Indianapolis, 8 August: the second half of the season started today at the renewed famous Indianapolis race track with LCR racer Stefan Bradl setting the sixth fastest lap time of the day (1’33.513). In the morning session Bradl and his colleagues joined the shorter circuit for a first impression and the German made a total of 19 laps deeply studying the layout. In the afternoon session Bradl increased his confidence fine-tuning his RC213V package ahead tomorrow’s second day.
Bradl: “First of all the track is very nice and I can enjoy riding here a bit more than in the past because the surface is better and the corners have a better shape. We managed to be in a better position after the morning session which was related with a specific strategy (that’s why I was only 14th). In the second session we improved our package lapping with more confidence but we still have to improve the traction control and some other little things. I think that P6 is a positive start after the summer break”.

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Sachsenring, 13 July: doubtless the local hero Stefan Bradl really wanted to give something to cheer to his national fans today but his home race concluded with a disappointing 16th place. After yesterday’s excellent front row, today’s 30-lap race was conducted in mixed conditions under cloudy skies, and from third on the grid, the German started alone towards the front on slick tyres and led the early laps. With the track drying quickly much of the rest of the field changed from wet set-up to dry after the final Warm Up lap and they had to start from pit lane. Despite his advantage Bradl could not keep the pace and dropped to 16th place.

Stefan: “Just before the race it started to rain and after two sightseeing laps on wet rubber, we decided to change to slick tyres on the grid because I thought that the track would have dried up quickly. At the first moment it seemed that we had an advantage but on the grid we had some issues in changing the front fork to dry as the time was not enough. So I started the race with rain setting and slick tyres and it was a real gamble. When I saw the others starting from the pit, I could have done the same as my bike was ready and I am sorry for this mistake. I was 3 seconds slower in the lap because my setting was not correct. I am speechless right now because this is the worst way to end my home race but I want to thank my fans for their great support throughout this weekend”.

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Sachsenring, 12 July: the home fans were very excited today with local hero Stefan Bradl qualifying on front row ahead tomorrow’s 30-lap race at Sachsenring circuit. The German displayed good form since yesterday’s first outing at the 3.671Km racetrack increasing his confidence session by session and culminating with an excellent 3rd position (1’21.340) behind Pedrosa and Marquez. This front row gives Bradl an extra advantage as the German circuit is very tight and overtaking maneuvers are pretty difficult.

Stefan: “It’s simply fantastic for me to get the front row in front of my home crowd. I could see my fans waving and clapping their hands when I was on track and this is an incredible feeling. I think we have done a good job so far especially this morning when we have found further improvements and it’s easier for me to turn the bike now. Tomorrow, depending on the weather, it will be very important to choose the right front tyre because this track is very demanding for the front rubber. Actually the pressure is high now because everybody is expecting me to climb the podium but I keep my feet on the ground because it’s important to score points”.

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Sachsenring, 11 July: LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl started his home race weekend with a productive 4th place (1’22.430) at the end of day one at partially sunny Sachsenring circuit. The German, who has high expectations ahead his home crowd, found his pace already in the morning session and continued to fine-tune his RC213V also in the afternoon session having special consideration for the tyres choice.

Stefan: “Well… it was a pretty good day for us and the 4th place is a good beginning at my home GP. We have tried many things including the tyres because we had many options and we are not sure about the race tyre yet. The situation with the front tyre is a bit critical because we have a soft option and a hard option but basically the medium is the best at the moment. Anyway it seems that when the weather is good we can use the harder spec. so let’s keep our fingers crossed for a sunny race. At the end we tried some adjustments to find more stability in the front and we took the right direction so I am looking forward to tomorrow because our pace is okay and we can qualify in the top five”.

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Assen, 28 June: typical Dutch weather has bedeviled the MotoGP field even today just before the start of the 26-lap race which was initially delayed due to wet conditions. The LCR racer Stefan Bradl, who started from the third row, had another tough race culminated with a crash during the sightseeing lap. Luckily the German escaped unhurt from the incident rejoining his colleagues on the grid but they all changed to dry set-up machines at a certain point of the race. The Bavarian could not find the proper feeling neither in the wet nor in the dry and managed to finish the 8th round in 10th place.

Bradl: “It was a disappointing weekend for us and a crazy race which I did not enjoy at all. I crashed during the sightseeing lap on my dry bike and I immediately thought that I was living a nightmare. I tried to jump back on my bike but it was very damaged so I climbed over the wall running back to my garage for taking the second bike. It was set-up for wet conditions and in that moment it was raining so we started the race like this but for me it was tough to find the right feeling in the wet. Unfortunately I was not fast enough and it took me too much time to find the speed. After some laps I entered the pits to swap the bike to go but it was probably too late…. maybe I should have entered the pits one lap earlier. But even in the dry we missed some speed to perform well. I am really looking forward to my home race now because I can count on the support of my crowd”.

