Stefan Bradl is no longer upset about the misfortune he endured during the Motegi race and he then looks forward to his upcoming tasks at this weekend’s round 16 in Down Under with enthusiasm.
A short stopover in Melbourne en route to Phillip Island was a help to overcome last Sunday’s disappointment in Motegi when Bradl pushed the speed-limiter button accidentally that cost a possible point scoring finish finally. However, this is history and the German MotoGP rider eyes the tasks at the ultra-fast Phillip Island Circuit already where he targets to catch up the recently missed result.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia) – World Championship position 20 (11 points):
“The annoyance after last Sunday’s mishap during the race is already gone. Nevertheless, it is still a pity to miss possible point in this way. But for now I’m more than eager to make up it the best way immediately. Even so I look forward to Phillip Island and I can’t wait for the first practice session. Beyond that, I really like the track there – the Phillip Island circuit delivers indescribably fun. However, despite that our goals remain the same as we continue to work on days of practice to make further progress in respect of being more competitive and capable of racing a faster consistent pace during the second part of the race. Beyond that I think that the fast and flowing section at Phillip Island should suit our bike well so from this point of view I see something on the table for us this weekend. However, as mostly in the past we must wait and see how the weather will appear as it is the biggest question mark at the Island.“
Daten Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit:
Erstmals Schauplatz des GP of Japan: 1989
Streckenlänge: 4.448 Meter
Streckenbreite: 13 Meter
Längste Gerade: 900 Meter
Linkskurven: 7
Rechtskurven: 5
Beste MotoGP™ Pole-Position: 1´27.899 (2013)
MotoGP™ Rundenrekord: 1´28.108 (2013)
Stefan Bradl‘s Resultate 2014: Startplatz 11 / NC
MotoGP™ WM-Stand 2015:
1 Valentino ROSSI / SPA / Yamaha / 283
2 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Yamaha / 265
3 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Honda / 197 20 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia / 11
Stefan Bradl endured bad luck in Sunday’s MotoGP race after he activated the Speedlimiter two times.
Changed weather conditions with overnight rains were the reason for a busy morning. After two days of practice in dry conditions, teams and riders had to prepare for a wet race in just ten minutes during a shortened warm up session. The 25-year Aprilia rider and his crew in Aprilia Racing Team Gresini managed it well, though Bradl, who started from 13th spot on the grid, wasn’t able to took benefit as he had a run off excursion to report.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia) – 18th, World Championship position 20th (11 points):
“During the early stages of the race I felt at ease with the bike and everything went well. However, after a few laps I felt like I could manage more power, so I turned down the traction control. A couple of laps later, however, rear grip started to drop down and I had it to turn back up. So I tried to press the button but at the same time my thumb touched the button for the pit-lane speed-limiter accidentally. Unfortunate I was without any engine brake arriving the next breaking point for which I was forced to run wide and in that off-track excursion; I lost a lot of time. As soon, I realized what had happened I pushed the button again and restarted it, but at that point, my race was already gone. It’s a pity because today there were a good finish possible.”
Race Classification MotoGP™ Grand Prix of Japan:
1 Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 46´50.767
2 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / +8.573
3 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / +12.127 18 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / +1´46.833
MotoGP™ World Standings 2015:
1 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 283
2 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 265
3 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 197 20 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 11
Next race: Phillip Island / Australia, October 18th
Stefan Bradl missed out to jump into this afternoon’s QP2 to fight for a top twelfth starting position by a margin.
However, with 13th spot on the grid for tomorrow’s MotoGP race at the demanding Twin Ring Motegi he matched his best season qualifying result thus far. Bradl missed the hard fought time attack for the first four rows by just 0.173 seconds to play his role amongst the big names of this year’s championship. Nevertheless, the Bavarian rider remained with both feet on the ground but at the same time he was pleased with today’s achievements in terms of the bike settings.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), Grid position 13th – 1´45.432 (6/7):
“I’m really happy about my today’s performance. Of course, it would have been great to qualify for QP2, which I missed by a whisker but I’m pleased with P13 on the grid at all. Anyway, we did an excellent job today for which I’m more happy because we have made significant progress. In addition, my lap during qualifying was fantastic even though the biggest achievement was to work on our pace during the final free practice. We were working a lot with used tyres this morning, just in order to solve the problems that we endured we last time out in Aragon during the later stage of race as soon the grip level dropped dramatically. Beyond that, we found some solution in respect to the suspension this afternoon. Hopefully the weather remains stable for Sunday just to be able to put in a strong race performance too and to collect some points to our tally.”
Qualifying Classification:
1 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´43.790
2 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´43.871 +0.081
3 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´44.216 +0.426 13 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 1´45.432 +1.642 (Q1)
It came a bit surprisingly for Stefan Bradl to set tenth fastest lap time during Friday morning’s first practice session.
