marquez«über alles*»

*Márquez on top of the world

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Having had to contend with rain in practice in Argentina and a very wet race day at Assen, the MotoGP field once again found itself battling the elements around Germany’s tight and twisty Sachsenring. Conditions like this – particularly when the track is drying towards the end of a race – pose a real challenge for riders, their engineers and also Michelin’s technicians. Indeed, lap times tend to vary wildly depending upon bike set-up – which is liable to change during the course of the race – riding style and a rider’s confidence and feeling, which are paramount factors in such situations. That was clearly no issue for Marc Márquez and Honda, however, as the Spaniard consummately overcame all the obstacles in front of him to speed clear of his pursuers...

Editorial

Contents4 - Stoner back in the saddle

5 - From Sepang to the Red Bull Ring 6/7 - Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

8/9 - Austria and CZECH REPUBLIC

10 - Emotion

11 - Profile: Cédric Garde

12/13 - Nicolas Goubert says...

14 - In Loris Baz’s pit garage at the Sachsenring

15 - Expert’s corner

NEWS Stoner back in the saddle

It had been four years since Casey Stoner had last taken to the circuit on a MotoGP bike in Europe, and five years since his previous on-track appearance at Misano in Italy. Invited by Ducati and Michelin to get back in the saddle aboard the Desmosedici GP, the Australian did not need asking twice. “It was fun to return to a track like that, which is fairly representative of about 80 per cent of the circuits on the MotoGP calendar. We were essentially able to work through everything we had planned for the two-day test, and it was extremely positive. We found some interesting directions to pursue with the bike, in terms of its chassis and electronics, as well as the tyres that we had for the session.” Just as we had witnessed in Malaysia back at the beginning of the year, Stoner has clearly lost none of his talent. Might that tempt him to re-join the fray at some stage as a ‘wildcard’? That is, indeed, the million-dollar question, and one that the two-time premier class world champion has consistently skirted. “To run four consecutive laps at a good rhythm is one thing, but to complete a full race distance at the same pace is something else altogether,” is all the 30-year-old will give away for now.

NEWS From Sepang to the Red Bull Ring

Even with the summer break approaching apace, there was no let-up for the hard-working MotoGP family, with two test sessions organised in preparation for the second half of the season – one in Malaysia at the beginning of July, followed by another in Austria in the immediate wake of the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. At Sepang, Colin Edwards, Michele Pirro and Cal Crutchlow were eager to evaluate the resurfaced circuit that in October will stage the penultimate race of the 2016 campaign. They concluded that whilst the new asphalt provides excellent grip, it suffers from visibly poor draining at base-course level. “It rained heavily the night before the test began, and the water came up through the track surface as if a tap had been planted in the middle of the circuit,” revealed Edwards. “The conditions were far from ideal...» Be that as it may, the three riders in attendance were nonetheless able to assess nine different front tyres and five rears. On July 19-20, the entire premier class field – barring Repsol Honda and Tech 3 – headed on a journey of discovery to the Red Bull Ring, which in August will play host to the first Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich since 1997.

FLASHBACK

Germany

By clinching his third victory of the season in Germany, Marc Márquez continued to stretch his legs in the MotoGP title standings.The result marked the Spaniard’s seventh Sachsenring success, and his fourth there in the premier class.

Márquez strengthens his grip on the standings

Cal Crutchlow (Honda LCR) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) were the two other heroes of the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

Midway through the 2016 campaign, Marc Márquez sits 48 points ahead of Jorge Lorenzo in the overall standings and 59 clear of Valentino Rossi – but he clearly has no intention of easing off the gas over the summer break. «I’ll still be training hard and getting out on a bike to ensure I’m fighting fit and ready to go when the season resumes,» insists the two-time MotoGP World Champion. «There is still a long way to go and this title battle is far from over yet. I remember how in 2014 I had what might have been considered a comfortable lead, and then had two disastrous races in September at Misano and Aragón that cost me a lot of points, so I’ve learned my lesson from that.» At the Sachsenring, the Honda rider offered further evidence as to just how much he has matured over the past 12 months. «Whilst I might not have always been the quickest over the first half of this season, I have been the most consistent. I have come to appreciate that you do not become world champion by trying to win at all costs, and that sometimes you have to settle for second or third place. Thanks to this more sensible approach, I have only really made one mistake – at Le Mans. That aside, I have finished on the podium every time.» On three of those occasions, he has ascended the highest step...

