Ducati Monster Forum

Surprised yo see a Duc so high at Le Mans

Le Mans, Friday, May 15, 2015

Pos.   Num.   Rider   Nation   Team   Bike   Km/h   Time   Gap 1st/Prev.
1   4   Andrea DOVIZIOSO   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   308.3   1'34.034   
2   93   Marc MARQUEZ   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   308.1   1'34.280   0.246 / 0.246
3   99   Jorge LORENZO   SPA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   307.7   1'34.301   0.267 / 0.021
4   35   Cal CRUTCHLOW   GBR   CWM LCR Honda   Honda   306.9   1'34.310   0.276 / 0.009
5   44   Pol ESPARGARO   SPA   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   306.0   1'34.331   0.297 / 0.021
6   45   Scott REDDING   GBR   EG 0,0 Marc VDS   Honda   303.1   1'34.472   0.438 / 0.141
7   46   Valentino ROSSI   ITA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   301.8   1'34.570   0.536 / 0.098
8   68   Yonny HERNANDEZ   COL   Pramac Racing   Ducati   305.9   1'34.598   0.564 / 0.028
9   29   Andrea IANNONE   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   308.3   1'34.721   0.687 / 0.123
10   38   Bradley SMITH   GBR   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   307.9   1'34.729   0.695 / 0.008
11   41   Aleix ESPARGARO   SPA   Team SUZUKI ECSTAR   Suzuki   296.0   1'34.854   0.820 / 0.125
12   25   Maverick VIÑALES   SPA   Team SUZUKI ECSTAR   Suzuki   301.0   1'35.254   1.220 / 0.400
13   26   Dani PEDROSA   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   303.0   1'35.348   1.314 / 0.094
14   6   Stefan BRADL   GER   Athinà Forward Racing   Yamaha Forward   299.0   1'35.367   1.333 / 0.019
15   69   Nicky HAYDEN   USA   Aspar MotoGP Team   Honda   296.5   1'35.510   1.476 / 0.143
16   9   Danilo PETRUCCI   ITA   Pramac Racing   Ducati   297.5   1'35.617   1.583 / 0.107
17   17   Karel ABRAHAM   CZE   AB Motoracing   Honda   296.7   1'35.690   1.656 / 0.073
18   63   Mike DI MEGLIO   FRA   Avintia Racing   Ducati   303.9   1'35.697   1.663 / 0.007
19   19   Alvaro BAUTISTA   SPA   Aprilia Racing Team Gresini   Aprilia   297.7   1'35.800   1.766 / 0.103
20   15   Alex DE ANGELIS   RSM   Octo IodaRacing Team   ART   294.0   1'35.802   1.768 / 0.002
21   8   Hector BARBERA   SPA   Avintia Racing   Ducati   306.4   1'35.825   1.791 / 0.023
22   43   Jack MILLER   AUS   CWM LCR Honda   Honda   298.3   1'35.835   1.801 / 0.010
23   76   Loris BAZ   FRA   Athinà Forward Racing   Yamaha Forward   296.0   1'36.161   2.127 / 0.326
24   50   Eugene LAVERTY   IRL   Aspar MotoGP Team   Honda   296.4   1'36.607   2.573 / 0.446
25   33   Marco MELANDRI   ITA   Aprilia Racing Team Gresini   Aprilia   296.4   1'36.973   2.939 / 0.366

Why are you surprised? It has like 20 straights. The last 2 minutes of the session was great.

FP2:

