Repsol Honda's 2013 MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez Talks About Celebrating the Championship

Repsol Honda Team       News

14/11/2013

Newly-crowned MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez keeping his feet on the ground

If anything has characterised the career of Marc Marquez, it is his talent and his ability to work and learn. However, far from getting carried away by the headlines and television coverage, the 20-year old remains humble. The Repsol Honda Team rider has dazzled in his first season in MotoGP, but knows that staying on top of the World Championship means there is no room for relaxation. What was your first thought on Monday after celebrating the title win? "We had a bit of a party, but always in moderation, because the next day we had the testing plan to follow. I was laying in bed thinking about spending my first night as World Champion, but in the end I'm still the same. Not much has changed” How does it feel to see yourself on the covers of national and international newspapers? "Obviously seeing all the media coverage is impressive. I’ve also received many messages of congratulations via Twitter from other athletes and celebrities which really gives you goosebumps! Maybe I didn’t realise how important it is to be MotoGP World Champion" Which messages particularly stood out? "Those from family members or friends who have always been by my side, supporting me, and who send messages which are more natural and personal. But I appreciate every compliment that I receive” Did you talk to Nakamoto before going out on track? "Before the race he spoke to me seriously - and rarely do we speak too seriously - and told me ‘Please use your head today.’ And I thought that if the boss was telling me that, it was for a reason (laughs)” Who has been most amazed? You, your parents, your brother, your grandparents, your friends...? "It's hard to say but I think I'm the least affected by it all, because I've always been pretty good at managing this and kept my feet on the ground. If I don’t, then those around me have my permission to make sure I do!” Your mother said that you had to clean your room at home. Are you still doing this? "Yes, I have to clean, make the bed... but only in my room! I also lay the table for lunch and my brother Alex clears up when we are finished. It’s always been that way" What have you said to your parents, who have made so much effort so you could compete, now that you've won the MotoGP world title? "I have thanked them a lot. A rider can be good but, if you don’t have a team and a family who create a good atmosphere around you, it is very difficult -almost impossible - to win a title or become a good professional rider” With so many accomplishments in your first year in MotoGP, do you think you've learned all that you have to learn? "There are always so many things to learn, but you learn as you go along. Logically, when you are starting out is when you absorb the most, but every year you gain experience. Dani and Jorge acquire new knowledge each season which means that they will be even more difficult to beat each time” If you look back over the whole season, do you think you've shaken up the category? "If a year ago you were to tell me that I would be in this situation, I - and I think everyone - would have said that you were crazy. But we work as we always have done and how I will always try to do so whilst I have the motivation to give one hundred percent and push to the limit. We have always fought for what we wanted with clear intentions” Do you think your arrival in MotoGP marks the beginning of a new phase or a changing of the guard? "We won the title, but the start of a new era depends on more than just one rider. This year I've come up and now Pol [Espargaró] and Scott [Redding] are making the jump. There is always young talent moving up and when we arrive, we want to prove our worth and make a name for ourselves. The age thing is relative. At the time Jorge [Lorenzo] and Dani [Pedrosa] came up, they rode some very good opening seasons in MotoGP and it's hard to say it's a new era now, because they are still very young" How did the recent test for the 2014 season go? "I think the overall assessment is very positive, especially for Honda, because we've been able to work very well and study different options. On Tuesday we had two prototypes to work with that were slightly different, so then for Wednesday we foc used on the bike we felt more comfortable with. We tested different configurations with the electronics and setup and I think we’ve done a good job, because we found things that we can improve. It will be the base which we will use at the Sepang test, but if HRC have a clear direction, then I’m sure they will bring us some improved updates” Yesterday you had a nice gift when your new mechanics appeared with the Repsol Honda team uniform. "Yes, I am very happy and excited to have the same team with me that I had up until this season. Some of them have worked with me back when I was 11 and to be back with them is a dream come true and I have to thank Honda. Now we will have to show that we are a good team together" How did they seem on their first days of work? "You could see that they were much more tense than usual. I was very careful, because they too have had a lot of work to do, a lot to learn, and have had to serve their apprenticeship. But we have already seen that between the first day and the last day they have improved and increasingly are getting to know the bike. The important thing is that this winter they will have to go to Japan to take an intensive course, and it will be then that they will know their way around the bike with their eyes closed, like any good mechanic" How long has it been since you last went to an amusement park? "A long time and now I cannot really go. Before, every summer I escaped at least twice to waterparks and enjoyed that a lot!” Is it true that you do not like the sea? "I go in the sea as little as I can. If there's a girl and I have to accompany her, then obviously I go (laughs)!” But you went jet skiing... "Yes I went, but I tried to avoid falling off. If I do fall off, I’m back on the jet ski swimming before anyone else! Even if I was swimming against Michael Phelps!" Have you decided what you will do in your holidays? "I have not thought about anything, but I will have to find some time to unwind a bit for sure” The first job will be this coming Saturday afternoon... "Yes, I know my fan club is preparing a big party, with a parade through the streets of Cervera. We can celebrate the title without having to think that tomorrow I have to test, unlike last Sunday!” Copyright free images - For more images please log on to www.repsolhondateam.com

