Bridgestone reviews successful Mugello round

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Masao Azuma provides in depth analysis of Round 5 of the 2013 MotoGP™ World Championship.
 
Excellent conditions greeted riders at the Gran Premio d'Italia TIM with the dry Mugello tarmac reaching a peak of 44°C on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, ensuring the teams had plenty of relevant set-up data for the 23 lap race.

Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo rode an inspired race, winning his third race in a row at the Italian circuit ahead of Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow.

Tyre conservation and tactics were as crucial as ever to those podium results at a demanding circuit and Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department’ Chief Engineer Masao Azuma explains why it was important for the Bridgestone rears to feature a heat-resistant construction last weekend.

"After the new 1000cc MotoGP machines were introduced last year," commenced Azuma, "Bridgestone reviewed its tyre severity rating for every circuit on the calendar. These ratings are based on the number of right and left-handed corners, the type of asphalt used and many other factors that contribute. Using this rating system, Mugello has always been one of the more severe circuits in MotoGP for tyres, but the increase in loads generated by these heavier, more powerful motorcycles increased the stress endured by tyres at this circuit to a point where the heat-resistant construction was needed."

"As a result, we decided that for this year, the best decision for the safety of the riders was to supply all our rear slicks at Mugello in our heat-resistant construction."

He went on to explain the process behind the supply of the specific tyres provided for the Claiming Rule Teams at Mugello, stating, "As we are supplying rear slicks to the CRT riders this year that are one step softer than the works riders, it means for the first time our soft rubber compound was used on the right shoulder of a rear slick option at Mugello. The use of this soft compound on the right shoulder means we decided to use heat-resistant construction for the CRT-specific slicks for safety reasons as well, and the results were as we expected; quite positive."

"Some riders do notice a slight difference in grip from the edge of the tyre with this heat-resistant construction compared to our regular slicks, however, the performance these tyres offer is still extremely high. Proof of this point was that new qualifying and race lap records were set at Mugello last weekend using the heat-resistant rear slicks."

Given that the Gran Premio d'Italia TIM was held earlier in the year than usual this time around Bridgestone had to consider several factors in preparation for the Mugello round.

"Reviewing the historical data we could see that generally track temperatures at Mugello are quite high, but this year not only was the race held earlier, mainland Europe has experienced unusually cool weather this spring," continued Azuma. "We considered these factors when deciding on our tyre allocation for the Italian Grand Prix, particularly for the front slicks. In fact, we waited until the Wednesday before the race weekend to lock in our front tyre allocation, as we wanted the most accurate predictions of what the weather would bring."



Source : http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2013/bridgestone+review+mugello+race

Valentino Rossi joins the FIM Ride Green Team

As part of their celebration of World Environment Day, the FIM is proud to announce that Valentino Rossi is joining the FIM Environmental Ambassadors’ Team. The project was launched in 2012 when Marc Márquez, Laia Sanz, Takahisha Fujinami, Randy De Puniet and Ken Roczen agreed to take part.

The Ambassadors are at the service of future generations. They have been invited by the FIM to play a major role in the contribution made by our sport to a greener and more sustainable world.

The FIM Environmental Ambassadors are men and women representing different motorcycling disciplines and different cultures and nationalities. They are sportsmen and –women with high standards who have lent their voices to convey the FIM’s environmental policy. Most importantly, they will spread inspiration and awareness among their fans, the motorcycling community and the sporting community at large.
Vito Ippolito - Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), President

"In 2012, on World Environment Day, the FIM launched the FIM Environmental Ambassadors programme. The idea is to involve top riders from different disciplines to pass on messages about sustainability and make our public and fans aware of the importance of respecting the environment. 

The original five Ambassadors were Marc Márquez, Randy de Puniet, Takahisa Fujinami, Laia Sanz and Ken Roczen. We are now happy to welcome Valentino Rossi, a living legend in our sport, as a new member of this team. With the help and involvement of these great riders, we are confident that our environmental messages will be well received by the spectators.”

Valentino Rossi: “I am proud, honoured and happy to have been appointed as FIM Environmental Ambassador. Definitely, it is not so easy to spread a "green" message within our sport, but FIM, Yamaha and all the parties involved in this initiative teach us that it is not impossible! As a rider I want to commit to helping our world to make one step forward in terms of sustainability. I will play my role and I will help motorcycle racing to adapt itself to the needs of our environment.”

Ducati Team completes Mugello test

Just four days after completing its home Grand Prix at the Mugello circuit, the Ducati Team carried out a two-day test at the same track with riders Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden. Ducati Test Team rider Michele Pirro also took part in the test, logging a full three days at the Tuscan circuit.