1 38 Bradley Smith Yamaha 1'33.179     
2 99 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1'33.369 0.190 0.190
3 4 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 1'33.553 0.374 0.184
4 35 Cal Crutchlow Honda 1'33.652 0.473 0.099
5 93 Marc Marquez Honda 1'33.670 0.491 0.018
6 46 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1'33.686 0.507 0.016
7 26 Dani Pedrosa Honda 1'33.725 0.546 0.039
8 44 Pol Espargaro Yamaha 1'33.903 0.724 0.178
9 41 Aleix Espargaro Suzuki 1'33.944 0.765 0.041
10 68 Yonny Hernandez Ducati 1'33.953 0.774 0.009
11 29 Andrea Iannone Ducati 1'34.092 0.913 0.139
12 25 Maverick Viñales Suzuki 1'34.110 0.931 0.018
13 43 Jack Miller Honda 1'34.253 1.074 0.143
14 45 Scott Redding Honda 1'34.371 1.192 0.118
15 6 Stefan Bradl Yamaha Forward 1'34.543 1.364 0.172
16 9 Danilo Petrucci Ducati 1'34.568 1.389 0.025
17 69 Nicky Hayden Honda 1'34.663 1.484 0.095
18 8 Hector Barbera Ducati 1'34.745 1.566 0.082
19 76 Loris Baz Yamaha Forward 1'35.002 1.823 0.257
20 63 Mike Di Meglio Ducati 1'35.067 1.888 0.065
21 17 Karel Abraham Honda 1'35.090 1.911 0.023
22 19 Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1'35.137 1.958 0.047
23 50 Eugene Laverty Honda 1'35.182 2.003 0.045
24 15 Alex De Angelis ART 1'35.938 2.759 0.756
25 33 Marco Melandri Aprilia 1'36.056 2.877 0.118

Smith at the top is surprising. Or is it?  ;)

I think this is going to be a good race. 

FP3
Le Mans, Saturday, May 16, 2015
Pos.   Num.   Rider   Nation   Team   Bike   Km/h   Time   Gap 1st/Prev.
1   99   Jorge LORENZO   SPA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   311.8   1'32.647   
2   29   Andrea IANNONE   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   316.6   1'33.018   0.371 / 0.371
3   35   Cal CRUTCHLOW   GBR   CWM LCR Honda   Honda   315.6   1'33.126   0.479 / 0.108
4   4   Andrea DOVIZIOSO   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   314.1   1'33.176   0.529 / 0.050
5   38   Bradley SMITH   GBR   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   311.7   1'33.502   0.855 / 0.326
6   93   Marc MARQUEZ   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   315.0   1'33.517   0.870 / 0.015
7   26   Dani PEDROSA   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   312.9   1'33.597   0.950 / 0.080
8   68   Yonny HERNANDEZ   COL   Pramac Racing   Ducati   307.7   1'33.646   0.999 / 0.049
9   44   Pol ESPARGARO   SPA   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   311.1   1'33.694   1.047 / 0.048
10   46   Valentino ROSSI   ITA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   308.3   1'33.782   1.135 / 0.088
11   25   Maverick VIÑALES   SPA   Team SUZUKI ECSTAR   Suzuki   305.3   1'33.837   1.190 / 0.055
12   9   Danilo PETRUCCI   ITA   Pramac Racing   Ducati   308.4   1'34.057   1.410 / 0.220
13   45   Scott REDDING   GBR   EG 0,0 Marc VDS   Honda   308.0   1'34.097   1.450 / 0.040
14   41   Aleix ESPARGARO   SPA   Team SUZUKI ECSTAR   Suzuki   301.0   1'34.214   1.567 / 0.117
15   8   Hector BARBERA   SPA   Avintia Racing   Ducati   313.6   1'34.332   1.685 / 0.118
16   19   Alvaro BAUTISTA   SPA   Aprilia Racing Team Gresini   Aprilia   303.5   1'34.341   1.694 / 0.009
17   43   Jack MILLER   AUS   CWM LCR Honda   Honda   302.0   1'34.505   1.858 / 0.164
18   69   Nicky HAYDEN   USA   Aspar MotoGP Team   Honda   301.9   1'34.604   1.957 / 0.099
19   6   Stefan BRADL   GER   Athinà Forward Racing   Yamaha Forward   306.5   1'34.759   2.112 / 0.155
20   76   Loris BAZ   FRA   Athinà Forward Racing   Yamaha Forward   300.5   1'35.000   2.353 / 0.241
21   17   Karel ABRAHAM   CZE   AB Motoracing   Honda   303.5   1'35.101   2.454 / 0.101
22   63   Mike DI MEGLIO   FRA   Avintia Racing   Ducati   309.1   1'35.487   2.840 / 0.386
23   50   Eugene LAVERTY   IRL   Aspar MotoGP Team   Honda   301.5   1'35.511   2.864 / 0.024
24   15   Alex DE ANGELIS   RSM   Octo IodaRacing Team   ART   296.6   1'35.671   3.024 / 0.160
25   33   Marco MELANDRI   ITA   Aprilia Racing Team Gresini   Aprilia   303.7   1'35.711   3.064 / 0.040