Repsol Honda's 2013 MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez Wraps Season with Fastest Test Times at Valencia, Pedrosa 4th Fastest

MotoGP       Valencia - Testing

13/11/2013

Marquez finishes season on top

MotoGP in 2013 has come to an end with World Champion Marc Marquez the fastest on the final day in Valencia. Marc’s lap time of 1'30.287, taken on lap 54 of 56, is just 0.05s off his record breaking pole position lap from last weekend (1'30.237). Teammate Dani Pedrosa was 4th on this final day’s testing with a time of 1'30.992 on lap 32 of 70. It was a productive final day for the Repsol Honda riders and the HRC technicians will now collate all the data to take back to Japan. There is now an enforced Winter test period ban, and the bikes will next be back on track in Sepang on 4th February 2014. Marc Marquez       1st       1'30.287 “I am very happy with how the day went and thanks to all my team for their hard work! We continued our testing and today we focused on just the one bike: the prototype with which we felt best yesterday. We tried out different electronic configurations and various setups, and we are pretty satisfied with the results. The most important thing is that we have gathered a lot of data during these two days, so that Honda will be able to work over the winter and give us some updates at the next test in Malaysia”

Dani Pedrosa       4th       1'30.992

“Today we were lucky with the weather, because it seemed as if it was going to rain but eventually it stayed dry. That allowed us to put in more laps and continue analysing the new bike, making a few changes. Yesterday we got a big head start with our workload for this test, so today we didn't try so many new things. We simply carried on adapting as well as possible to the bike. In any case, we are happy with what we have done and now it’s time for us and the whole team - who I thank for all their work in 2013 - to rest!”

Testing Results   1 Marc Marquez 1'30.287 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 2 Bradley Smith 1'30.598 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 3 Stefan Bradl 1'30.868 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP 4 Dani Pedrosa 1'30.992 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 5 Alvaro Bautista 1'31.229 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini 6 Pol Espargaro 1'31.533 SPA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 7 Andrea Iannone 1'31.594 ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team 8 Aleix Espargaro 1'31.644 SPA FTR-YAMAHA NGM Mobile Forward Racing 9 Andrea Dovizioso 1'31.716 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team 10 Cal Crutchlow 1'31.875 GBR DUCATI Ducati Team 11 Michele Pirro 1'31.883 ITA DUCATI Ducati Test Team 12 Nicky Hayden 1'32.123 USA HONDA Power Electronics Aspar 13 Hiroshi Aoyama 1'32.530 JAP HONDA Power Electronics Aspar 14 Michael Laverty 1'33.055 GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport

Circuit information       First race 1999 GPs held 15 Laps 30 Race distance 120.150km / 74.670 miles Track length 4.005km / 2.489 miles Track width 12m Longest straight 0.876km / 0.544 miles Corners 14 (5 right, 9 left) Pole position Right Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Autovía A3 Valencia-Madrid Salida 334. 46380 - Cheste (Valencia) SPAIN T: +34 96 252 52 20   www.circuitvalencia.com

Circuit records       Pole position 1m 30.237s (159.7km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2013) Race lap 1m 31.628s (157.3km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2013) Race time 46m 10.302s (156.1km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2013) 2013 Winner Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)