The Spaniard’s rivals have exhibited far from the same level of consistency. After crashing out of the Dutch TT, Valentino Rossi knew he needed to react fast but he proved powerless to prevent Márquez’s charge. As in Argentina, after changing bikes mid-race in Germany, the Italian was unable to rediscover his earlier rhythm. His uncharacteristically downbeat performance could not even be blamed upon a late pit-stop, since Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso similarly made the switch on Lap 23 and went on to claim rostrum finishes, whereas Rossi took the chequered flag down in eighth. Lorenzo, for his part, was never a factor in the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. After suffering an accident on Friday morning during the opening free practice session, the three-time world champion had to participate in Q1 for the first time in his career as he fell twice more in qualifying and despite giving his all in the race, he could ultimately manage no better than 15th place.

FLASHBACKRed Bull Ring and Brno

The key talking points of MotoGP’s two mid-summer races were indisputably the maiden premier class triumphs for Andrea Iannone and Cal Crutchlow. Following Jack Miller’s breakthrough in the Dutch TT at the end of June, these latest successes extend to six the list of riders who have won at least one grand prix this season – for the first time in a good many years...

Prior to the Red Bull Ring, Ducati’s latest MotoGP victory had come back in 2010, with no one-two finish for the manufacturer since 2007... In Austria, the team and its riders had every reason to feel proud of their achievement.

Summer surprises

After winding up the opening half of the 2016 MotoGP campaign with a brilliant victory in Germany, Marc Márquez reprised the outstanding consistency that has been a hallmark of his title challenge season-long as part two revved into life. In Austria, the championship leader elected not to push his luck up against the factory Ducati team-mates, who were untouchable around the fast Red Bull Ring. After fending off the Yamahas of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi for a while, the Honda rider wisely settled for a safe fifth place and 11 valuable points. In the Czech Republic, the Spaniard stole the limelight in qualifying by setting a new lap record en route to his fifth pole of the year. With rain upsetting the applecart on race day, Márquez subsequently produced a mature performance after making the decision to start on soft-compound wet-weather rubber.Taking care to look after his tyres in the early stages while the Ducatis once more scampered away at the front, the 23-year-old judiciously managed their degradation as a dry line rapidly emerged – albeit not quite quickly enough to enable competitors to change bikes and finish the race on slicks. Márquez’s final act was to overhaul Loris Baz, Héctor Barberá and Eugene Laverty during the last few kilometres to reach the bottom step of the podium.With a 53-point advantage in the title standings and just seven races left to run, the two-time MotoGP World Champion looks to be speeding towards a third career premier class crown whilst behind, it is Rossi who is now his closest pursuer.In finishing fourth in Austria and second in the Czech Republic, the experienced Italian took full advantage of Lorenzo’s troubled weekend at Brno to overtake his team-mate in the Riders’ classification.

En route to claiming his first MotoGP victory, Cal Crutchlow (Honda LCR) was helped by a judicious tyre choice but still had to contend with the likes of Rossi and Marquez snapping at his heels!

Emotion

Since the beginning of the season, Marc Márquez has reached the podium eight times from nine starts – on three of those occasions, the highest step. Two of the Spaniard’s three victories have been ‘lights-to-flag’ successes, in Argentina and Germany. At Termas de Río Hondo, the two-time MotoGP World Champion crossed the finish line some seven seconds clear of his closest pursuer, Valentino Rossi. At the Sachsenring, meanwhile, he wound up almost 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Cal Crutchlow. In 2013 – as he sped towards his first title – the Honda rider had suffered a serious late-season blow when he was disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix for pitting a lap too late in a race that included a mandatory pit-stop to change bikes. «Since then, we have worked hard to perfect our bike switchover,» stresses Emilio Alzamora’s protégé. “In testing, I frequently practice jumping from one bike to another as we run through the optimum positioning of the bikes and what each mechanic should be doing. We try to anticipate every potential scenario and duly devise a carefully considered strategy. From our point of view, there was never a question of bolting on intermediate tyres in Germany, because we knew that I could very quickly get a handle on the slicks, even if the track conditions were not quite ideal.»