Q2

Pos.   Num.   Rider   Nation   Team   Bike   Km/h   Time   Gap 1st/Prev.
1   93   Marc MARQUEZ   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   313.1   1'32.246   
2   4   Andrea DOVIZIOSO   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   312.6   1'32.749   0.503 / 0.503
3   99   Jorge LORENZO   SPA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   310.1   1'32.846   0.600 / 0.097
4   35   Cal CRUTCHLOW   GBR   CWM LCR Honda   Honda   310.0   1'32.897   0.651 / 0.051
5   29   Andrea IANNONE   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   316.0   1'33.001   0.755 / 0.104
6   38   Bradley SMITH   GBR   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   309.3   1'33.299   1.053 / 0.298
7   46   Valentino ROSSI   ITA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   307.1   1'33.352   1.106 / 0.053
8   26   Dani PEDROSA   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   313.0   1'33.419   1.173 / 0.067
9   9   Danilo PETRUCCI   ITA   Pramac Racing   Ducati   309.8   1'33.556   1.310 / 0.137
10   41   Aleix ESPARGARO   SPA   Team SUZUKI ECSTAR   Suzuki   298.5   1'33.665   1.419 / 0.109
11   68   Yonny HERNANDEZ   COL   Pramac Racing   Ducati   307.6   1'33.714   1.468 / 0.049
12   44   Pol ESPARGARO   SPA   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   309.7   1'33.724   1.478 / 0.010

MM didn't look very comfortable until the last run. I think Jorghey has the steady speed to get up there fast. MM needs to beat up on JLo the first few laps. At one point Rossi was 12th. He really needs to focus on qualy.

If he wants to win from row 3...

let him. ;D

I agree that You'reghey looks to have the race pace and Marc will have trouble beating him. Marc would be wise to make sure Rossi stays behind him.

Tires shouldn't play a role in the race...the weather?  :-\

I'll go out on a limb and say this could be Dovizioso's weekend. He and Lorenzo were the two with the pace to put together long strings of fast laps over the past couple of days, and Dovi's better in a dogfight. Of course, it's not much of a limb, as Cal Crutchlow said pretty much the same thing...

Marquez put in a nutty lap - jeez, half a second over everyone else? - but hasn't shown the kind of sustained speed of the other two. Counting him out is silly of course, and I'm beginning to think Rossi could win from a start in a nearby timezone, so I'm mostly hoping for another great race in what's already been a fun season.   [thumbsup]

Rossi wins in the rain - the heavier the better for him.

Kind of a snoozer at the front...

great race for 4th between Marc and the Maniac.

Got my time zone wrong. Who's taking bets on Rossi winning the championship?

Four Ducatis in the top ten.

Ride of the meet goes to Crazy Joe.

^ +1 on that  [popcorn]

+2 on that.

That was a fun battle

I think Marc came as close to a highside, without going over the falls, as you can possibly get.

He looked like he was riding a bull.

He was definitely riding that thing on a raged edge. He did mention that pretty much all the Honda riders were having issues with the front. Didn't stop Nicky from being top open rider.

If only Rossi could qualify on the front row!!! If he didn't need to fight through half the field to make it to second, he could have reeled in Jorghey. By the time he got up to second, he knew he was done.

Dovi mentioned in an interview that they just needed a little more to really compete. I'm convinced that the little more they need comes from the rider. When Aoyama top over for the Turd he was barely keeping up with the satellites. I understand he's just a test rider and racing is very different, but at this level it shows the huge impact of the riders. A great rider on a good bike will always trump a good rider on a good bike. Rossi showed that a great rider on a shit bike will result in shit results.

Now MM and Crazy Joe looked like they were back in Moto2. Considering the dislocated shoulder, I would say that was a painful, but awesome successful ride. I'm convince that Iannone is not motivated unless he has someone to battle. This is part of developing the racecraft and in many races this year he has been "battling" his teammate, so I doubt he would feel very good if he inadvertently took Dovi out. Regardless, this race just showed glimpses of the old Crazy Joe. Would love to see that fight in Mugello!

