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Paddock Pass Podcast – Episode 13 – Superprestigio

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Just because it’s the off-season, doesn’t mean that the Paddock Pass Podcast has a dearth of topics to cover. As such, Episode 13 comes to you from Barcelona, where the guys were on-hand for the third meeting of the Superprestigio event.

This special race, hosted by Marc Marquez, once again showed some close racing from riders across a variety of disciplines and nationalities. If you happened to miss the Superfinal, or your live feed died on you mid-race, you can watch/re-watch it on FansChoive.tv now.

In addition to all the happenings in Spain, the crew also wraps-up some updates from the MotoGP and Moto2 paddocks, namely the progress of KTM’s factory MotoGP team and the departure of Suter Racing from the Moto2 series.

If you notice a new voice on the show, it’s because Steve English is back on the mics with us. We are very happy to have Steve working with us again, and we think his exceptional insights will be enjoyed by all racing enthusiasts.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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MotoGP

Q&A: Mika Kallio – On The KTM MotoGP RC16

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There is a lot to look forward to in MotoGP during the next couple of seasons. New tires and new-spec electronics for 2016; and for 2017, the arrival of a new manufacturer, with KTM due to join the show.

The arrival of KTM has generated much excitement, the Austrian factory having succeeded beyond everyone’s expectations in every racing class they have entered, with the exception of MotoGP.

This time, they have taken the development of the bike completely in-house, a powerful V4 engine being housed in a trellis frame, the company’s trademark in racing.

The bike has already made its debut on track, with Alex Hofmann having given the bike a shakedown test at the Red Bull Ring in Austria in October. A few weeks later, the bike got its first proper test in the hands of newly signed test rider Mika Kallio, the man who was Moto2 runner up in 2014.

Kallio was present in Barcelona for the Superprestigio event, where he had been scheduled to race. However, a crash on Friday morning saw the Finnish rider break his leg, which meant he could not actually participate in the event.

Kallio was present, however, and we got the chance to talk to him about the state of the KTM RC16 MotoGP bike, his first impressions of the machine, and his hopes and expectations for testing in 2016 and racing in 2017.

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MotoGP

MotoGP Tire Allocation Expanded & Open Class Killed Off

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The Grand Prix Commission, MotoGP’s rule-making body, met last week to make a few minor updates to the rules for MotoGP in 2016. The two biggest changes to the rules relate to the two biggest changes to the series for next year: the change of tire suppliers and the switch to spec-electronics.

The change that will most please the fans will be the official end of the Open class. All references to both the Open and Factory classes are to be removed from the regulations, as the switch to spec electronics, all teams running both the standard Magneti Marelli hardware and official Dorna unified software, mean there is only one class in MotoGP again.

This does not mean that all factories are equal, however. Special concessions remain for factories that have not won a race and have not yet accrued six concession points (based on podium positions).

Manufacturers with concessions will be allowed to use twelve engines for a season instead of seven engines, they will be allowed unlimited testing with factory riders instead of test riders, and engine development will not be frozen.

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MotoGP

Photos from the 2015 Superprestigio in Barcelona

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Asphalt & Rubber is fortunate to publish this outstanding photos by friend and photographer/journalist Steve English. Most motorcycle racing fans will know Steve for his work in the MotoGP paddock, but thankfully his skills translate well on dirt ovals. We hope you enjoy his work and captions. -JB

Failure to prepare leads to failure. On Friday, Brad Baker made sure that everything was just right for him to succeed on Sunday. Having crashed heavily last year and broken his shoulder and elbow, the Washington native took a different approach to this year’s Superprestigio.

“Last year was tough and when I crashed I was just trying so hard. This year I took a different approach because the win is given on the last race and I was building all weekend towards it. Two serious surgeries in two years helps you realize that the most important race is the final. Last year I was going out to impress everyone and I crashed and missed the race. This year I was able to win both finals and it’s great after such an emotional year.”

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Double Pro Flat Track Grand National champion Jared Mees wasn’t able to make the magic happen in the Superfinal, but enjoyed the weekend and said afterwards that “I’m glad Brad won because it means that it’s another win for America!”

The flat track rivals both joked that this weekend was a very different challenge for them. “For me and Jared we’re usually on opposite sides and looking to beat each other so it was fun that we both approached this weekend thinking ‘If I don’t win I hope you do,'” was how Baker summed up their approach to the weekend.

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“Is that a penny at the apex?” Marc Marquez brought a tremendous style to MotoGP when he arrived three years ago and his flat track style is equally impressive.

Leaning so far off the bike to try and generate grip from the edge of the tire is a very different style to that employed by the full-time flat track racers, but on the 200m Barcelona track it worked well for the Spaniard.

