Losail, 20 March: following two busy months of preseason testing the opening round of 2014 MotoGP World Championship gets underway today at floodlit Losail circuit with teams and riders involved in the first practice session of 45 minutes. LCR Honda Stefan Bradl took the track aboard his RC213V for a first shakedown completing 19 laps and qualifying 12th with a 1’56.726 best lap time.

Stefan: “Today our plan was to save tyres for the next few days to have more options for tomorrow and the qualifying. It was important for us to lap on a hard tyre from the beginning to the end and, for this reason, we knew that we could not finish in the top of the timesheet. The track conditions were the same of two weeks ago and the grip was very poor. Let’s say that today we got a first impression and tomorrow we will start to push harder and fine-tune the bike”.

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For the third season the 2011 Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl (who was rewarded with the 2012 “Rookie of the Year” title at his debut in the premier class and conquered his first podium last year at Laguna Seca), will line up aboard the LCR Honda machine (Factory spec.) continuing his constructive cooperation with Lucio Cecchinello’s Team and Honda HRC.

Stefan Bradl: “I am excited to be back on track after the winter break and more importantly, I am happy to ride with Lucio’s Team once again. Last year we had a very positive season and I felt that everybody really gave to me their maximum support. Firstly I must thank Honda HRC for believing in me and to thank them again for giving me the chance to ride one of their four Factory motorbikes. The challenge is high and my rivals are very strong but, on this bike, we have the potential to take more podiums”.
Lucio Cecchinello (Team Principal): “I can not believe that it’s already 19 years that LCR Team exists. I feel proud and honored to be part of Honda HRC Factory plans and being able to give another chance to Stefan Bradl who undoubtedly deserves it. The 2014 season is probably the biggest ever task we had so far because our community fans, our partners and Honda HRC expect to see us challenging the front riders every round”.

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Doha, 9 March: the three day of pre-season test held at the floodlit 5.380 km Losail circuit in Qatar came to a close at 23:00 local time tonight with Aleix Espargaro recording the best lap time of the whole session (1’54.874). The 17 MotoGP riders continued their busy schedules to try and ensure their prototypes are prepared in time for the first race at the circuit in just over two weeks. LCR Honda MotoGP racer Stefan Bradl had to deal with two crashes but the race simulation confirmed his good pace on used tyres. He ended the last pre season test with the 4th fastest lap time (1’55.187) still looking for some added grip to drop a further few tenths on new rubber.

Stefan: “Today was very tough for me and the Team. Unfortunately I crashed twice (once during the race simulation) but overall we are not far from the top so I can leave Qatar with a good base for the first race. On used tyres we are strong and consistent but the issue with the new rear tyre is still there. We could not solve the problem completely but this seems to be a common problem for Honda riders. When we arrived here our target was not the fastest lap but the adjustment of the bike and I think we did a good job so far”.

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Losail, 8 March: the second evening of MotoGP floodlit test at Losail circuit ended with LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl in 2nd position on the timesheets with a 1’55.508 best lap time. After yesterday’s first outing on the desert track, Bradl looked to adapt his RC213V to optimal Qatar configuration circulating the track 51 times but he is still struggling to make the most of his machine on new tyres. The German and the rest of the field will reunite tomorrow night for the last testing session.

Stefan: “I am happy with how today went (P2 is a positive result) but there’s still a weak point to adjust. In fact, despite our efforts, we could not get the perfect solution for the rear grip problems of yesterday. I am still struggling on maximum leaning and I miss some drive out of the corners. It’s a bit frustrating for me but seems a common problem amongst the riders here. The team is already at work for tomorrow so I am confident to be able to make further improvements”.

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Doha, 7 March: Losail International circuit hosts the final MotoGP pre-season test with 17 premier class Teams and riders (Factory riders from Honda, Yamaha and Ducati ended their pre-season test in Phillip Island some days ago) involved in their prototypes last adjustments before the opening race at the same venue on the 23 of March. The three-night test in Qatar is the last chance for LCR racer Stefan Bradl to fine tune his RC213V ahead the first round and the German has been putting his new bike through the pace since 4.00 pm local time continuing the set-up process till 11pm. At the end od day one Bradl produced a best lap time of 1’56.081 qualifying 5th overall.

Stefan: “At the beginning the track surface was very dusty and we also preferred to wait till 6pm for cooler temperatures. On one side we are quite happy about our consistency but we actually miss edge grip to lap faster. This will be our main focus in tomorrow’s second outing: the tyre dropped down too quickly (probably I went out on new rubber a bit late and the humidity changed the conditions) and I need more grip to set a proper fast lap time on a new tyre”.

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Sepang, 28th Feb: the second test of 2014 has concluded with Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi clocking the fastest lap time (1’59.999) at the end of the 3-day action at Sepang circuit. LCR racer Stefan Bradl dedicated the majority of the day working on long distance pace again and his quickest lap time (2’00.164) came early in the session when the German took the track on soft rubber. Bradl took advantage of the slightly improved track condition to focus on the overall package of his RC213V before moving to Losail (Qatar) for the last pre-season test on the 7, 8 and 9 of March.