A tremendous shot of confidence for everyone except, maybe, Marquez.

HRC should be very worried. The beginning of the year is when they have to build a big lead. Yamaha would then push towards the end of the year. Jorghey is showing us that he's back on form and Vale is just Vale. I think Argentina might have effected MM more than he has lead on and the Turd is going to take a while to get back up to speed.

Explain.  Do you mean mentally?  His confidence?

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2015/05/18/iannone-it-was-maybe-the-most-difficult-race-of-my-career/176127 (http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2015/05/18/iannone-it-was-maybe-the-most-difficult-race-of-my-career/176127)


Whore-hey might be great rider but he's boring to watch.  And...... I hate his showboating at the end of the races.  He sucks at it.  It just makes him look like an argent asshole.  I actually want to see him fall off the bike at the end of a race as he tries to stand on the seat. 

Yep. Prior to Argentina, he was on the winning side all his aggressive moves. In Jerez and Le Mans, he ended up being pushed out on the first lap.

JLo was dialed in from the start, I don't think Vale could of kept up with his pace even if he caught him. That being said it don't matter what row Vale is in he will shoot through field to the top 3 easily. IMO he could've passed those Ducs sooner but I think he was playing it smart like a true Jedi master so he wouldn't kill his tires.

The next race in Italy will be a good one, Vale says it's one of JLo's faves so a battle between "teammates" may be on the horizon  [popcorn]

Like duccarlos said Honda needs to be strong early in the season because the second half season favors the yamahas.

I'm not sure I'd fully agree that Argentine affected him that much.  Here's why:

It seems his issues on his "bad" races have specifically been errors at the start.  Le Mans he was pushed out as you noted, and there was talk of front end problems that he had to work through.  But once he got settled he ended up riding aggressively back into 4th.  There was also Qatar where he overshot a turn on the first lap and ended up in last(?) place before a masterful ride back up to the 5th.  Thus, he has shown the drive to recover from bad starts, and in the three other races he (1) won, (2) almost won but crashed on penultimate lap in a battle for 1st, and (3) finished 2nd behind a perfectly run JL race.

I would consider the two recovery races to be evidence of his aggression/fearlessness (for lack of a better phrase).  Clearly, the Vale incident at Argentina was aggression/fearless and no doubt the COTA victory was all out riding.  Jerez?  Well, I just think JL was plain better on that track on that day.

He has been eclipsed in media coverage by the success of the GP15 and the return of Vale, along with minor stories like the surprisingly decent performance of the Suzuki, CC's exciting podium in Argentina at the expense of his former employer, and JL's absence/slow start (a story that is now dead).  But take away the two recovery races, and MM might be leading the championship.  My point I guess is that he is a lot closer to dominating than perhaps we as a public perceive, and concomitant with that I think the aggression/fearlessness remains as potent as ever.  I expect a 3-4 win streak mid-season that will swing the championship in his favor.

All that said, I'm still hoping VR can pull it out.  ;D

  

Good assessment and I agree MM is still fearless but he is making big mistakes seems out of desperation. Like that stunt he pulled on turn 1 this past weekend diving in front of three riders nearly riding off track. Then again later on he runs wide. I see desperation

+1

If you look at the same races last year, he would be aggressive but always in control. I understand the issues he had at Le Mans were probably related to the front feel, but he's made too many mistakes this year on tracks where he should be very competitive. As the season wears on,he will find himself in tracks where the Yamaha has clear advantages. He really needs to get his head right before the latter part of the season.

And I also hope that Vale comes back with a vengeance. This is why it's frustrating to see him start from the 3rd row! I think he should hitch himself onto the back of MMs bike during qualy just to simulate the race. I wouldn't mind seeing Jorghey screw up his ankle as he's jumping off the podium. That will serve him right.

David Emmet, Andrea Dovizioso and many others point to problems with the Honda, not anything going on between Marquez' ears. I'm inclined to agree. Even with blowing several corners & generally fighting with the bike much of the race, he finished in essentially the same total time as it took him to win last year. But while the Honda isn't quite as good as last year, the Yamaha and Ducati have gotten much better, and even Marquez' massive talent and aggressiveness can't hide the growing gap. Emmet theorizes that the sweet spot for the Honda is incredibly narrow, so a change in track temperature or other minor issues have an outsized impact on it's performance - witness MM's crazy fast pace in warm-up, followed by near disaster in every corner when the track heated up during the race.