THE KING OF ‘LIGHTS-TO-FLAG’

Profile: cedric gardeThis season, Cédric Garde is supervising Michelin’s team of MotoGP tyre-fitters. This is a multi-faceted role as, in addition to overseeing the tyre-fitting bays, he must also liaise with the technicians who work with the various teams. “It’s a job that covers all the bases,” acknowledges the 33-year-old from Clermont-Ferrand, who embarked upon the profession 12 years ago. Working for Michelin via the ‘Auvergne Pneumatique Racing’ organisation, Cédric started out as a tyre-fitter himself in France’s FFSA-run national series. In 2006, he took control of equipment logistics on rallies and, two years later, branched out to include personnel management in the European Le Mans Series. He then enhanced his endurance event experience with three years’ working on the famous Dakar Rally, before switching over to two wheels. “Car racing and bike racing are completely different yet in some respects very similar,” he explains. “The demands are different, and the range of tyres is far larger for bikes because the rider’s feeling plays a greater role.” At grands prix, Garde looks after a team of eight people: a stock-keeper, an assistant and six tyre-fitters, who double up as drivers of the five trucks that transport 1,500 tyres and supporting equipment to every race weekend. “We all need to be very versatile,” explains Cédric, who is moreover in constant radio contact with Michelin’s technicians. “Watching the screens enables us to keep an eye on what is happening out on the track so we can react quickly to teams’ requirements, particularly when the conditions are as challenging and changeable as they were in Germany.” Justifiably proud of the excellent relationship that his team has nurtured with MotoGP team managers and the championship promoter, Cédric has made it his mission to always give the maximum when it comes to customer satisfaction. “It’s important that these ‘tyre-men’ are happy when they work for us,” he concludes.

Overseer

“For the first time since Michelin’s return to MotoGP competition this season, the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland presented the opportunity to see our full range of tyres in action during the same race. The entire field started out on wet-weather tyres – some on softs at the front, some on extra-softs. When the time came to pit to switch bikes as the track dried out, a number of riders opted for slicks while others preferred intermediates. Andrea Dovizioso, indeed, hedged his bets with an intermediate at the front and a slick at the rear. In this particularly unusual race, therefore, we were able to justify the existence of every tyre in our range and, whilst several competitors ultimately came to regret making the wrong choice, they nonetheless professed themselves overwhelmingly satisfied with our products which suited either their riding style or the operating window in which they were used. That said, the constantly changing conditions over the Sachsenring weekend were certainly not easy to manage.

Nicolas goubert says...

On Friday, it was cold and there was a bit of rain, then on Saturday the weather was fine and on Sunday, it rained up until the start of the race. That enabled us to try out the new wet-weather tyres that we had produced after the Dutch TT, where the compounds that we provided had proven to be a bit too hard. It is no secret that we were surprised by the lack of traction at Assen which, when we were previously involved in MotoGP, had had a reputation for being one of the grippiest circuits in the wet. Knowing that the track surface at the Sachsenring is quite old, we planned ahead by manufacturing soft and extra-soft tyres. That proved to be the right move, as both compounds were used over the weekend by various riders and teams – drawing very positive feedback.”

Nicolas goubert says...

Spotted at the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland:No, Sébastien Ogier is not evaluating a switch to MotoGP but, as a fan of all types of motorsport, the three-time FIA World Rally Champion (with Michelin) took the opportunity to chat to Nicolas Goubert about the differences between the two disciplines.