Stefan: “I am quite happy about the job we made in the last three days. It’s tough to work in these conditions (37 degrees today!) and the guys worked hard to adjust the bike. Early in the session we went out on soft rubber and afterwards we kept working on long run performance. Today the pace was not as good as yesterday because I was not enough comfortable on hard front tyre but, overall, this test has been quite positive for us: we are not far off the pace”.

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Sepang, 27 Feb: the pre-season testing continued today at Sepang circuit with track conditions generally improved than yesterday when the LCR Racer Stefan Bradl focused on hard tyre evaluation. In grueling 32 degrees the LCR racer finished the session covering 52 laps with a best time of 2’00.902 (6th overall): his best time was half a second better today. The former Moto2 World Champion put in a solid and consistent run for LCR and focused on different set-up adjustments to improve braking stability.

Stefan: “Today the track conditions were somewhat better than yesterday but still not comparable with Sepang first test session. It’s tough riding the bike with this heat; however today we kept working on the race-long performance and we are quite happy about our pace. Throughout the day we made several adjustments trying to improve braking stability and, at the end of the day, we gained some good results. Tomorrow we will put all these things together and we will go for a faster lap time”.

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Sepang, 26 Feb: today the MotoGP grid resume their programmes from the earlier test at the start of February with three further days of action at Sepang race track. World Champion Marc Marquez will be absent, having broken his right fibula, and immediately after Sepang, the riders of Repsol Honda, Yamaha Factory and Ducati Team will travel directly to Phillip Island for their next test before the rest of the teams, including LCR Honda, will regroup for the Qatar test that same week.

Stefan Bradl climbed aboard his 2014 bike early in the afternoon to build his confidence lapping the Malaysian circuit 50 times (8th overall – 2’01.491) but the dirty and slippery conditions of track surface, due to recent bad weather, slightly affected his performance on day one.

Stefan: “Today the track condition was not very favourable and we took the track in the early afternoon waiting for the grip conditions to improve. After the first outing here two weeks ago, we gathered important data so today we worked again on the base set-up to have a clearer idea about the overall package. We mainly focused on the tyre wear to improve the traction in the corner exit and, on the hard compound, we set a good pace. I am not worried about the eight position today because our focus was the bike set-up and not the fastest lap”.

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LCR Team was founded by former 125cc rider Lucio Cecchinello in 1996. Through the years the LCR Team collected 24 pole positions, 22 victories and 73 podiums in total. But we could not make it without the support, affection, cheer and passion of our fans.
LCR joined Facebook in 2009 and, year by year, our fans have shared hundreds of pictures, stories, videos and moments showing their love for LCR.
Today we have reached 100.000 fans and to mark this special occasion, we want to show our authentic appreciation, being thankful for the engagement and support that our fans have shown so far.

Stefan Bradl: “The support of our fans is a very important part of my life/carrer. Stay tuned for more news on the upcoming 2014 season. We are fans of you too!”

Lucio Cecchinello: “Compared to the Web global potential this is a minor result, but for our Team it’s a great target. Since we have started our project on FB in 2009, we saw thousands of fans posting and sharing contests from 100 different countries wordlwide. We intend to increase our community in 2014 through further contests and surprises. A big thanks goes to all of you and to all the team members involved on our exciting Facebook profile”.

Fabio Alberti: “It’s a great satisfaction to deal with all these lovely fans. Everyone is always pleased to participate to the contests.”

Elisa Pavan: “I have started my job with LCR Team 15 years ago. I had the chance to meet many LCR fans on and off track and their support it’s something special to me. Our job might be tough sometimes but the warmth of our fans is the best reward”.

Oscar Haro: “A sincere thanks to all our fans who made our “LCR family” even bigger. Today we celebrate, together with our 100.000 fans, the love and the passion for this sport. Once again GRACIAS for your support!”

Jean-Marc Boussard: “It’s always a pleasure for me to see the fans’ passion, especially the French people, with their comments, their questions, their pictures on our Facebook page! Merci!”

Nelly Pluto: “LCR Team wishes to inspire you every day. Everyone behind this project shows you how to chase your dreams, believe in yourself and never give up. For me, working with LCR is something special and I could not change it for anything else”.

Syafika Abdullah: “It has always been fun and nice time to have work with LCR Honda Team. Thank you for all the support and likes from Malaysia. Don’t forget to still invite your friends to like this page because Stefan and LCR Honda MotoGP team is definitely a great team to look out for the year of 2014!”

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Sepang, 6 February: the third and last day of the pre-season testing at Sepang was Marquez ruling over his rivals with a best lap time of 1’59.533. On the other side LCR racer Stefan Bradl, who made a big step forward yesterday qualifying in 3rd position, produced longer runs today working on tyre durability and fuel consumption. Bradl finished the three days of track running with the 5th fastest lap time overall (2’00.112) and leaves the Malaysian circuit with valuable feedback for the next 3-day test session scheduled from 26th to 28th February.

Stefan Bradl: “We leave Malaysia with a good base set-up and I am quite happy about the overall work we have done in the last three days. There are some areas to improve like the braking stability but I feel good on this new bike. Today we focused on the race simulation but my long run was disrupted by a small issue with the rear brake. However I was able to proceed with my daily programme achieving a good feedback from the new hard compound. I hope that we can continue to improve in the next test”.

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