The German MotoGP rider lost a possible points scoring finish during Sunday’s fifth race of the season due to a low-sider.
Nevertheless, the race at the world known Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans began very promising for Bradl. Thanks to an excellent start he was able to gain some positions during the opening lap. But already in lap two Bradl crashed out of the race. Bradl and his crew set their focus already to the upcoming race at the picturesque Mugello circuit in the Italian region of the Tuscany.
#6 Stefan Bradl (Athinà Forward Racing, Yamaha Forward) – DNF, World Championship position 22 (1 point):
“Honestly speaking, Le Mans was a difficult weekend for me but for the race itself I expected somewhat of more for the outcome. I did a good start and I also found a good rhythm with a fast pace. Thanks to this I was able to gain some positions during the opening lap. But unfortunately I crashed in lap two after I lost the front in braking for turn six. It’s a pity and I’m really sorry for my team because we worked hard in order for a best possible preparation for this race. But the most important thing is that we’ve achieved some important as well significantly steps forward. So this for sure is good for our motivation and due to that the focus is already set on the next race in two weeks‘ time in Mugello.”
Result MotoGP™ Grand Prix de France:
1 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 43´44.143
2 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / +3.820
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / Ducati / +12.380 DNF Stefan BRADL / GER / Athinà Forward Racing / Yamaha Forward
MotoGP™ World Standing:
1 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 102
2 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 87
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / Ducati / 83 22 Stefan BRADL / GER / Athinà Forward Racing / Yamaha Forward / 1
During day two of practices at the French Grand Prix, weather conditions played its role in order to prepare for this afternoon’s qualifying practice. As soon the lights went out for FP4 as very last opportunity before heading into QP, it started some drizzling raining in Le Mans. However, for Q1 the track was dried out completely. Finally Bradl will start tomorrow’s fifth race of the season from row six after he set the second fastest lap time in the Open category with just three tenth of a second off Nicky Hayden’s pace, who qualified as fastest Open bike today.
“I went into FP4 with the idea to try some different things but intermittent rain destroyed all our plans. However, it was good to ride on a wet track in order to get a feeling for conditions like this. Nevertheless, for Q1 the track dried out completely so we had to start from scratch with the super soft rear option. Unfortunate I wasn’t able to take benefit from the new tyres as well from the conditions because we’re losing time in acceleration due to lack of rear grip. For one reason I struggle with this is also my riding style which doesn’t suit to this option. However, for tomorrow’s race we must chose the harder option. I think that for the race is something on the table for us because I’m not far away for the point, but also to win the Open category should be possible.”
Qualifying Classification:
1 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´32.246
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / Ducati / 1´32.749 +0.503
3 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´34.846 +0.600 16 Stefan BRADL / GER / Athiná Forward Racing / Yamaha Forward / 1´34.575 +2.329 (Q1)
Stefan Bradl and his crew of the team Athinà Forward Racing faces a busy work load at the moment, especially during the first free practice sessions at the world famous Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans as the Grand Prix de France got underway today. The 25 year young German concluded the opening day in P14 in the combined time sheet.
Nevertheless it was a good start for Bradl, who set the second fastest lap time in the Open category, some tenth off the pace of Australian Jack Miller, despite some minor problems with the electronics.
“It was a busy day due to a lot of work but in the end it was also a good day for us. Unfortunately we got limited by electronic issues again because the power delivery is too aggressive for this track layout. So for this we need to find a solution in order to be more smooth on the throttle, corner exit is the major problem at the moment. I hope that we can fix this problem for tomorrow because without that we’ve already a good pace. In doing so I’m quite confident that I can improve the lap times as well the position.”
Combined Practice Times FP1/FP2:
1 Bradley SMITH / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech3 / Yamaha / 1´33.179 (FP2)
2 Jorge LORENZO / GER / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´33.369 +0.190 (FP2)
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / Ducati / 1´33.553 +0.374 (FP2) 15 Stefan BRADL / GER / Athinà Forward Racing / Yamaha Forward / 1´34.543 + 1.364 (FP2)
Since the first European round in Jerez earlier this month riders and teams enjoy the usual schedule with a two weeks rhythm now. Stefan Bradl and his team Athinà Forward Racing faces a busy weekend for the French Grand Prix at the legendary Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans this time.