at the Sachsenring Following a promising rookie season of grand prix competition riding a Yamaha in the ‘Open’ class for Forward Racing, Loris Baz was optimistic of taking a leap up the grid this year aboard Avintia Racing’s Ducati GP14.2. That, however, was to count without an unfortunate accident at the first corner of the Gran Premio d’Italia at Mugello in May when he was hit by Álvaro Bautista’s Aprilia, leaving him with 14 fractures in his right foot. Seven weeks later and complete with two nails, three titanium plates and 15 screws, the Frenchman re-joined the MotoGP grid for the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. He reflected that it was no easy task to settle back into the groove after missing three races, while at the same time needing to convince his employers that he deserves to remain on-board in 2017... “The unpredictable weather over the course of the weekend didn’t do me any favours either!” joked Héctor Barberá’s team-mate. “On the positive side, my foot didn’t cause me any pain. I’m still lacking a bit of strength and my arms are to a certain extent compensating for my right leg but, thankfully, this circuit turns predominantly to the left. It almost feels like I’m coming back from the winter off-season, in that I need to get back into the rhythm after a long break.” The difference in this instance is that his rivals are already firmly on the pace, and Baz also had to contend with trying to overcome the set-up issues that have plagued him ever since the championship returned to Europe at the end of April. “I’m struggling for confidence; I don’t feel the front grip and I almost hold my breath every time I post a fast lap. Nonetheless, we decided to stop making such radical set-up changes to the bike, in favour of focusing on smaller elements bit-by-bit.” The 23-year-old had clearly hoped for more on his comeback than just 17th position at the chequered flag, two laps adrift of the race-winner. “I went for the extra-soft tyre at the front, but the circuit soon began to dry out and it transpired to be a bit too soft for my riding style. After changing over to slicks, I still didn’t feel comfortable so I returned to the pits to switch to intermediates – but of course, the track then dried very quickly... That all meant I ended up two laps down.”

In Loris Baz’s pit garage

Return to actionReturn to action

‘The tyre for everyone’

Despite hanging up his racing helmet at the end of the 2014 grand prix season, Colin Edwards remains very much involved in MotoGP and, last year, the Texan participated in Michelin’s tyre development programme on-board a Yamaha bike. This year, he has continued to make sporadic on-track appearances around his role as a pundit for British TV channel BT Sport, which broadcasts the grand prix races live. At the beginning of July, Edwards travelled to Malaysia to assist Michelin’s evaluation of Sepang’s new track surface, with the objective of determining which tyres will be taken to Kuala Lumpur in October for the penultimate round of the 2016 campaign. “I hadn’t been testing or out on a bike since

March,” revealed the double World Superbike Champion and 12-time MotoGP podium-finisher. “That enabled me to assess the progress made by Michelin in a period of just over three months. The front tyre now offers more feedback and a better balance with the rear. Some riders are still lacking a little confidence in its use, but Michelin’s technicians have worked hard to make it a tyre that suits everybody. That has to be the Holy Grail for a single-manufacturer championship with a limited tyre allocation. We also took advantage of the Malaysian test to try out new, more wear-resistant rubber compounds, which yielded a similarly positive outcome.”

Expert’s corner

colinedwards

Date Grand Prix circuit

1 20/03 Qatar Losail International2 03/04 Argentina Termas de Río Hondo3 10/04 Américas Circuit Of The Americas4 24/04 Spain Circuito de Jerez5 08/05 France Le Mans6 22/05 Italy Mugello7 05/06 Catalunya Circuito de Catalunya8 26/06 Netherlands TT Assen9 17/07 Germany Sachsenring10 14/08 Austria Red Bull Ring11 21/08 CZECH REPUBLIC Brno 12 04/09 GREAT BRITAIN Silverstone13 11/09 San Marino Misano14 25/09 Aragón MotorLand Aragón15 16/10 Japan Twin Ring Motegi16 23/10 Australia Phillip Island17 30/10 Malaysia Sepang International18 13/11 Valencia circuito ricardo tormo

2016 MotoGP Calendar

The Championship

1 - Marquez (Honda).............

2 - Rossi (Yamaha).................

3 - lorenzo (Yamaha)............

4 - Pedrosa (Honda)..............

5 - Iannone (Ducati)..............

6 - Vińales (Suzuki)...............

7 - P.Espargaro (Yamaha)......

...

mag 1

mag 2

mag 3

mag 4

mag 5

mag 6

mag 7

197

144

138

109

101

100

81