Likewise during the Aragon Grand Prix two weeks’ time ago, the German MotoGP rider startet strong again into this weekend’s round 15 of the World series. However, a low sider in the final minutes of the session hampered Bradl to improve his lap time further but this incident had no affects to the following FP2 in the afternoon, which was held too under bright skies and perfect conditions. During the second practice, Bradl and his crew were working to fine-tune the setting of the factory Aprilia RS-GP for the tricky layout of the Twin Ring Motegi but not all changes were a success.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), FP1: 10. – 1´46.371 (16/16) / FP2: 17. – 1´46.649 (15/16):
“It was a good start into the weekend in general. But honestly speaking, tenth fastest during FP1 came a bit surprisingly for us. Unfortunate I crashed in the final minutes of the session; most probably, I was a bit too aggressive because until that point everything went well and smoothly. However, it doesn’t affect us in any way so we were able to continue our tasks in the afternoon. During FP2 we were working on the bike’s setting as well on the electronics. However, for the latter it didn’t work out as expected so this session definitely went opposite to our plans. Nevertheless, we were able to make progress in some areas such as for the breaking zone where we could improve the feeling on the brakes which is a very important aspect at this track. In any case, I had a good rhythm during both sessions, though in terms of electronic there is some work to do ahead of us. Although I was able to improve my lap time towards the end of FP2, I couldn’t match my time from this morning which is a bit annoying for me. But I’m pleased with the opening day here in Motegi in general.”
Combined Practie Times FP1/FP2:
1 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´44.731 (FP2)
2 Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda /1´44.859 +0.128 (FP2)
3 Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Ducati Team / Ducati / 1´45.043 +0.312 (FP2) 13 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 1´46.371 + 1.640 (FP1)
This weekend’s Grand Prix of Japan, round 15 of the 18 races including calendar, marks not only the opener for the annual October flyaways but also the opening round for the final stage of the 2015 World Championship.
It isn’t something new for Stefan Bradl with the three back-to-back races this month but this time he will encounter somewhat of new experiences when he will visit the circuits in Japan, Australia and Malaysia aboard his factory Aprilia RS-GP for the first time. Nevertheless, Bradl looks forward with confidence to his upcoming tasks in Japan because the demanding track layout at the Twin Ring Motegi suits Bradl riding style well. Beyond that, the 25-year Bavarian looks back to a great victory in 2008 and for this he is eager to make something better than last time out at Aragon where he endured complicated days of practice as well some tyre issues forced him to slow down his pace during the race.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia) – World Championship-position 20 (11 points):
“After a good trip to Japan I look forward with confidence to the Motegi round where I won the 125cc race in 2008 which was my second Grand Prix victory at this time. So I have good memories to the Motegi circuit but I like the track’s layout in any case and in particular, it suits my riding style with many hard breaking points. We have taken some good steps forwards recently: race by race I feel more comfortable with the team and I’m learning how to exploit the bike’s potential better and better, so I think we will be able to do well this weekend. Considering the fact that all of my practice session went very complicated last time out at Aragon, I hope to be able to start off strong straight away from Friday morning and in doing so to prepare as well as possible for Sunday’s race.“
Moto2™ Time Schedule for the GP of Japan (CET):
Friday, 9 October: 03:55 – 04:40 FP1
Friday, 9 October: 08:05 – 08:50 FP2
Saturday, 10 October: 03:55 – 04:40 FP3
Saturday, 10 October: 06:30 – 07:00 FP4
Saturday, 10 October: 07:10 – 07:25 QP1
Saturday, 10 October: 07:35 – 07:50 QP2
Sunday, 11 October: 02:40 – 03:00 Warm Up
Sunday, 11 October: 07:00 Race (24 laps – 115,2 km)
Facts Twin Ring Motegi:
First time venue for the GP of Japan: 1999
Length: 4.801 meters
Width: 15 meters
Longest Straight: 762 meters
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 8
Best MotoGP™ Pole-Position: 1´32.915 (2013)
MotoGP™ Circuit lap record: 1´33.906 (2013)
Stefan Bradl‘s Results 2014: Startplatz 9 / 7th
MotoGP™ World Standing 2015:
1 Valentino ROSSI / SPA / Yamaha / 263
2 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Yamaha / 249
3 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Honda / 184
20 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia / 11
Stefan Bradl displayed a strong performance during the first part of the race, though he dropped down to 18th after the rear tyre detoriated.
Opposite to the changeable weather during the Misano race two weeks’ ago, conditions remained stable for today. Likewise the previous days at Aragon bright skies were the reason for good mood around the 5.1 kilometres long circuit as well for perfect track conditions. However, Bradl was understandable disappointed because the rear tyre dropped down massively in the final stage of the race.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia) – 18th, World Championship position 20th (11 points):
“During the days of practice we were slowed with our work on the bike and today we paid for that in the race because I didn’t have any grip during the last ten laps. In Warm Up we tried various setting, finding one that seemed to give us more grip and thanks to it, I felt comfortable during the first part of the race. But then all at once, after halfway point, grip level started to drop down little by little. The bike was sliding around a lot and the rear tyre deteriorated very quickly. Finally I had a contact with Laverty after which I lost the contact with the riders in front of me, but honestly speaking at that point I didn’t have any chance to attack them because I was losing too much in corner exit. It’s a shame because our performance during the earlier stages was pretty good. However, we had various positive notes and during the first half of the race, we were able to race a high pace. We’ll keep our feet firmly on the floor and take this race as a valuable lesson for the future.”