Stefan Bradl will go for an all-in weekend. After the successful day of testing at Jerez last week he is eager to get on the track of Le Mans. The German is aiming the head of the Open pack and the point-zone.
#6 Stefan Bradl (Athinà Forward Racing, Yamaha Forward): “We did a really good step forward with the setting and electronics in Jerez. So we are eager to try these new settings in Le Mans to close the gap with the fastest Open. I cannot wait to go on track again”.
Last weekend’s Gran Premio de Espana wasn’t concluded for Stefan Bradl by seeing the chequered flag Sunday afternoon. Just one day later the German rider was able to took full benefit of good conditions throughout a one day test at the Circuito de Jerez.
After a tough weekend for Bradl and his crew of the team Athinà Forward Racing it was a perfect occasion to find solutions for the issues, which occurred the days before. Particularly it was lack of rear grip and electronic issues, which hampered Bradl to set faster lap times during round four of this year’s championship. Thanks to regained confidence and an improved feeling with the Yamaha Forward bike, Bradl concluded the test with the twelfth fastest lap time. In doing so he was also the fastest Open Class rider on track on Monday.
“I feel better because I took antibiotic since last Thursday, but I’m not at 100 percent yet. Anyway, I’m happy to continue our work on track today. It was a tough job last weekend, also this test, but it was important to go out on track. First our focus was on electronically side and we’ve gained some valuable insights, which will bring improvements soon. But in detail we’ll see in Le Mans, how all these findings of this test will work. It is as important to go there with a good base and not starting from scratch or elsewhere again. Furthermore we also worked on rear grip issues for which we tried several things such as the balance of the bike and different length of the swing arm. In doing so we gathered the one and the other positive aspect which of course we’ll use in the future again. You know the tarmac at Jerez offers less grip so it’s normal that spinning appears and therefore the tyre temperature is more hot, even though we found also in this regard valuable results. Fortunate it wasn’t as hot today like the days before but now I feel tired and I’ll relax the next days in order to go 100 percent fit to Le Mans.”
Off. MotoGP™ Test Jerez:
1 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´38.508
2 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yahama MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´38.550
3 Cal CRUTCHLOW / GBR / CWM LCR Honda / Honda / 1´38.814 12 Stefan BRADL / GER / Athinà Forward Racing / Yamaha Forward / 1´39.887
The German missed a points scoring finish last Sunday by a margin, Bradl crossed the line in 16th.
Bradl, who was second placed in the Open Class rankings following Hector Barbera, experienced a tough race weekend in Andalusia. Physically issues and electronic problems hampered Bradl throughout round four of this year’s championship. After that he looks forward to his upcoming tasks as for Monday after the race a test is scheduled in Jerez.
#6 Stefan Bradl (Athinà Forward Racing, Yamaha Forward) – 16th, World Championship position 21 (1 point):
“It was a pretty tough race for me. Loris and I were the only Open Class riders, who made the choice for the hard tyres. Obviously creates our bike more spinning and a lot hotter temperatures at the rear than other ones. We knew that the hard option was a disadvantage during the opening laps but towards the end we should be able to push more. But in the end we didn’t have any advantage either. For this we must find a solution quickly. However, I gave all I could throughout the race but due to the flu I wasn’t fit 100 percent so it was even tougher to see the chequered flag. But I managed it and for this I’m happy. Till Le Mans we will work hard in order to find out something as well we will check all data gained this weekend.”