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Assen, 27 June: tricky conditions affected day two at The Cathedral complicating MotoGP Teams and riders job ahead tomorrow’s 26-lap race. Initially the morning session saw the majority of the riders escaping the 45-min practice as the track was neither wet nor dry and the same mixed conditions influenced even the QP2 with LCR Honda Stefan Bradl setting the 8th lap time (1’41.982). Naturally the German, who will start from the middle of the third row, is not satisfied about his qualifying but he preferred to not take any risk on uncertain surface conditions.

Bradl: “We had a tricky qualifying today and even the free practice in the morning was not completely wet so we have been a bit unlucky with the weather. I do not have so much to say, we took the 8th spot in the grid because it was like a lottery. We could have pushed earlier in the session but it started to rain in certain parts of the track and in some others the asphalt was dry. We were a group of riders overtaking each others like in a race but in some points we could push and in some others we had to slow down so it was impossible for me to do a proper flying lap and I thought it was stupid to take risks”.

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Assen, 26 June: the Dutch track provided dry conditions for the first day of action of the MotoGP field at “The Cathedral” which hosts the eighth round of the season. Last year the LCR racer Stefan Bradl obtained his first premier class front row here so he wants to build on his good fifth place at the last race at Barcelona and he can count on the support of many German fans. On day one at Assen, Bradl recorded the 9th time on 1’34.457 but he is hoping for further improvements to increase the pace.

Bradl: “Not a easy day for us because we had some setting problems which were unexpected after the positive post-GP testing session in Catalunya. We made a big change from the morning to the afternoon session when we suffered too much and I was not comfortable on the bike. In the afternoon we could go a bit faster reducing the gap to the front but the 9th position is not where we wanted to be. If we find the good compromise with the bike geometry I think we can improve for tomorrow”.

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Montmeló, 15 June: threating clouds distressed the MotoGP riders and Teams ahead the start of the 25-lap race at Montmeló circuit but the seventh GP of the season was conducted in dry conditions with local hero Marc Marquez achieving his seventh consecutive victory. LCR Honda racer Stefan Bradl, who arrived here still battered and bruised from two huge race-day crashes at Mugello, has been fast and consistent thought the whole weekend and today he finally enjoyed a top five finish. The German, who is currently holding the 8th place in the world standing, will be back on track tomorrow for a testing before moving to Assen in two weeks time.

Stefan: “We are quite happy because I am the best satellite rider just behind the factory Teams. First of all I want to thank my Team because, after the difficult weekend in Mugello, we did a great week end making a good job with the bike setting and the tyre choice. Today I was the only rider of the filed on hard front tyre and I felt comfortable with that. But it’s tough for me to keep the pace of the top riders because it seems that they always have something more. The fifth place is the maximum we could do and it’s a positive result but, as a MotoGP rider, you always race for a podium finish and today I wanted to go for that but as I said it’s very difficult to beat the factory riders”.

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Montmeló, 14 June: a frenetic QP2 for the Gran Premi de Catalunya GP concluded today with LCR racer Stefan Bradl gaining an encouraging 4th spot on the gird ahead tomorrow’s 25-lap race. The German was fast and consistent even on day two at the Catalan race track confirming his good shape and registered a best lap time of 1’41.220 which secured him a second row start behind Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Marquez.

Bradl: “These two days have been very positive for us and we are quite happy about this second row. We demonstrated that our pace is pretty good in all sessions and we are not far from the front guys. Before the qualifying session we made some little adjustments on the suspensions that worked pretty good and the tyre situation is clear now. In the qualifying the yellow flags displayed for Marquez and Bautista and crashes disturbed my performance a bit, even Pedrosa blocked me in the first corner during my second flying lap but anyway it’s a good feeling to be back in the front especially after Mugello”.

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Montmeló, 13 June: Friday’s afternoon FP2 at scorching Montmeló race track ended with LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl in 2nd position with a best lap time of 1’42.130. The opening day of the Gran Premi de Catalunya saw the German displaying a good form after the unfortunate weekend in Mugello as he qualified 5th fastest already in the morning FP1. Bradl is aiming to continue his progression tomorrow with a special care on tyres performances considering the heat.

Stefan: “Obviously I am quite happy about today because first and second session went both quite good. Our base set-up is working well and we made some little adjustments ahead the second session to improve the feedback from the front tyre. We were trying hard and soft tyre at the end of the session because it’s extremely important for the heat as Sunday will be probably very hot. We are not sure about tyre situation at this moment but overall our pace is quite good. Physically speaking I feel okay despite the tough weekend in Mugello. So I would say that this is another beginning for us and hope to continue in the same way even tomorrow”.

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