Extends Honda contract
Marquez signs a two-year contract extension with Honda Racing.
I’m very happy to announce this renewal with HRC, especially coinciding with Grand Prix of Catalunya, my home GP, where I have some really good memories. HRC and I have a very strong relationship, and I’ve always wanted to continue being a part of the Repsol Honda Team. In three and a half years together, we’ve enjoyed some unbelievable moments, with great victories and two world titles, as well as a few challenging moments that I believe are making us stronger. We’re working very hard this year to regain the title. It’s a great honour to be a part of the Honda family, and I’m glad to remain with this special group of people for another two seasons.
HRC’s Nakamoto:
We’re honoured to have reached an agreement with Marc for two more years. There’s no doubt that he is the present and future of MotoGP! We know him well and he knows us well, and we both wanted to continue together; for this reason, we felt no rush for this renewal. Marc has grown a lot during almost four years with HRC, and now he’s an even more complete rider than in 2014, when he won 10 races in a row. Although he’s still very young, we already have a long relationship together, and we know that Marc’s experience is very important for helping our engineers to develop our bike.
Italian GP: Fourth on pole
Marquez takes fourth place on the grid for the Italian GP at Mugello, 0.255s behind Valentino Rossi, who takes pole. Maverick Viñales comes second, and Andrea Iannone is third. Marquez’s fastest lap was hindered somewhat but a small mistake towards the end. For the first time since the Catalan GP in 2015, Marquez will start off the front row of the grid.
Takes Italian GP pole position
For the first time since 2008, Rossi takes pole position in Mugello, with a time of 1’46.750. Yamaha teammate Maverick Viñales comes second, with Andrea Iannone in third. Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo place fourth and fifth.
I‘m very, very happy because it has been a long time since I last had pole here in Mugello, in the last years I was always struggling a lot. From Free Practice this afternoon we made a good step with the bike and I had a good pace. Qualifying is always difficult, but we followed the right strategy in the right moment of qualifying and I am very happy to start from first position, first of all for all the fans, but especially here it‘s so important that I ride in front.
Vinales joins Yamaha
Vinales will join Yamaha after the 2016 season ends, replacing Jorge Lorenzo. He will become Rossi’s teammate. Andrea Iannone will replace Vinales at Suzuki.
$87 million Nike deal
Chelsea sign an $87 sponsorship deal with Nike, which will begin in the summer of 2017 boosting them to second in Europe in terms of sponsorship, behind Manchester United’s £75 million ($108M) per year Adidas deal. Chelsea’s deal with Nike would be the brand’s most expensive, larger than Barcelona’s $40m year contract, which runs through 2018.
French GP: Crashes, finishes 13th
Marquez crashes in the Le Mans GP, at the same time as Dovizioso crashes on the same corner. He continues the race to finish 13th (taking three points).
It was a pity about the crash today. I was having a good race, but these things can happen when you’re at the limit on every lap. I could have opted for a more conservative race, but here you can end up far back if you do that, so today I had to take risks. In the race I saw that I was losing ground under acceleration, and I had to make that back with my braking. Finally I lost the front and crashed. The positive is that I managed to get three points and I’m only five off Jorge Lorenzo in the standings, which isn’t a lot. Now we have a run of tracks that we found a little tough last year, but they’re quite different to Jerez and Le Mans, so I hope to be fast and have some good races.
7th on grid
Rossi places seventh on the grid at Le Mans. Rossi’s initial strategy was thwarted when he has to take evasive action to avoid Dani Pedrosa, who had crashed at Turn 4.
We did a wrong strategy and unfortunately I was stuck in the traffic. I lost a lot of time. But at the end, I had another chance to make one good lap and it was not so bad, but I made a mistake in section three and I lost a lot. My potential was to start with the top five. I have to start from the third row, from seventh, so it’s more difficult. The pace is not so bad, but from the third row everything is more difficult, but we can try to make a not so bad race. If we are able to improve two or three points, two tenths per lap, I can be also more competitive.
2nd on grid
Marquez places second on the grid at Le Mans. After starting slowly in Q2, he sets his fastest time, 1’32.416, on his penultimate lap, which secured his front row position, and his 16th consecutive front row start. He is 0.441s behind Jorge Lorenzo, who takes pole.
I was able to set a good lap today, but it wasn’t perfect. At first with the new tyre I found it hard to get the same feeling I had with used tyres and the bike moved about a lot when I tried to push more. At the end I changed my riding style a little and set two pretty good laps that helped me to fulfil my main objective, which was to get on the front row. I think the pace that I have isn’t bad, and in the last free practice I felt comfortable, although I’m still not quite as fast as Jorge [Lorenzo]. We’ll see what weather we have tomorrow and what the track temperature is for the race, and try to manage things as best we can.
Wins Spanish GP
Rossi dominates the Spanish GP, maintaining his pole position throughout the race, and sets the fastest laps of the race. Rossi uses winglets. He finishes over three seconds faster than teammate Jorge Lorenzo. Marc Marquez comes third.