Result MotoGP™ Gran Premio de Espana:
1. Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 44´57.246
2. Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / +5.576
3. Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / +11.586 16. Stefan BRADL / GER / Athinà Forward Racing / Yamaha Forward / +59.018
MotoGP™ World Standing:
1. Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 82
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / Ducati / 67
3. Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 62 21. Stefan BRADL / GER / Athinà Forward Racing / Yamaha Forward / 1
Despite an unlucky start into the weekend in Andalusia, the German MotoGP rider felt sick today. Due to the hot weather condition in Jerez it was double tough for Bradl and his Crew to prepare for tomorrow’s race at the Circuito de Jerez, round four of this year’s World Championship. Beyond his physical condition Bradl experienced issues with his bikes again, so therefore he will start from P19 on the grid tomorrow.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Athinà Forward Racing, Yamaha Forward), Grid position 19th – 1´40.166 (3/7):
“We had a lot of different things to try today because we missed one session yesterday. Our workload was quite busy so during this morning’s FP3 we worked mainly on the electronics but also on chassis side before we changed our strategy for FP4 in order to prepare for the race. During qualifying practice there were something wrong with the bike we used. So we need to analyse all data but I expect a better race performance than we had on practice days and we just need to try to be as fast as possible in order to improve our position which is really poor at the moment. Beyond all that difficulties I feel quite sick which of course hampered us to qualify better than in P19 today.”
Qualifying Classification:
1 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´37.910
2 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´38.300 +0.390
3 Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Ducati Team / Ducati / 1´38.468 +0.558 19 Stefan BRADL / GER / Athiná Forward Racing / Yamaha Forward / 1´40.166 +2.256
Stefan Bradl hampered by an early crash during Friday afternoon’s FP2.
Under scorching conditions at the famous Circuito de Jerez, the European opener of the MotoGP™ World Series got underway today for the team Athinà Forward Racing and its rider Stefan Bradl in southern Spain. After a positive free practice session this morning, which the Bavarian ended up in eleventh position of the time sheet, conditions were changed massively with much higher temperature for the second session of the day. Bradl suffered an early fall, fortunately without any consequences, but he had to switch his bike. Mostly due to the changed conditions but also for the circumstances that the bike wasn’t setup properly, Bradl couldn’t improve his lap time after FP1 but he is confident to come back on Saturday and fight for the top position in the Open class.
“After a positive start into the weekend we experienced once again a difficult session this afternoon. I crashed in my out lap and this affected our schedule heavily. I felt immediately there is something strange because there was less grip on the rear and as soon I started to push, I crashed. We will analyse all data to understand what happened in order to improve but we lost that much valuable time this afternoon. I continued the session with the second bike which of course had a different setup as we planned to try different things. Track temperature between this morning and during the afternoon has risen significantly and this made our work even more demanding.”
Combined Free Practice Times FP1/FP2:
1 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´39.174 (FP1)
2 Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Team SUZUKI ECSTAR / Suzuki / 1´39.223 +0.049 (FP1)
3 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´39.428 +0.254 (FP1) 13 Stefan BRADL / GER / Athiná Forward Racing / Yamaha Forward / 1´40.037 +0.863 (FP1)
After an overseas start into the 2015 season, it’s time to head back to Europe for Stefan Bradl and his Athinà Forward Racing team. The crew faces a busy weekend at Jerez de la Frontera where the the Gran Premio de Espana will take place as round four.
After the first points scoring finish in Argentina, Stefan Bradl is looking forward to get back on track to fight for the lead in the Open class and gather more points aboard his Yamaha Forward bike. Stefan will be working hard this weekend and he will take the opportunity to develop the bike further on Monday after the race with a test scheduled on the Andalucian track.
#6 Stefan Bradl: “The race in Argentina was not an easy one for me. I collected the first points of the season, but in the race lost the feeling and I could not push as hard I wanted do to. We analyzed all data and we arrive at Jerez ready to do well and fight for the lead in the Open class because during a test on this track back in last November I was very fast on the Yamaha Forward”.
It was a difficult race for the riders of the Athinà Forward Racing team today in the Grand Prix of the Americas on the track in Austin, Texas. Stefan Bradl was forced to retire after a contact with Jack Miller, while Loris Baz crossed the line in 17th position.
Bradl, who started from the fourth row, had a good start and was immediately close to the Top10. The German was fighting with Jack Miller to win the lead of the Open class when he fell after a contact with the Australian rookie. Bradl was immediately able to get up, but was unable to rejoin the race and was forced to retire.
“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”.
