More MotoGP rider quotes from Le Mans

If you didn’t find what your favourite rider had to say in one of our previous posts on the MotoGP race at Le Mans, check out this one.
Stefan Bradl – 5th“This is a fantastic feeling! I am very happy and the whole Team is happy too: this makes me very proud.

Honestly I think nobody was expecting such a good result in my fourth race in this class.
In general the weekend was tough because we were struggling a lot in finding the right set up for the dry sessions and I also had a big crash in yesterday’s qualifying.

Finally it rained before the race and I knew we had a good package on the wet.
Already on my sighting lap I could feel that was my WOW bike and my first lap was amazing as after the first split I was holding the 7th position.
After that I rode behind Pedrosa for a long time who has got a very precise riding style.
I learnt very much from him.

When it started to dry up I could ride with more confidence adapting to the situation even if Hayden was trying to catch me.

”Andrea Dovizioso – 7th“Although the conditions were far from ideal, it was a fantastic race and I really enjoyed it and I hope all the Tech 3 fans in the crowd did too.
It was easy to make a mistake on such a wet track but I am really satisfied that I could make such a high pace.
The battle with Cal and Valentino was hard but a lot of fun and it is a shame that I crashed while I still had a very good chance of my first podium for Tech 3 and Yamaha.
I really wanted to achieve it here in the Team’s home race, and also an important race f or our sponsor Monster.
The last 12 laps my front tyre kept closing but Valentino couldn’t escape from me and I could see we were catching Casey.
I knew that I was pushing right on the limit with the tyres but I wanted to try and go with Valentino.
It is a pity to crash but I’m really happy with my feeling with the Yamaha now.
I was fast all weekend in the wet and dry and my Team did a great job, so we can look forward to the next races with a lot of confidence.
” Cal Crutchlow – 8th“I’m not happy to have crashed while I was fighting for the podium, but the consolation is that at least I was battling for the top three again.
Being quickest in the warm-up this morning meant I was confident going into the race but I wasn’t really aggressive at the start.
It was a great battle with Andrea and Valentino though but I see med to miss out on a bit of speed on the straight compared to them.
That meant I had to make up all my time in the corners.
It was a shame I crashed because I was fighting with Valentino and he finished second.
There was a chance of the podium today but at least I was there and I lost so much time after the crash that to still finish eighth is a bonus really.
Now we go to Barcelona knowing it will be tough but I will looking to be battling for the podium again.
”Hector Barbera – 9th“It was a very difficult race and I couldn’t ride as I like because of a setup that was too stiff.
We made this change during the warm up and it worked very well, but the conditions of the track during the race, were fully changed and the surface of the circuit was more wet than in the warm up.
Toward the end I was able to outperform Karel and achieve the 9th place, but, honestly, I’m not very happy with today’s result.
”Alvaro Bautista – 10th“I didn’t feel in tune with the bike and I couldn’t keep up with the group of riders ahead of me.
The only option was to try and finish the race as best I could, and that is what I managed to do.
I’m rather disappointed with how things went today.
”James Ellison – 11th“The team boss Paul Bird was here this weekend and thankfully we put on a good show for him.
We think we have found a setting that works in the wet or dry.
It was a tough race and I’m just glad to get one for the team and I’d just like to say thanks to all my sponsors who have supported me and to the team who have done a fantastic job.
I’m really looking forward to the next round and hope we can build on this result.
”Mattia Pasini – 12th“The conditions were very complicated and this was a difficult race, the track was very slippery.
We started from the rear of the grid, in the initial phases it was hard to see because of water.
We fought with a couple of MotoGP machines and it wasn’t wasy: even if I was fast in the turns, the MotoGP machines were tough to overtake.
Little by little I managed to comeback and to reach Petrucci.
In the last part of the race the rear tyre was worn out and I had less traction, I tried to lower the control but that didn’t help.
We’re the second CRT on the finishing line and that isn’t bad, we are improving and I’m happy.
Generally speaking, considering the conditions, I can say we did a good race.
”Aleix Espargaró – 13th “This weekend was a disaster -it couldn’t have gone worse.
In the morning warmup I felt more or less ok, but then when the race came around I was not comfortable at all.
I didn’t have any weight on the rear and was sliding around on the gas.
We rode really slowly and were far off everyone, but at least this weekend is over and I can look ahead to Montmeló.
”Michele Pirro – 14th“Unfortunately, this is the first time that I have been lapped in my life, and that left me feeling very bitter.
The electronics didn’t help me at all, and without electronics things become very difficult in the wet.
I just tried to take home the best result that I could, and I remain very disappointed.
”Chris Vermeulen – 17th“The race conditions today were very difficult but we had to go out and do it.
For me it was a long time ago since I rode in the rain.
I think that that for the bike and the team, they have limited experience in these conditions.
Early on it was raining a lot and was very cold, making it was difficult to generate heat into the tires and we struggled a lot.
The more laps we did and as the track dried a little bit, it suited our setting a lot more and I was able to go reasonably fast.
At some point I was close to be as quick as any of the other CRT bikes during the race.
I had to pit in because I had some vision problems with my helmet.
It was unfortunate that it happened, it really affected our race.
Its been a log time since I have ridden in the rain but I was glad to be back racing in MotoGP and hopefully the information we gave to the team and Suter can help for the future.
”Karel Abraham – DNF“We started the race with the settings from the morning warm up.
We knew the motorbike was sliding a little but we believed it was due to new tyres.
It was a disaster right from the start and it was getting worse and worse, the motorbike was sliding so bad that it was impossible to keep it on the road.
As for the brakes, these were OK, we had managed to improve these settings, but when I leaned the motorbike, the rear started to slide immediately and I couldn’t do anything about it.
That’s all I can say, it is another unsuccessful race, I’m very disappointed, and it’s hard for all the boys in the team.
”Randy de Puniet – DNF“The team made some changes for the race, but I was only able to check how the bike was on the warm-up lap.
The start was really strange, as when I put the clutch in the bike highsided; that has never happened to me before.
To be honest, I was lucky, because it could have been much worse with the riders behind me coming through.
I went back to the pits, got on the second bike and was already a lap behind, plus the feeling wasn’t great with that machine either.
In the end, shortly before the finish, I crashed again.
It is a shame, because up until yesterday I was riding well in the dry, but in the wet this weekend was a disaster.
Fortunately I didn’t re-injure myself, and I hope to be at 100% for Barcelona.
”Danilo Petrucci – DNF“I’m very disappointed we were doing a great race but close to the end I have lost the grip to the rear part of my TR003 and I crashed.
I did a good pace that permitted to me to get the eleventh position, first of CRTs.
Unfortunately in the second half of the race I had a problem with my helmet, there were some fog on the visor and I couldn’t see well the track, thats why Pasini and Ellison reached me.
I have to say thank you to my team and Iodaracing for the great work that they are doing, the TR003 here was perfect and we have seen the results on track”.
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