Classification MotoGP™ Gran Premio de Aragón:
1 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 41´44.933
2 Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / +2.683
3 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / +2.773 18 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / +53.406
MotoGP™ World Standing:
1 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 263
2 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 249 3 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 184 20 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 11
Stefan Bradl qualified for P17 on the grid for tomorrow’s Gran Premio de Aragón.
However, the result could have been slightly better if the 25-year Bavarian rider and his crew would have found more time to fine tune the team’s Apilia RS-GP prototype. Mainly they worked on race tactics for tomorrow’s round 14 of the series today but a change back to an old swingarm has brought significant progress. Bradl recorded his personal best marker during Q1, which was seventeenth spot finally.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), Starting position 17th – 1´49.109 (7/8):
“Overall, I’m happy with my qualifying today despite being slowed down by technical problems and even during FP4 we missed time to work on the bike and do the entire comparative tests that we had planned. In the afternoon, we went back to using the old swingarm and in any case, the grip situation on the rear improved, so we will use it tomorrow for the race too. Unfortunately, we did not find time that we needed to fine tune the setup but I’m happy with the performance during qualifying, where I felt very much at ease. We still have some work left now to get ready for the race.”
Qualifying Classification:
1 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´46.635
2 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´46.743 +0.108
3 Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Ducati Team / Ducati / 1´47.178 +0.543 17 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 1´49.109 +2.474 (Q1)
Stefan Bradl’s performance during the first free practice session was somewhat of surprise, before conditions got better in the afternoon.
Of course, the 25-year MotoGP rider in Aprilia Racing Team Gresini was able to take benefit from last week’s test at Misano, though twelfth fastest in the morning came a bit surprisingly for Bradl and his crew. However, during FP2 this afternoon Bradl used the harder option rear tyre, which definitely was not the best choice for the improved conditions with significantly higher temperatures.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), FP1: 12th – 1´50.160 (15/18) / FP2: 19th – 1´49.980 (17/18):
“Today’s FP1 in the morning was positive for sure, but we knew that the afternoon session would be more significant with higher temperatures und better conditions. We used the harder option for the rear tyre most of the time, although we realised later that the soft compound seems to work better in this conditions. In general, I do not have very good grip now so we need more rear traction. We tried some different solutions in respect to the bike’s setting and various length with the swing arm but we still have not managed to make a truly step forward. Anyway, we still have two sessions tomorrow to put together all these indications and make some improvements.”
Combined Practice Times FP1/FP2:
1 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´47.517 (FP2)
2 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha /1´48.200 +0.683 (FP2)
3 Bradley SMITH / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / Yamaha / 1´48.318 +0.801 (FP2) 19 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 1´49.980 + 2.463 (FP2)
After an encouraging debut starting at halfway point of the season, where he familiarized himself quickly with the Aprilia RS-GP, Stefan Bradl is set to continue as factory rider in Aprilia Racing Team Gresini for next year’s MotoGP™ World Championship.
So the 25 year from Bavaria will ride Aprilia’s prototype in the Premier Class of motorcycle racing in 2016 too. Alongside teammate Alvaro Bautista, both riders will develop the still young Italian MotoGP project and aim to achieve consistently top ten finishes during the season.
Bradl, who was born on November 29th 1989 in Bavarian’s city of Augsburg, made his debut on World Championship level back in 2005. In 2008 he took two wins and finished fourth in the overall 125cc standing. In 2010 he moved to Moto2, a category where he was crowned World Champion one year later thanks to four wins in this season. 2012 became his rookie season in MotoGP aboard a Honda prototype. Bradl was racing with the Japanese manufacturer for three years in total, with one pole-position and a second place as highlight during the US Grand Prix in Laguna Seca back in 2013.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia):
“I am really thankful for the great opportunity that Aprilian Racing Team Gresini has given me for the second part of the season. I would like to express my thanks to Mr. Romano Albesiano and Mr. Fausto Gresini for believing in me. At my approach in Aprilia, it was mid of August for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, I immediately felt really welcome by the entire team. It’s hardly to describe how professional everybody works in this team. However, I can say without a doubt that Aprilia is the best team I have raced with since starting my career on World Championship level. I enjoy great support from my technical crew. I could tell from the very first day of our collaboration that they really believe in me and I like the way they prepare and plan every single session. So signing for 2016 with them gives me a lot of confidence for the remaining races this year and it is a great motivation to prepare for next season in the best possible way. I know Aprilia has high expectations but I am confident that we have what it takes to be a consistent top ten contender in 2016. This must be our goal for next year for sure. I really look forward to a great and hopefully successful collaboration.”