Although afternoon rain showers ended each day prematurely, conditions were perfect in the mornings, enabling the team to complete much of the scheduled work program. Dovizioso and Hayden continued their tests with the 'laboratory' version of the Desmosedici GP13, increasing their familiarity with the bike and gathering data. Meanwhile, Pirro carried out work on the same bike, which he will ride in the Catalan Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya next week.

 

Andrea Dovizioso - Ducati Team (70 laps)

"We did some good testing, especially today: setup, new parts, and riding with the new frame to try and get the most out of it, and we were consistently fast. We rode all day at 1:48 in every exit, which is very important. When I wanted to push, I did a 48.2, which is a good time. I could’ve gone faster, but I’m pleased with my speed and consistency. We improved a bit with the various changes to the weight distribution and my riding position. The improvements aren’t huge, and this frame won’t make enough difference to reduce the gap, but for me it’s still a small improvement. We’ll see if we can have it ready in time for the weekend in Barcelona, or if we’ll just use it in the post-race test."

 

Nicky Hayden - Ducati Team (103 laps)

"If we’re completely honest, we didn’t achieve the progress that we’d hoped for, which is unfortunate. This laboratory bike has some positives, but at the moment, the lap time is very similar to our current bike. Hopefully these days will help the engineers to learn something. Thanks to my guys for coming here and working hard, because it’s not easy to go back to the track and test after a long GP weekend."

 

Michele Pirro – Ducati Test Team (93 laps)

"The test was affected by the weather, as it rained in the afternoon on all three days. Compared to the other riders, I had to focus on some aspects of the frame and the engine in order to bring the development forward. We certainly found some positives, and we hope that they’ll prove useful in the coming races, where I’ll ride the bike that I raced this past Sunday. I’m pleased with the work we did, so now we’ll wait for Barcelona to see if the things we tried will work a bit better."

Win exclusive access to Catalunya paddock with Riders for Health

Riders for Health and MotoGP™ are offering fans a unique chance to discover the exclusive paddock at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain on Thursday 13 June to raise money for the organisations’ lifesaving work in Africa.

What better way to start your Spanish MotoGP weekend than with behind-the-scenes access to the paddock and pit lane just a day before practice begins for the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya?

Tickets cost €85 for adults and just €30 for children, granting access to the paddock and pit-lane from 12.00–6.00pm. Lunch will also be provided within the paddock. Lucky ticket holders will be able to wander among team hospitality trucks and past garages as riders and race teams prepare for the weekend ahead.

Riders for Health is the official charity of MotoGP. They provide health workers in Africa with reliable motorcycles so that they can reach remote rural communities with vital health care on a regular basis.
To find out more, visit http://www.riders.org

Spaniards chase the English into Barcelona

Britain’s Scott Redding has won the last pair of Moto2™ races and carries a healthy championship lead into Round 6 at Barcelona. Behind him, a pack of charging Spaniards – as well as Finland’s Mika Kallio – are now hot on the heels of the Marc VDS Racing Team rider ahead of what is, for many of them, a true home race.

Curiously, although Redding may hold the smallest amount of points of any of the current leaders across the three categories of the World Championship (with 101 to Dani Pedrosa’s 103 in MotoGP™ or Maverick Viñales 106 in Moto3™), he convincingly holds the greatest advantage thanks to a 43-point cushion. With ‘only’ 25 on offer for a race win, this demonstrates the pressure on the shoulders of rivals.

Redding’s strong lead has come about as a combination of his steadiness coupled with the inconsistency of his closest opponents. Whereas he has achieved two wins, two second places and one fifth, Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2’s Nico Terol and Redding’s teammate Mika Kallio have enjoyed only two rostrums apiece, whereas Tuenti HP 40 pairing Esteve Rabat and Pol Espargaro have both won races but also been outside the top ten on two occasions each. Technomag carXpert’s Dominique Aegerter, who is sixth in the standings and the final rider to have notched up half a century of points, is yet to finish inside the top three but has collected a trio of fourth place finishes.

A key part of the upcoming weekend has in fact already happened, as Moto2™ enjoyed a single day of post-race testing after the last Grand Prix at Mugello. This was especially key for the likes of pre-season title favourite Espargaro, who after the last race openly admitted that he and his squad were in need of bike improvements in order to get back on par with Redding. Qualifying will bring the first real answers.

Two wildcard entrants are set to join the action this weekend, as Petronas Raceline Malaysia’s Hafizh Syahrin and TSR Motorsport’s Dani Rivas take to the track. The sun is expected to shine, although Barcelona weather has been changeable of late…