After this season’s round 16 at the Phillip Island circuit, Stefan Bradl was not only pleased about eleventh position and more points for the championship.
Just in time for race day, the weather improved at Phillip Island with lots of sunshine and pleasant temperatures. Because of the changed situation, race direction decided for an extended warm up session up to 30 minutes for teams and riders in MotoGP category in the morning. During this welcome opportunity, Bradl and his crew in Aprilia Racing Team Gresini were able to refine the setting of the RS-GP prototype machine. In doing so, the 26-year-old German rider found himself in a good shape during the race and was battling for another top ten finish.
During the championship’s final stage, the entire paddock heads straight to Southeast Asia for next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix which is the final destination of the annual October flyaway races and also the penultimate round already.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), 11th (World Championship position 16th, 60 points):
“Principally, I’m happy with my position because partly I was able to fight for seventh position in the race. However, I had to fight with dull weapons as I had clearly disadvantages on the straight. We were competitive in terms of speed but firstly the gear ratios were too short so I was an easy prey and on the other hand I wasn’t strong enough on the breaks. However, on this weak point we must work and improve anyway. But otherwise thie eleventh position is ok because during the break after warm up and till the start of the race we could make a significant step in respect to the bike’s setting. This was a very, very important one, at all after this curious weekend with that less practice time in dry conditions. However, in view of these circumstances I found myself in a good shape as well these five points are valuable for the championship. Of course, I would like to fight for seventh position till the line as I was settled well in this big group but in every lap when it went on to the long straight, the bike did higher revs due to the slipstream and I often come into the revs limiter. Beyond that, today my riding was better than during the last races but foremost, the changes have been made after warm up have been extremely positive. I’m looking forward to Malaysia now and very excited already about the new tarmac there. Therefore, Sepang will be a new game for all.”
MotoGP™ Australian GP – Race Classification after 27 Laps:
1 #35 Cal CRUTCHLOW / GBR / LCR Honda / Honda / 40´48.543
2 #46 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / +4.218
3 #25 Maverick VINALES / SPA / Team SUZUKI ECSTAR / Suzuki / +5.309 11 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / +31.809
MotoGP™ World Standings:
1 #29 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 273
2 #46 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 216
3 #99 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 192 16 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 60
Next race: 30th October, Sepang International Circuit / Malaysia
Stefan Bradl made it through Q2 on Saturday and was extremely pleased about his best starting position this year.
After the chaotic Friday with truly adverse weather conditions the situation changed slightly for Saturday though temperatures remained as cold but teams and riders were able to find dry conditions for some practice at least. However, final free practice which was extended to one hour was run under mixed conditions too. Stefan Bradl posted tenth fastest lap time during this session and in doing so he made it through Q2. During this 15 minute the first four rows on the grid are to decide. After a brief but heay rain shower during FP4 in the early afternoon the track dried out quickly for Q2 finally. This fact allowed teams and riders to use slick tyres for the first time this weekend. Meanwhile, during the 15 minutes long timed session Bradl was able to adapt quickly to the changed conditions after he went into the session with intermediates first and then switching to slicks. He was rewarded for his efforts his eight spot on the grid for Sunday’s race.
Race distance sees 27 demanding laps at the fast and flowing Phillip Island circuit with starting time scheduled for 4.00 pm in the afternoon because of the big difference in time to Europe.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), Grid position 8th – 1´33.015 (8/8):
“We had a pleasant start into Saturday thanks to a good FP3 this morning. I started with intermediate tyres and I could set a fast lap time early on. However, conditions over the course of this session were difficult again but to qualify directly for Q2 was the most important thing anyway. I started qualifying with intermediates again because we expected rain but the weather remained dry. So for this I came back to the garage to change for slicks. Maybe it was one lap too late but in any case, I was able to improve my lap time to qualify for eight spot on the grid. A third row start is a good starting position anyway – the best for me and Aprilia thus far. I’m happy but conditions were really incredible the last two days. At the moment it’s not possible to speak about expectations for the race. If it’s dry tomorrow then we must take benefit from warm up in order to gain as much as possible information and which tyre we could use for the race.”
MotoGP™ Qualifying Classification:
1 #93 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´30.189
2 #35 Cal CRUTCHLOW / GBR / LCR Honda / Honda / 1´30.981 +0.792
3 #44 Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / Yamaha / 1´31.107 +0.918 8 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 1´33.015 +2.826
Poor weather conditions did affect day one of practice at Phillip Island massively.