Repsol Honda's Nakamoto & Suppo Discuss 2013 MotoGP World Championship Winning Season

Repsol Honda Team       News

13/11/2013

End of season debrief with Shuhei Nakamoto and Livio Suppo

After another Triple Crown season, HRC’s Executive Vice President Shuhei Nakamoto and Team Principal of the Repsol Honda Team, Livio Suppo, took time out of their busy testing programme to speak to the World’s media to evaluate the 2013 season. It has been another stellar season for the Repsol Honda Team, HRC’s Factory outfit. They won all three titles - Rider, Constructor and Team - with rookie Marc Marquez being crowned World Champion in the final race of the season and teammate Dani Pedrosa taking third in the Championship. Marc took Honda’s top result eleven times, and Dani was Honda’s top points-earner seven times and a Honda rider finished on the podium in every race this season. Shuhei Nakamoto       HRC Executive Vice President "We are very happy! To be honest before the start of the season we didn’t expect Marc to win the Championship this year. We knew he had the potential to win several races and he learned very quickly! Usually a rookie struggles to keep a good lap time throughout the entire race, as the MotoGP machine is very demanding on tyres, but by Assen Marc understood how to manage the tyres to the end of the race. Before Dani had the accident at Sachsenring he was in very good shape but afterwards, he was unable to physically fight for the victories. Then also the Aragón incident which was very unfortunate. Without the accidents, then Dani would have been fighting to the end with Jorge and Marc for sure. This season we have seen that the Yamaha and Honda machines are very similar in performance, with nine victories each. 2014 season has already started and we must work hard over the Winter to improve our machine and make it more competitive, this is our goal. Initial feedback on the RCV1000R Production Racer has been very positive, but they haven’t had enough time to find the correct setup at this moment. Overall comments from the riders are very positive but to make a good lap time they will need more time”

Livio Suppo       Team Principal - Repsol Honda Team "Both riders have done an excellent job this season! With Marc it’s been a real surprise, we knew he was fast but his consistency has been unbelievable. He has also managed the pressure extremely well after what happened in Phillip Island and especially in Valencia. He always kept smiling and ensured the team spirit was strong and still in a positive light. The approach in Valencia was perfect, it’s very impressive to see a young rider so mature and able to manage such difficult situations. Unfortunately Dani has been very unlucky, as with almost no crashes this season but he got injured in one of the few in Sachsenring, when he was leading the Championship, and then due to no fault of his own he had the DNF in Aragón. Without these two races where I believe he could have won, or at worst finished second, it’s easy to see he would have also been fighting for the title in Valencia. Still his potential remains very high and we are sure that next year he will remain in the title fight. Jorge has also had a fantastic year and we know he will be back more determined again in 2014. We are very happy with both riders and we look forward to next year, when we will again start from zero, with new rules - 20 litres, ECU - things that are quite a big change from this year”

Repsol Honda Reports on Testing at Valencia Where 2013 MotoGP World Champion Marquez Sets Fast Time

 

World Champion Marquez fastest in Valencia Test

The Repsol Honda Team were back on track in Valencia today in preparation for the 2014 season. Newly crowned World Champion, Marc Marquez, was fastest on this second day (the team did not test yesterday), with teammate Dani Pedrosa in third. HRC had two different prototypes for the riders to test side by side, one from mid-season and an evolution machine. Marc had a busy day testing, completing 77 laps in total with his fastest lap of 1'30.536 coming on lap 75. Dani also had a busy programme completing 72 laps and recording his fastest lap on lap 67 with 1'30.948. Marc Marquez       1st       1'30.536 “After the celebrations, we were back on the bike today and I felt comfortable from the beginning. Today's testing was important, because we gathered a lot of data and tried out two different bikes: the prototype that we had already ridden at Misano, and a new one brought in especially for this test. They are fairly similar and we were able to make a few improvements, but we still have some changes to configure. We set good times with both bikes and were consistent with our pace. Tomorrow we will focus on just one machine and work on setting it up in more detail”

