will require further evaluation.
The results in terms of times were satisfactory, with Alvaro taking 166 laps over the course of the two days.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“On this new track you need a lot of engine and a stable bike in braking and acceleration. We worked with these goals, finding some interesting solutions in terms of the race. We still need to do some more testing on the lighter swingarm though. I'm still not certain that it provides an advantage. I should also point out that this is a rather particular track, so it is quite difficult to make comparisons. In terms of safety, on the other hand, I think there are a few spots with very little space and close to the walls. Before the race it would be good to think about a few solutions, especially given the high speeds”.
SAM LOWES
“After the first contact in Misano, I'm beginning to feel more and more at ease astride the RS-GP. It is a positive trend. I improved every time I went out and we began to work on the bike setup to adapt it to my riding style. We have more tests scheduled with Aprilia, but at the moment I am pleased with the level we have achieved. The track is very nice. There are some tight corners and flowing sections. Overall it's fun. It isn't very difficult to learn; you just have to remember the right reference points on the blind corners. Let's just say that, after riding the RS-GP, the straight stretches will seem even longer with the Moto2 bike!”.
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ON THE SACHSENRING, WITH FALL WEATHER, THE APRILIAS RIDDEN BY BAUTISTA AND BRADL ARE TRYING TO FIND THE BEST SETTING FOR THE QUALIFYING TOMORROW
Typically fall weather, with temperatures between 13 and 16 degrees Celsius and a constant threat of rain, characterised the opening Friday of the German MotoGP Championship weekend.
The first session, partly due to the damp track that cause a lot of crashes, had the Aprilia riders sitting in the garage for most of the time available and it was not very helpful for fine tuning the bikes. Stefan Bradl also had a sliding crash that ended without any consequences for the rider. The afternoon session went better when Bautista and Bradl were able to lap with some consistency, obviously dropping their times significantly compared to the morning, as well as finding some good sensations and collecting a series of data that will be useful for finding the best setup for tomorrow, when the riders will be competing for the spots on the starting grid.
In fact, all of the work done today by the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini focused on an initial general setup for the RS-GP, which will be taking on the short and winding German circuit for the first time. At the end of the two sessions, Alvaro Bautista finished in 17th place (1’23.958), just ahead of teammate Stefan Bradl, 18th with 1’24.116.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“With the weather conditions today we certainly could not push to the limit, so we had a general initial contact with the Sachsenring. The feelings are not bad at all, although we didn't force our hand. This is a track where you are in turns for a lot of the time, so traction is very important, especially at maximum lean angle. Today we tried to find as much as possible, especially using the electronics, but that is not enough. We will also need to find more mechanical grip and avoid exploiting the traction control too much. The other front we worked on was stability, which we need to improve. We have the potential to improve a lot for the qualifiers tomorrow".
STEFAN BRADL
“This was an odd first day. The weather made things difficult, especially during FP1. I crashed as it began to rain on a turn where many others crashed. Fortunately, I was not hurt. In the afternoon the conditions improved a bit, but the setting we started with turned out not to be effective. We changed the rear of the bike in one direction, without finding any great benefits, and then toward the end of the session we went back to a configuration that we know better. The feeling was improving, but unfortunately the session was over by that time. Hopefully tomorrow the better weather will allow us to continue working in this direction which seems to be able to bring good results”.
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