As always, it's worth a full read, including more detail on Iannone's gutsy day:

https://motomatters.com/analysis/2015/05/17/2015_le_mans_motogp_sunday_round_up_why_.html (https://motomatters.com/analysis/2015/05/17/2015_le_mans_motogp_sunday_round_up_why_.html)

Linky bad...

Hmm, it seems to work at my end. Let me see if i can figure it out...

Aaand now it's no longer working for me...

I think it's the whole motomatters site. Can't even get there.

Hasn't worked for me all day long. Been dying to dead David's thoughts about the race and especially the battle for 4th.

Worked for me.

Great article!

Yup...back up.

Regardless of the Honda issues I think we can all agree that we would like to see Jorghey misjudge his jump and fall over the guardrail.

That's a negatory, I don't know why all this hate for George, but Im a fan. I want him to go on and take the championship

It's just because he's a douche nozzle.  :D

That pretty much covers it. ;D ;D

Wow just watched the race !! amazing race by MM and Joe ...thats the way MotoGP should be  what a cracker .

Jay Low ..is sooooo boring ....even his celebrations are lame

He's okay I guess, I met him at Laguna Seca and he was kind enough to give me an autograph.  I guess the hate comes from different places mostly from him inheriting a winning bike.

He's ok, I don't mind him and he seems quite likable in an interview.
I think it was a PR mistake to mimic VRs theatrics. It gives the appearance of an awkward copycat.

Great article.
Honda have been through this before and no company trying very hard to win is immune from it.

exactly the way I feel about him

Yeah, great article by Emmet as usual.  Iannone def has the ride of the race. Pretty amazing what he managed to pull out once he saw MM pass him.

I'm def still rooting for Rossi though... if there is a year for him to have a shot at the title I think it's this one.

Great battle for 4th...and fantastic (if a little boring) ride by JLo.

Finally...people are starting to see that the Honda isn't the best bike on the grid. MM has been covering for its weaknesses for a while now. The Yamaha has been just as good since around the 2nd or 3rd race last season IMO, and now seems to be an outright better bike. Despite MM, the results this season and last prove it.

The M1 was missing the full seamless gearbox. Both Vale and Jorghey were begging for it. Honda lost that advantage this year.

The Duc has shown that it handles similar to the Yamaha with a ton more straight line speed, but the one thing that is probably missing... being able to downshift without using the clutch.

Though I'm sure a fully seamless downshift would help, Dovi seems to be pointing to issues with the bike that use up too much grip in the early stages of the race, leading to a drop off in the last half. Seamless downshifting could help with that, I suppose, and be a tad gentler on the tires on corner entry...

Yep, they also have that load from the extra horsepower. Gearbox + work on the electronics to even out the power delivery.

And fitting Michele Pirro with a Camelback & catheter, then running nearly endless laps around a test track...

I thought the Duc already had clutchless downshifts?

The M1 was missing Marquez last year (and JLo), otherwise it was just fine...and it's even better this year.

From the preseason GP15 reveal

“We will do a comparison test at the next Sepang test. I don’t know if the GP15 will be faster than the GP14.3 at the end of the week. We will focus on the chassis first, while the development of the engine, also in terms of weight, will be done during the season. I expect the engine to be lighter at the end of the coming season. We won’t work on the seamless [gearbox]. Last year, we made important steps forward [with the gearbox] and we are satisfied with it, although it involves only the first 4 gears, not 5th and 6th gear.”

The M1 was a good bike last year, but again, it was missing the gearbox, which was the biggest complaint of both Jorghey and Vale. Take that good package and fix the one deficiency, you get tody's M1. They can brake later and power through the corner with legendary stability. The Duc now has similar stable characteristics, with extra zooooooom that eats through tires. I would love to see them using the spec software to get a heads start on next year.

I just watched Moto3 last night, Danny Kent is definitely impressive.

Who is the last Brit to win a world championship other than WSBK?

Mark

 

Barry Sheen I think, champion of a man