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MotoGP

Superprestigio: Day 1 Practice – Marc Marquez & Toni Elias Lead Jared Mees & Brad Baker

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The first sessions of practice for the Barcelona Superprestigio event took place on Friday evening, and the man behind the event is fastest, as might be expected.

Marc Marquez posted a lap of 11.797 during his second run on the track, ahead of Toni Elias, with an 11.8. Jared Mees and Brad Baker were the fastest of the Open riders, for off road and dirt track specialists, both posting times in the 11.9 bracket.

Headline times are not the full story, however, with Marquez’s times less consistent than the two Americans. Brad Baker was particularly impressive, posting a long strings of 11.9s, showing he has good race pace.

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Racing

How to Watch the 2015 Superprestigio Race in Barcelona

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This year marks the third time that road racers and flat track racers will meet in Barcelona for the revived Superprestigio event.

The short-track format dirt track race is a welcomed addition to the doldrums of the winter off-season, and it features international names like Marc Marquez, Toni Elias, Jared Mees, Brad Baker, and many others (see the entry lists, after the jump).

DTX Barcelona, the promoter of the event, has been very forward-thinking its approach to the Superprestigio, and as such we have been blessed with a quality live stream each year, the 2015 Superprestigio being no different.

FansChoice.tv will host the live stream, which will begin with the opening ceremonies on Saturday, at 9am PDT. For a full schedule of the day’s events, check here. Be sure to tune in, it should be a fun event for the off-season.

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MotoGP

MotoGP: Valentino Rossi CAS Appeal Dropped, Case Closed

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Valentino Rossi has formally withdrawn his appeal against the three penalty points handed down to him in the clash at Sepang.

The Italian had originally appealed the three points handed down by Race Direction for the incident with Marc Marquez at Turn 14 at Sepang, first to the FIM Stewards, and after the FIM Stewards had rejected his appeal, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

After filing the appeal to the CAS, Rossi then filed an appeal for a stay of the three-point penalty. If that stay had been granted, then Rossi would not have had to start from the back of the grid at Valencia.

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MotoGP

Michelin Schedules Extra MotoGP Tires Tests for December

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Michelin is stepping up preparations for 2016 by scheduling an extra tire test in December. The French tire maker has invited the MotoGP factories to spend two days at Jerez before Christmas, testing new front tires in cold conditions, according to GPOne.com.

Three manufacturers have accepted, Ducati, Honda, and Aprilia preparing to send their test riders to put in some laps on the latest iteration of tires at the Spanish circuit on 21st and 22nd of December.

As the test falls in the middle of the winter test ban period, contracted riders – that is, riders who will be permanent MotoGP entries for 2016 – are forbidden from riding, and only the official test riders can take part.

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MotoGP

Why Michelin Returned to MotoGP & The Challenges Ahead

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The switch from Bridgestone to Michelin as the official tire supplier for MotoGP promises to be perhaps the most important change to the class for 2016, though the change to spec-ECU software runs it a close second.

Up until the Valencia tests, held after the final race of the year, the performance of the Michelins was still shrouded in mystery, the official riders contractually obliged to keep quiet about the French tires while Bridgestone was still the official tire supplier.

That all changed on the Tuesday after Valencia. With the handover to Michelin, the riders were free to speak, as were the principal players inside the French tire manufacturer.

The teams had a lot of work to do, their job not made any easier by the fact that so many riders crashed at Valencia. Riding styles needed to change, as did the weight distribution of the bikes.

But question marks remained over the performance of the Michelin front tire, especially, with so many riders lowsiding over the two days of the test.

On the Tuesday at Valencia, we got a chance to speak with Nicolas Goubert, the head of Michelin’s motorsports program, alongside Israeli TV5 commentator Tammy Gorali.

Goubert gave an update on the progress of their MotoGP program so far, and addressed several of the issues they had faced during testing. Of course, Michelin was delighted to be back in the premier class again.

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MotoGP

So Far, Only Doing Private Tests for Casey Stoner & Ducati

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Casey Stoner will not be making any public appearances on the Ducati Desmosedici any time soon. Although the Australian has been formally announced as test rider for Ducati, he will not be riding at the official tests at Sepang at the beginning of February.

Speaking to Italian website GPOne.com, Ducati MotoGP boss Davide Tardozzi said “There are still some details to arrange, but for sure, Stoner will do his first test in Malaysia, before the first official test.”

Stoner will test alongside Ducati’s long-time official test rider Michele Pirro, where he will give the Desmosedici GP16 its first run out. The Australian did the same thing at the beginning of 2015 for Honda, testing the RC213V ahead of the official test in early February.

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