Termas de Rio Hondo, 27 April: the inaugural round at the renovated Termas de Rio Hondo circuit was followed by 53.000 excited fans that celebrated Marquez third consecutive victory. LCR racer Stefan Bradl, who was consistently fast throughout the weekend despite yesterday’s tumble in the Q2, took a very good start from the 9th spot playing an important role in the first part of the 25-lap race battling with the front guys. Towards the end the German was not very confident with the front and managed to finish in 5th position scoring further points in the final standing. Bradl is currently 6th with 24 points.
Stefan: “Considering yesterday’s crash in qualifying and the 9th position on the grid, I think we can be very happy with this result. I knew that we needed a good start from the third row and I made it. The first lap was a bit “crazy” but after that I think I played my role in the battle for the front group. We have been strong on braking and we could fight with the other guys and I had a lot of fun. In the final part of the race I could not match the speed of the front guys because I had some issues with the front so I preferred to remain calm to finish my race in a safe and good position”.
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Termas de Rio Hondo, 26 April: LCR racer Stefan Bradl missed the chance to produce another strong result in today’s first 15-min Q2 session at Termas de Rio Hondo, having suffered a big high-side on his second flying lap. The German used his prior knowledge of the new circuit to slot into the top five yesterday and his pace quickened significantly on day two but his performance on soft rubber was ruined by the tumble. He was not comfortable enough to rejoin the session in the last minutes and was taken to the Medical Centre for further investigation. After the treatment the 24-year-old felt much better and he is now ready to start the 25-lap race from the 9th spot on the grid.
Stefan: “First of all I am feeling much better now and this is extremely important. I crashed on turn two but we do not know what happened exactly because the traction control was working properly and this is an unusual high-side for a MotoGP bike. I had a big impact on the asphalt and did not feel 100% when I went back to the garage so we preferred to quit our session. The doctors from the Clinica Mobile looked after me and after the treatment I feel good. I just have to rest tonight and get ready for tomorrow because the 9th position is not a disaster and we are all lapping on similar pace so I still can catch the front guys”.
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Termas de Rio Hondo, 25 April: Latin America fans warmly welcomed the MotoGP field today for the first day of action at the renovated Termas de Rio Hondo circuit which saw Marquez topping the time sheet. LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl, who was one of a selected group to test at this venue last year, ended the day in fourth place (1’40.891) mainly concentrating on the wear of the tyres.
Stefan: “As expected the track is not in a very good shape. It was quite dirty this morning but slightly improved in the afternoon for the second session. On these conditions it’s extremely important to save the tyres for the next days to be in a good position for the qualifying. So far we did a positive job setting the 4th lap time but we have to analyse the data and see where we can reduce the gap to the riders in the front. Let’s see how the track will be tomorrow but for the moment I am having fun lapping here and the crowd is amazing”.
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Austin, 13 April: the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas got underway at 2pm local time in hot but uncertain conditions (with a 40% chance of rain) with Marquez gaining his second seasonal victory followed by Pedrosa and Dovizioso. LCR Racer Stefan Bradl, who started from the third spot on the grid, was a great competitor and made the most of his RC213V to get the third place on the podium but some front tyre problems prevented him to finish the 21-lap race behind the Repsol duo.
Stefan: “First of all this race was a bit strange because of the jump-start of Lorenzo and in the beginning I struggled a bit to find my pace. I had to battle with Rossi and Ducati riders in the first laps and it took me some time to get out of that for finding my speed. After that I could go, but honestly we had a big problem with the front tyre as it dropped down too fast. I had to slow down and it was impossible for me to catch Dovizioso. The tyre performances throughout the weekend were good but in the race we had a very big problem and I think it’s the same for many riders right now. I smelled the podium today and it’s difficult to accept the defeat but we can be happy anyway because we did a very good job”.
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Austin, 12 April: LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl took a sensational third place (2’03.196) at the state-of-the-art Austin circuit today in a very close 15-min qualifying session. His great performance aboard the RC213V (only 0.423s off poleman) put him on front row behind the Repsol duo Marquez and Pedrosa ahead tomorrow’s 21-lap race.
Stefan: “For sure we are very happy today because a front row is always a great result and for me it’s even more special because I like this track. We have done a good job on the bike improving a lot from Friday to Saturday and gaining more feeling with the tyres. Even in the free practices today our pace was pretty good as we lapped constantly in the top-four. The race is going to be tough because the Yamaha guys are very close and Dani and Marc are very fast but I remain concentrated and will do my best to finish this race with a positive result”.