Dani Pedrosa       3rd       1'30.948

“Today we mixed our testing between the 2013 and 2014 bikes. The track conditions were good and there was a lot of grip, so we were able to put in a lot of laps. In general it was a good day of testing and we pushed every part to the limit to try and see the pros and cons of each one. We found some references with the new bike, as there are already a few changes: For example, the ECU, which is the same for everyone. We have also worked on some other aspects of the bike and are trying to adapt to them. There is still a lot to be done and tomorrow we will continue working to carry on progressing”

Testing Results   1 Marc Marquez 1'30.536 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 2 Jorge Lorenzo 1'30.768 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 3 Dani Pedrosa 1'30.948 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 4 Stefan Bradl 1'30.990 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP 5 Alvaro Bautista 1'31.208 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini 6 Bradley Smith 1'31.397 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 7 Valentino Rossi 1'31.414 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 8 Andrea Dovizioso 1'31.661 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team 9 Pol Espargaro 1'31.836 SPA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 10 Andrea Iannone 1'31.844 ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team 11 Cal Crutchlow 1'32.114 GBR DUCATI Ducati Team 12 Michele Pirro 1'32.473 ITA DUCATI Ducati Test Team 13 Nicky Hayden 1'32.576 USA HONDA Power Electronics Aspar 14 Yonny Hernandez 1'32.800 COL DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team 15 Aleix Espargaro 1'32.847 SPA FTR-YAMAHA NGM Mobile Forward Racing 16 Colin Edwards 1'33.149 USA FTR-YAMAHA NGM Mobile Forward Racing 17 Michael Laverty 1'33.672 GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport 18 Randy De Puniet 1'33.833 FRA PBM Paul Bird Motorsport 19 Scott Redding 1'34.541 GBR FTR-HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini 20 Michael Laverty 1'34.618 GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport 21 Hiroshi Aoyama NO TIME JAP HONDA Power Electronics Aspar 22 Hector Barbera NO TIME SPA FTR Avintia Blusens 23 Hector Barbera NO TIME SPA FTR Avintia Blusens

Circuit information       First race 1999 GPs held 15 Laps 30 Race distance 120.150km / 74.670 miles Track length 4.005km / 2.489 miles Track width 12m Longest straight 0.876km / 0.544 miles Corners 14 (5 right, 9 left) Pole position Right Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Autovía A3 Valencia-Madrid Salida 334. 46380 - Cheste (Valencia) SPAIN T: +34 96 252 52 20   www.circuitvalencia.com

Circuit records       Pole position 1m 30.237s (159.7km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2012) Race lap 1m 31.628s (157.3km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2013) Race time 46m 10.302s (156.1km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2013) 2013 Winner Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)

The Repsol Honda MotoGP Traveling Road Show Explained

While perusing the usual suspect websites today, I came acrossed this article over at MotoGP.com that explains the thought and process involved in moving the Team Repsol Honda MotoGP teams from event to event.
The shot used today helps to represent the work and equipment involved that is necessary to compete in each event on the MotoGP calendar. At the Indy round in August of 2009 the Repsol team is getting bikes set up and ready for the upcoming first practice session of the weekend. You can just make out Dovi in the left rear of his garage amongst three technicians that are concentrating on his two machines alone-plus the group of others you don't see that are assigned to his side of the garage. And then you consider Dani P. has just as many on his side of the wall, and the numbers and equipment start to add up quickly.
According to the article, Team Honda alone has just shy of 20 tons worth of bikes, tools and equipment that has to be moved and set up from round to round in order to have their domicile at each event. Read on:
http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/repsol+box+is+like+a+laboratory
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The Spanish round at Jerez kicks off this Friday April 30th at 7:55 A.M. EDT when the MotoGP bikes hit the track for the first practice round. This is now the second event of the 18 race calendar after the postponement of Motegi to October due to the Icelandic volcano of two weeks ago.
Here is the link to the event schedule and on race weekend you can check out the live timing and scoring by just going to the MotoGP.com homepage and looking for the link on the right side column for the app. Jerez is +2 GMT which puts it six hours ahead of EDT in the States.
Air times for the race itself are 8:00 A.M. EDT (LIVE) and 4:00 P.M. EDT for the delayed show Sunday May 2nd on SpeedTV:
http://www.motogp.com/en/events/Spain/2010
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