MotoGP 2015 COTA Texas results and post race rider quotes

Nothing from the ordinary happened at the MotoGP COTA – Texas round and as expected Marc Marquez has run away with the top spot on the podium. The battle for the next 3 positions were actually where all the fun was. In the end it was Dovizioso and Rossi battling for second spot and a surprising last charge from Lorenzo saw him overtake Iannone for the fourth spot. Rossi again suffered tyre issues at COTA even with the harder front tyre and could not take on Dovizioso in the final two laps like we saw in Qatar couple of weeks back. The 9 time world champion was still happy to be on the podium as the track is one of his least favourite. Marc Marquez’s dominance on American soil continues. There were a lot of race incidents, of particular mention is that of a very ambitious Redding taking out Pol Espargaro in the very first lap being the most brutal looking. The Ducati‘s just barely finished the race and both the bikes ran out of fuel in the cooling down lap. Bradley Smith had a strong first few laps before falling down the order. He ended being the top satellite rider in front of fellow national Cal Crutchlow. Both the Suzuki bikes finished in the top 10 which is very good considering that the track is a fast one. Fun race weekend all together. We leave you with the results and post race rider quotes.

Marc Marquez

“I am very happy with this victory! After yesterday, things looked positive for us, but the only doubt was about the weather. In the end, it turned out stranger than it had seemed. When I saw that it was going to be a dry race, I started out very focused–because I knew it was important to try to win today. However, right from the first lap I saw that the track was not like it had been before the rain of last night. There was less grip and it was harder to ride comfortably. I decided to keep calm in the early laps to try to understand the situation well, and when I started to find a feeling similar to practice, I decided to push the pace a bit. That was when I was able to open up a gap.”

Andrea Dovizioso

“Today was a superb race and I take enormous personal satisfaction from it because here at Austin the races are always special: on this circuit you have to administer your energy, your tyres and your pace, something that does not happen in other circuits. I am particularly pleased with the work of my team because on a completely different track from Losail we confirmed that the GP15 is competitive and we managed to improve during the weekend. This year we have already had two great races, but we must continue to work because we’re still lacking a bit of fine-tuning in braking and traction, small improvements that will make the difference when it comes to fighting for the top positions at every circuit.”

Andrea Iannone

“All things considered it was a positive weekend, even though I am not very happy with my fifth place. Today it was difficult to obtain anything more, because I lost a lot of time at the start when Redding crashed in front of me. Then I had to push hard to make up the four-second gap from the leaders and it was not very easy. I had to push a lot at the front and on the tyres in general, and inevitably I paid for that in the last five laps. It was a pity, but in any case I am happy to have a competitive bike that every Sunday can fight for the podium and which allows me to stay up at the front with the top riders, and I am bringing home some important results.”

Valentino Rossi

“I’m happy about the weekend, because getting onto the podium is a good objective when coming here. On paper this track is the worst for our bike. I am satisfied about the weekend as a whole because we were always in the top 4-5 and we also weren’t so bad on the wet. For it to be perfect I would have had to beat Dovizioso, but unfortunately he was a bit faster. I didn’t have a chance to try, also because after six or seven laps of pushing a lot, I had to ride very smooth. For some reason our bike destroyed the front tyre. It’s been like this in 2013 and last year, but this year, fortunately, Bridgestone brought a harder front. That helped me to arrive at the end of the race, but the tyre was still damaged. Dovi said to me that we risked a lot overtaking in turn 12. From the bike I didn’t feel it and I thought we had some margin. We passed each other very closely, but there was enough space.”

Jorge Lorenzo

“It was a very tough race, because physically I wasn’t feeling good due to the bronchitis and the antibiotics. We finished the race in the best way possible given the circumstances. I wasn’t fit and the bike also needed some extra performance on some areas of the track, especially on the straight I lost a lot. Here and in Qatar two problems occurred that were difficult to overcome but we saved the situations the best we could. I will probably be fit in Argentina. Last year I rode a good race there while I wasn’t in the best condition. Now that the bike is working better, I hope I will be ready physically. I have high hopes for the race in Argentina and the track is fun to race at.”

Aleix Espargaro

“I can’t say I’m totally satisfied with the final position, for sure we closed the gap to the winner and this means we did better than in Qatar, but I still believe that eighth place is not where this team and bike deserves to be. The weekend has been very variable and we experienced a lot of chattering at the rear of the bike, similar to what we had during the Qatar race. The team worked really hard to fix this problem; with both set-up, electronics and whatever could help, but we couldn’t find the proper solution. However the important thing is that we are constantly improving. I know I have support from the factory and the team and this finally led to an improvement compared to our first race, so we need to be patient and consistent and take as many points as we can in every race.”