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Austin, 11 April: on the opening day of the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas, LCR Honda racer Stefan Bradl posted the 7th fastest lap time (2’04.870) showing his appreciation for the 5.513Km US circuit where he finished the race in 5th last year. The German progressively improved the set-up of his RCV throughout the sunny first day of practice and aims to improve more for the qualifying.
Stefan: “On the paper we are 7th but overall we are a bit better because we improved the bike a lot from the morning to the afternoon. On my fastest lap I made few small mistakes and found some traffic but it’s not so important right now. Through the adjustments we made from one session to the other we gained some handling and front feeling. In the afternoon we mainly checked the tyres for Sunday’s race lapping on both rubbers and we will probably go for hard front and rear to be ready for the race. Now we remain calm and we will try to attack tomorrow to challenge the Ducati and the Open class bikes”.
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Austin, 10 April: this weekend the MotoGP contingent heads to the USA for the second round of the 2014 season at the spectacular Circuit of the Americas outside Austin in Texas. Before taking the track, LCR racer Stefan Bradl, alongside his Boss Lucio Cecchinello and Brian Harden (Data Recording Engineer) met a group of students at the University of Texas (one of the most renowned University in the States) taking part to an Engineering Lecture which deeply impressed the US students fascinated by the technical aspects of the MotoGP field.
Stefan: ”I am really looking forward to the Austin race week end. It’s a fantastic race track and I like the atmosphere in the US. Last year it was a great week end for me, finishing fifth, and after our short but impressive performance at Qatar, the expectations are high, and also the will to be up in the front pack again. Three weeks break was too much for me and when you lead a race for almost nine laps and you suddenly crash, you just want to be back racing as soon as possible. This year again we met the students at the University in Austin and it was a great experience because those young students were very interested in the MotoGP. And today I had fun challenging the US riders like Nicky and Colin in a special competition: cattle roping and horseshoes. Of course they were better trained but I won a trophy anyway”.
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Losail, 23 March: the opening round of 2014 campaign at the desert track saw the LCR Honda racer Stefan Bradl failing to finish the 22-lap night race even though he showed a brilliant performance till the 8th lap. The German strongly started from the 7th spot on the grid immediately taking the lead of the race but he lost the front end in turn 6 and fell, unhurt.
Stefan: “Actually it’s difficult for me to express my feelings right now. In somehow I did a very good job because I took a good start from the third row making a perfect first lap. Honestly I was not expecting such a strong performance considering the issues we had in the last days but for the race I felt strong and determined. Basically I can not say why I crashed because I made the same maneuver of the lap before but I lost the front in turn six. Luckily I am OK and the positive thing is that I have done a big step in the race. Many riders crashed on left corners so probably the humidity was too high and affected the grip level ..Anyway let’s go ahead to Austin which is another track that I like very much”.
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Losail, 22 March: the opening round of 2014 season continued today under the lights of Losail circuit with Reigning World Champion Marc Marquez taking the pole position of the starting grid followed by Bautista and Smith. LCR racer Stefan Bradl used free practice four to prepare his RC213V for the 15 minute shootout – QP2 which saw the German leading the third row (7th overall) with a time just 0.364s off the pace (1’54.871).
Stefan: “We improved the gap to the guys on the front and this is quite positive. It was a very close qualifying with many riders on the same pace. Our target was the second row but P7 is good anyway and the good thing is that we are not far from the top. Considering the new rules and the actual situation with Rossi, Lorenzo and Pedrosa riding on the same pace as me, I think it will be an exciting race with many riders in a big group. It’s hard to make a prevision…”.
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Losail, 21 March: LCR racer Stefan Bradl ended up in 9th place under floodlights at the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar earning his first Q2 placing of 2014 season thanks to his best time (1’55.676) set at the end of day two at Losail. The German riding the RC213V confirmed to be comfortable on race pace but still struggles to produce a remarkable lap time on soft tyres. He squeezed into the top ten but is looking for more tomorrow.
Stefan: “It was a tough day for us…overall the pace is not bad because our race speed is similar to the rest of the other guys but I am not happy about the fact that I was not able to make a decent fast lap on soft tyre. Between the two sessions we improved the bike but it was not enough to match the lap time that we did in the test. But it seems that also the other guys are struggling to get a good fast lap time. It’s not going to be easy for us but we need to see how the track will be tomorrow and how we can adapt with with the tyres”.
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