14 Nov 2016 ID: 99262
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Honda Wins 22nd MotoGP Constructors World Championship

Honda Wins 22nd MotoGP Constructors World Championship

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) rode a heroic race to second place in this afternoon’s season-ending Valencia Grand Prix and by doing so helped Honda secure a record-making 22nd MotoGP Constructors World Championship.

 

The 23-year-old Spaniard, who won his third MotoGP Riders World Championship at last month’s Japanese Grand Prix, had a bad start from the front row of the grid, losing time as his RC213V lifted its front wheel on the run towards the first corner. By the end of the first lap he found himself in down in fifth place, with four of the world’s fastest riders just ahead of him: eventual winner Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), Andrea Iannone (Ducati), Maverick Vinales (Suzuki) and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) ahead of him.

While Marquez spent the first half of the race battling back and forth with Iannone, Vinales and Rossi, Lorenzo made the break out front. At one point the 2015 champion had extended his lead to five seconds, but then Marquez broke clear of the contest for second place and started eating into the leader’s advantage at an astonishing rate. On lap 21 Lorenzo led his compatriot by 5.3 seconds; five laps later the gap was down to 2.7 seconds. And Marquez kept charging, taking another whole second out of the leader to reduce to gap to just 1.7 seconds. However, time was running out. Marquez had only one lap left in which to catch and pass the leader; surely an impossibility, but even then he didn’t give up and kept closing on the leader, finally crossing the finish line just 1.2 seconds behind.

The ride was certainly one of Marquez’ best of the season, which has yielded him five victories, four second-place finishes and three third places.

Honda is delighted with its unique 22nd success in the Constructors World Championship. The company won its first premier-class constructors title at its first attempt in 1966 with the RC181 four-cylinder four-stroke. Between 1983 and 1985 Honda won three more titles with its NS500 and NSR500 two-strokes. From 1989 to 1999 it won another eight constructors crowns with the NSR500 two-stroke, including a run of six consecutive successes from 1994 to 1999. Honda’s final two-stroke constructors title came in 2001, the last year of the 500cc championship. Since the advent of MotoGP in 2002, Honda have won nine more constructors crowns with the RC211V, the RC212V and the current RC213V.

While Marquez celebrated on the final podium of the year, Honda’s other MotoGP riders looked back on a more challenging Valencia Grand Prix. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) rode a heroic weekend, still recovering from the injuries he sustained during practice at Motegi last month: a broken right collarbone, a broken left fibula and a broken bone in his left foot.

The 31-year-old former 125cc and 250cc World Champion qualified on the second row of the grid, despite significant pain and discomfort from his injuries. Pedrosa was fully aware that 30 laps of this tortuous circuit would be immensely difficult for him, but he determined to score points at a venue that’s already given him Grand Prix wins in the 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP categories. Sadly, he crashed out unhurt with 24 laps remaining.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V), already twice a MotoGP winner this year at Brno and Phillip Island, was keen to conclude his best-ever season with another great result. But it wasn’t easy for the Briton who still struggled with injuries sustained at the Malaysian GP two weeks ago. He qualified 11th and was chasing seventh-place finisher Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) when he slid off.

Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) achieved his third points-scoring finish in as many races this afternoon, taking 15th place just three seconds behind Briton Scott Redding.

Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) was less fortunate - MotoGP’s sole 2016 rookie finished the final race of his rookie campaign in 17th, just three seconds out of the points.

Preparations for the 2017 MotoGP season commence here with a two-day test on Tuesday and Wednesday for the premier-class only.

 

Marc Marquez

“We’re happy because we’ve managed to get on the podium and we’ve finished the season strongly. This is the most important thing. In the race, the start penalized us a lot as I had an issue with the clutch and lost several positions. Afterward I wasted a lot of time behind Rossi and Iannone. As Valentino said yesterday, overtaking is difficult on this track, so even if I was able to get close, to pass them was another story because I was losing under acceleration and was a bit on the limit under braking. I waited behind as the tires began to affect performance, and step-by-step I continued improving until I found the opportunity to pass them. From then on I was able to improve my speed, and maybe if the race had lasted a little longer I might have reached Lorenzo. Anyway, he had an incredible race and I was not able to catch him. Congrats to him for this result. It hasn’t been an easy season but we were able to win the title in Japan and secure the Constructors Championship this weekend, which is great. Now we’ll work hard starting from the next test to try and improve our bike even more.”

 

Dani Pedrosa

“It’s a shame about the crash. I started well and was taking things calmly since I didn’t feel perfectly good with the tires. Unfortunately, after just a few laps, on the entrance to turn 2, without pushing, the rear stepped out, and at the same time I also lost the front and couldn’t avoid the crash. I don’t know what went wrong because I wasn’t riding at the limit. It was a pity not to finish the race, which was our intention. We’ve come to the end of a difficult year, but we’ll try our best to do better next season.”

 

Cal Crutchlow

“It as a disappointing end to the weekend. I felt I had the pace for the top six. In the race it became very apparent that I couldn’t push. I ran the new profile hard front tire, but I couldn’t go with the other guys. Once I settled into a rhythm I felt comfortable. But I was making mistakes because I couldn’t brake. I saw I was catching Dovizioso but I made a mistake into the last corner. It’s a pity, but I’m proud of the season. I’ve won two races and been on the podium four times. I’m looking forward to getting some time off now.”

 

Jack Miller

“This is not the result I wanted but I struggled right from the beginning of the race with a full fuel load, I just couldn’t push as hard as I wanted. The guys ahead got a gap and by the time I got some pace mid-race it was too late. Towards the end I struggled with wheelspin and also with the downshifts into turn one. But I’m happy to bring it home in the points and go to the test on Tuesday and try some new parts for next year.”

 

Tito Rabat

“My priority was to not crash and finish the race so it has been a positive end to the season for me, I have learnt a lot. I had good feeling after a couple of laps and was able to make a good pace but as the tires went down I lost some feeling. But I had a good battle with Kallio, Baz and finally Laverty and we touched a couple of times in the final laps. But I stayed calm and confident and understood where I can make improvements in the future. Now I’m looking forward to the test here on Tuesday to begin preparations for next season.”

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