This was the perfect weekend, because we start to go faster. I had good pace, I had a good start, and I led from the beginning.
First in Warm Up
Marquez places first in Warm Up, 0.204s ahead of Valentino Rossi.
Second in Warm Up
0 0 Mark Devlin Mark Devlin2016-04-24 04:46:042016-04-24 04:46:04Second in Warm UpMcGregor, Nelson spar
Video is released of McGregor sparring with Nelson at Mjölnir MMA in Iceland.
Takes Jerez pole position
Rossi takes his first pole position in almost a year, his 62nd pole in his career, and first at Jerez since 2005, on his final lap of Saturday’s qualifying session in Spain. Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez had held the provisional pole, with Marquez threatening to take the pole on his last lap. That confirmed Rossi’s 62nd pole by 0.122s from Lorenzo, with Marquez 0.155s behind to complete a mouth-watering front row.
We work a lot because last year we struggled too much in qualifying. This year with Michelin I feel better. I already start on the front row twice this year, but a pole position is different – especially here at Jerez. For sure tomorrow will be very hard with Lorenzo and Marquez. But we are there. We can fight.
Second on grid
Lorenzo takes second grid position for the Spanish GP, behind Valentino Rossi, and in front of Marc Marquez. It is his ninth consecutive front row start at Jerez.
Second place is not bad. Obviously I wanted the pole position, but it was a pity that I had problems with the second tyre. It was chattering on the straight and in the corners it had no grip so I cancelled the lap as not to crash and also because it wasn‘t worth it, the lap was slow anyway. With the third tyre it was OK and I made a good lap time, a 1‘38.8s, not enough for pole position but enough to be on the first row and that‘s important. I think, after Free Practice 4, that we‘ve got a great pace; a fast pace in the beginning and later a constant pace, so let‘s hope to repeat this tomorrow in the race.
Third place on grid
Marquez takes third place on the grid at Jerez, behind Jorge Lorenzo, and Valentino Rossi, who takes pole.
I’m satisfied because before the qualifying session, we knew it would be difficult to get pole position, and the goal was to achieve a place on the front row. I think we did a great job; I rode well and I felt comfortable on the bike. Thanks to the work of the whole team, we tested three different setups that ultimately allowed me to be consistent in qualifying, which isn’t usually something I’m able to do. All I can say is that today Jorge [Lorenzo] and Valentino [Rossi] were faster than me. We’ll see if we can stay with them during the race tomorrow, because it seems that they have a very good pace.
Spain Friday Free Practice: 5th, 2nd place
Marquez is fifth in the first free practice session for the Spanish GP, 0.568 seconds behind leader, Jorge Lorenzo. The session is marred when Marquez’s bike cuts out during a practice start and forces him to return to the pits on the scooter. In the second session, Marquez, with winglets fitted, completes the circuit in 1’39.900 to set the first sub 1’40 lap. However, he ends the day 0.345s, in second place, behind leader Lorenzo. Marquez drops almost a full second off his time between sessions.
Lorenzo signs with Ducati
Lorenzo will leave Yamaha at the end of the 2016 MotoGP season, and will move to Ducati on a two-year contract. It is reported that his deal could be worth as much as £15m-per-year. Ducati:
Ducati announces that it has reached an agreement with Jorge Lorenzo whereby the Spaniard will compete in the MotoGP World Championship in 2017 and 2018 on the Ducati Desmosedici GP Ducati Team.
Yamaha:
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announces that its partnership with Jorge Lorenzo will be discontinued at the close of the 2016 MotoGP season, when Lorenzo will move on to new racing challenges. Since Lorenzo joined the Yamaha Factory Racing Team in 2008, Lorenzo and Yamaha won three MotoGP World Championships (2010, 2012 and 2015), clinched 41 race wins and have been on the podium 99 times out of 141 races contested. Yamaha is extremely grateful for Jorge’s contributions to its racing successes and looks forward to sharing more memorable moments during the remaining 15 MotoGP rounds of 2016, their ninth season together.
Wins Americas GP
Marquez wins the Americas GP, at the Circuit of The Americas course in Austin, Texas. It is his fourth win in a row. Marquez leads from the front throughout the race. Jorge Lorenzo is second. Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso all crash out of the race.
I’m really happy. I feel really great on this circuit.
Americas GP: Crashes in second lap
Rossi crashes out in the second lap of the Americas GP. At the time he is in fifth place. He has no injuries and returns to the pit lane. Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso all crash out of the race. Marc Marquez wins the race.
The Michelin tyres have good performance, are good to ride and I like. The problem is you can’t make a mistake…if you make a small mistake, you pay. Because at that corner I entered at the same speed, but have two bumps – maybe I was more inside and I lose the front. So you have to concentrate, be precise and try not to make any mistake in the race. When I understand [what had happened] already the bike was 30 metres or more in front of me! It’s a shame because we lost some points in the championship and also because we could make a good race. The positive side is that we are strong and very fast, so we will be ready for Jerez.
Places third in warm up
Rossi places third in Austin warm up, 0.33s behind Andrea Iannone. Marc Marquez is second.