Maverick Viñales

“Well I’m happy that I improved our position compared to Qatar, we are moving forward very quickly and also my confidence is improving. The weekend was not easy. Variable conditions are hard to deal with because you have to continuously adapt to the weather while being out on track as much as possible so you can learn as much as possible. Unfortunately the tyre choice for the race was maybe not the perfect one: I have always had a good feeling with the hard tyre, but at the end of the race I felt I could have performed better if I maybe had chosen the soft tyre. However it is important that I got well into the top 10, closing the gap with the top riders. We only need some more time to improve things and be even more competitive.”

Cal Crutchlow

“Today I was really disappointed with the result, we had a good pace over the race weekend. In the race itself we had some problems, I got caught up in the crash on the first lap and lost nearly five seconds in one lap and from that point it was very difficult to catch up. The whole CWM LCR Honda team need to regroup now and come back to the next race stronger as we were too far behind the winner today. We need to discuss a plan for Argentina which is a track I have never raced at before, but I am looking forward to it.”

Bradley Smith

“It was a great race and I am pleased with the result. It began with a strong start and to jump from 10th up to 4th was pretty awesome. The risk I took to go around the outside of the pack at turn one paid off. I have been studying previous races and saw how other riders got pinched on the inside, so I decided to gamble and go around the outside. After that, I was running comfortably with the leaders for the first five laps, but when Marc went past Andrea I was just missing that extra bit of pace. At one point in the race, I was concentrating so much on staying with the group in front that I forgot to alter the traction control map and so I overheated the tyre and as a result, I lost some pace. Anyway, I am pleased with the outcome and to finish in 6th place, as the top satellite and only 10 seconds is definitely one of my best performances in my MotoGP career. Now I look ahead to Argentina and although I struggled a bit last year, with the new M1 and Bridgestone tyres, we should be competitive. It’s a Yamaha track so we need to try and continue this positive momentum from the first two races so far.”

Pol Espargaro

“Of course, I am disappointed as we definitely didn’t deserve this result. It was a tricky weekend but we were always inside the top seven and although qualifying unfortunately didn’t go to plan, I was confident of a good result. This was despite starting from the third row, which didn’t make it any easier. Regarding the incident, sadly there are still riders who think that they can win the race on the first lap even though there are 20 more to ride. It’s ridiculous but we can’t do anything about it now so we will continue working, yet we can’t hide our disappointment. Today could have been a good day but it turned out to be a disaster by something that wasn’t in our hands. I will now focus on Argentina next week where I intend to score a top finish.”

Loris Baz

“It was not the race I had imagined. I did not have a good start but I was immediately fast and I closed the gap with the group in front of me. I had a good pace and I did the whole first half of the race with them, before losing a bit of grip on the front. I struggled in the final laps, but I’m happy to have finished the race. The points-zone is close, we learned a lot this weekend and this is a good starting point in view of the race in Argentina.”

Stefan Bradl

“Too bad for how the race ended. I started well, I was fast and surely I could have fought for the head of my class. Immediately after the start I overtook Miller and we were fighting for the position. I passed him on the first corner but he touched me on the rear and I was forced to retire. It’s disappointing because we were really competitive. After Qatar we did a great job and an important step forward. We remain focused for the race in Argentina.”

Hiroshi Aoyama

“It was an exciting race! It hasn’t been an easy week with the weather so unstable and the race was the first time we’ve had 100% dry conditions. I tried my best, the bike worked well and Dani’s team really helped me. I pushed to the last lap for the best position and I have learned a lot this weekend! Now I will try to build on this experience and improve in Argentina next week.”

Scott Redding

“I’m really disappointed because I have been fast all weekend in wet and dry conditions. And after claiming my best ever qualifying result in MotoGP I was confident I could have been in that second group fighting for the top six. I had a good early battle with Lorenzo in the first three corners and in turn 11 he stopped mid-corner to pull it back round and I was in a little bit too hot and I think I clipped the back of him and went down. I got going again and wanted to stay out in case it rained but the left footpeg broke off, so I had no gears and had to retire. We can take a lot of positives from the weekend but it is disappointing not to get a good result at the end of it.”

Alvaro Bautista

“I am really happy! I was able to put forth my best effort in the race, even bringing home our first point. I chose to use the soft compound tyre on the rear and I was able to look after it quite well, not pushing too hard at the beginning and then maintaining the most consistent pace possible. Toward the end I was at the limit, otherwise I would have been able to fight even for thirteenth place, but that’s OK: bringing home points wasn’t our goal. We simply wanted to finish the race, but we succeeded and we are obviously pleased about it. We finished out a truly positive weekend, gathering information and good sensations that will let me provide precious explanations to the engineers in view of the coming races. I want to thank the entire team, from the mechs to the engineers who are working hard to continuously improve the bike.”

Marco Melandri

“It’s a shame because I got off the line well and I had gotten ahead of several other riders. But from the very start I had problems with the gearbox and by the eleventh lap I had to stop. Fortunately we’ll be racing again in a week, and I hope the weather will be good all weekend so we can improve.”

MotoGP 2015 COTA Texas results