After two sunny days in the southern part of Australia a change in weather provided for some shambles. Whilst this morning’s FP1 was run in halfway acceptable conditions, the situation got enormous worse after lunch time. Due to heavy downpour the track was partial flooded so that the start of FP2 was stalling before the session was stopped by red flag signals after a few minutes. A changed time schedule for Saturday sees now an extend free practice in the morning. Despite all these circumstances, Stefan Bradl had a promising start into the weekend. The 26-year-old German factory rider in Aprilia Racing Team Gresini recorded eleventh fastest lap time this morning but found himself in tenth position of the combined free practice times as all lap times from Valentino Rossi were cancelled after a tyre mistake.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), FP1: P10 – 1´43.070 (7/12) / FP2: – :
“At the time as FP1 got underway this morning, the water on track was acceptable however, after a couple of laps it started to rain heavier. In any case, I had a good feeling with the bike immediately and also for the track’s conditions. Frankly, I expected to struggle more due to the low temperature to warm up the tyres and hold temperature in its range. But this wasn’t the case. In the afternoon it didn’t make sense to go out on track as the conditions were for nothing – either to learn something nor to work on the setting. It was just an unnecessary risk. So we just can wait and see how the weather will appear tomorrow, hopefully with some improvements.”
MotoGP™ Combined Free Practice Times FP1/FP2:
1 #35 Cal CRUTCHLOW / GBR / LCR Honda / Honda / 1´40.957 (FP1)
2 #9 Danilo PETRUCCI / ITA / OCTO Pramac Yakhnich / Ducati / 1´41.010 +0.053 (FP1)
3 #43 Jack MILLER / AUS / Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS / Honda / 1´41.457 +0.500 (FP1) 10 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / 1´43.070 +2.113 (FP1)
Stefan Bradl was on the best way to repeat his strong qualifying performance from Aragon to qualify for all-important Q2 session this afternoon.
Day two of practice at the Grand Prix of Japan took place under glorious autumn weather again. Teams and riders found perfect conditions in order to fine tune the bike’s setting for Sunday’s race in Motegi. In addition, it was also a welcome opportunity to prepare for qualifying which is to decide the starting grid. German’s MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl was able to confirm his growing performance by setting twelfth fastest lap time during FP3. But on the other hand he failed to qualify straight for Q2 by less than 0.2 seconds. This session decides starting positions for the first four rows finally. However, this circumstance didn’t affect his confidence and he went determined into Q1 to tackle this obstacle during this final chance. But a harmless low-sider in the very last minute of the session robbed all hopes. So Bradl is set to start from 13th spot on the gird.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), Grid position 13th – 1´45.823 (3/6):
“It’s a pity, because everything looks very promising today. I was on a fast lap but unfortunately I made a small mistake in corner entry at turn 11l. We definitely had the potential to go through Q2. We have a consistent package but we paid a high price for a very small mistake. I was obviously very angry at the end of qualifying but I need to be realistic and look forward to the race. We’re very well prepared. I think we have a good chance to bring home a good result. That is the most important thing after the excellent work we have done so far this weekend.”
MotoGP™ Qualifying Classification:
1 #46 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´43.954
2 #93 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´44.134 +0.180
3 #99 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´44.221 +0.267 13 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 1´45.823 (Q1)
After little start-up issues, Stefan Bradl got better and better to show an impressive speed during Friday’s first free practice sessions.
Round 15 got underway under bright skies and decent temperatures. Due to this pleasant conditions teams and riders were able to start their preparations in respect to set up machinery for the challenging Twin Ring Motegi in full manner. Stefan Bradl and his Aprilia RS-GP prototype arrived with a good base setting which was improved step by step to conclude Friday with eleventh fastest lap time. To qualify for Q2 now is the clearly target for Saturday.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), FP1: P13 – 1´47.426 (7/17) / FP2: P11 – 1´46.367 (17/18):
“This was really a good start to the weekend. I fast straight away during both sessions. But first we had to overcome some small uncertainties this morning though we could solve it quickly. FP this afternoon went smooth at all, it was truly a pleasant one. Our base setting proved to be good and we were able to build on this level to make further steps steadily. Obviously we must fine-tune on both the setup and the electronics in order to keep our performance during the race on a consistent level. In this regard we need the bike’s support. Hopefully we can continue in this way tomorrow too. But so far I’m quite happy how things went today.”
MotoGP™ Combined Free Practice Times:
1 #99 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´45.151 (FP2)
2 #4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / Ducati / 1´45.204 +0.053 (FP2)
3 #25 Maverick VINALES / SPA / Team SUZUKI ECSTAR / Suzuki / 1´45.248 +0.097 (FP2) 11 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / 1´46.367 +1.216 (FP2)
