Moto2 champion, Stefan Bradl, has confirmed that he will make the move to MotoGP in 2012 with the LCR Honda team.

Bradl has signed a 2 year contract with LCR Honda, which will see him replace Toni Elias.

Stefan Bradl said:
“This is simply fantastic like a dream that comes true!” said Brad. “When I tested the RC212V in Valencia I realised that the LCR team is very professional and well organised so I am sure they will do their best to support me: making my debut in the premier class aboard the RC213V is great and I can not wait to get back on track.”

Lucio Cecchinello, Team Manager said:
“Next year will be very important for the MotoGP; starting from next April the championship will be rich of new technical rules and participants. Together with Honda we have considered several riders and Stefan was one of our candidates. After the test in Valencia we were very impressed by his potential and his determination: Stefan is young and fast and he just clinched the Moto2 World Title so we believe we can grow together with the Team in the next two years. He already knew the technical staff and today I am happy to give him our warmest welcome in the LCR Team!”

Both bikes feature a portrait of Marco Simoncelli on the sides of the fairings, with the phrase “Race Your Life” featured in Simoncelli’s hair.

The team obviously had Simoncelli giving them an extra push today, as Michele Pirro claimed pole position and Yuki Takahashi took second. Having both Gresini bikes in the top 2 positions was a fitting tribute to the team and to the memory of Simoncelli. A monet of joy on a sad day.

Michele Pirro (1st 1’37” 067)
“The photo of Marco and the number 58 on my bike certainly helped today. I am sure he was pushing us on from up there and I want to dedicate this pole position to him and to his family, who are suffering so much. It is also a pole position for the team and everybody who has endured twelve difficult days. We were close to pole at Sepang but this one is much more special and I hope to do well again tomorrow.”

Yuki Takahashi (2nd 1’ 37” 076)
”The conditions were very difficult today because we only had a few laps on track. As a team we made the decision to push hard for a lap time early on and that resulted in a magnificent result with the front two positions on the grid. I am happy for the whole team and for Moriwaki and I am sure that we owe all this to Marco, who was with us today. I hope we can do it again in the race tomorrow.”

Fausto Gresini
“Obviously this is a great result for the team and for sure in some way Marco gave us a push today. He would have said: “Diobò, you guys have been slow all season and now I have to help you!” Joking aside the emotion is very strong here and it certainly gave our riders extra motivation today.”

Full Moto2 Qualifying results from Valencia:

1. Michele PIRRO ITA Gresini Racing Moto2 Moriwaki 252.9 1’37.067
2. Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Gresini Racing Moto2 Moriwaki 260.5 1’37.076 0.009 / 0.009
3. Mika KALLIO FIN Marc VDS Racing Team Suter 265.6 1’37.477 0.410 / 0.401
4. Stefan BRADL GER Viessmann Kiefer Racing Kalex 265.0 1’37.870 0.803 / 0.393
5. Alex DE ANGELIS RSM JIR Moto2 Motobi 261.8 1’37.888 0.821 / 0.018
6. Thomas LUTHI SWI Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Suter 263.7 1’37.963 0.896 / 0.075
7. Dominique AEGERTER SWI Technomag-CIP Suter 261.2 1’38.095 1.028 / 0.132
8. Xavier SIMEON BEL Tech 3 B Tech 3 261.4 1’38.182 1.115 / 0.087
9. Mike DI MEGLIO FRA Tech 3 Racing Tech 3 264.3 1’38.496 1.429 / 0.314
10. Simone CORSI ITA Ioda Racing Project FTR 260.6 1’38.565 1.498 / 0.069
11. Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pons HP 40 Pons Kalex 262.6 1’38.633 1.566 / 0.068
12. Bradley SMITH GBR Tech 3 Racing Tech 3 263.2 1’38.652 1.585 / 0.019
13. Pol ESPARGARO SPA HP Tuenti Speed Up FTR 264.3 1’38.655 1.588 / 0.003
14. Scott REDDING GBR Marc VDS Racing Team Suter 256.9 1’38.703 1.636 / 0.048
15. Jordi TORRES SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter 260.5 1’38.924 1.857 / 0.221
16. Esteve RABAT SPA Blusens-STX FTR 258.9 1’38.936 1.869 / 0.012
17. Mattia PASINI ITA Ioda Racing Project FTR 261.3 1’39.096 2.029 / 0.160
18. Alex BALDOLINI ITA Desguaces La Torre G22 Moriwaki 259.5 1’39.293 2.226 / 0.197
19. Jules CLUZEL FRA NGM Forward Racing Suter 264.1 1’39.309 2.242 / 0.016
20. Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Blusens-STX FTR 255.5 1’39.316 2.249 / 0.007
21. Julian SIMON SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter 265.9 1’39.403 2.336 / 0.087
22. Anthony WEST AUS MZ Racing Team MZ-RE Honda 262.3 1’39.442 2.375 / 0.039
23. Kenny NOYES USA Avintia-STX FTR 259.2 1’39.549 2.482 / 0.107
24. Max NEUKIRCHNER GER MZ Racing Team MZ-RE Honda 261.6 1’39.671 2.604 / 0.122
25. Andrea IANNONE ITA Speed Master Suter 264.9 1’39.716 2.649 / 0.045
26. Claudio CORTI ITA Italtrans Racing Team Suter 259.1 1’39.743 2.676 / 0.027
27. Randy KRUMMENACHER SWI GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing Kalex 261.4 1’39.818 2.751 / 0.075
28. Raffaele DE ROSA ITA NGM Forward Racing Suter 261.8 1’39.849 2.782 / 0.031
29. Kenan SOFUOGLU TUR Technomag-CIP Suter 254.9 1’40.277 3.210 / 0.428
30. Valentin DEBISE FRA Speed Up FTR 263.0 1’40.368 3.301 / 0.091
31. Santiago HERNANDEZ COL SAG Team FTR 261.1 1’40.441 3.374 / 0.073
32. Joan OLIVE SPA Aeroport de Castello FTR 264.0 1’40.512 3.445 / 0.071
33. Robertino PIETRI VEN Italtrans Racing Team Suter 261.1 1’40.690 3.623 / 0.178
34. Oscar CLIMENT SPA Team Climent MIR Racing 256.2 1’40.953 3.886 / 0.263
35. Elena ROSELL SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter 254.2 1’42.006 4.939 / 1.053
36. Ratthapark WILAIROT THA Thai Honda Singha SAG FTR 255.6 1’42.317 5.250 / 0.311
37. Mashel AL NAIMI QAT QMMF Racing Team Moriwaki 258.3 1’42.627 5.560 / 0.310
38. Nasser Hasan AL MALKI QAT QMMF Racing Team Moriwaki 255.9 1’43.709 6.642 / 1.082

80 Axel PONS SPA Pons HP 40 Pons Kalex
93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter

Shuhei Nakamoto – HRC Executive Vice President
“I just don’t know what to say, words escape me. Marco was a very nice guy and a very talented rider. Sometimes I was a little harsh with him, for example after his first MotoGP podium in Brno when I told him: “Lucky podium!” and he was so angry… but I wanted to motivate him as I knew he was able to do even more. I was thinking that when he won his first race we would have been able to celebrate together… Now I just want to say thank you to Marco, for what you gave me and pass my sincere condolences to his family and this very sad time”.

Dani Pedrosa
“In a tragedy like this there is not much to say. I just want to give my condolences to his family and all the people who love him. I’ve been with his father and all we could do was to hug, nothing else matters. It was a fatal accident and everybody in the paddock remains in shock. Many times we ourselves forget how dangerous this sport can be and when you lose people on the way nothing has any meaning. It’s clear that we all do what we like, what we love, but on days like today nothing matters”.

Andrea Dovizioso
“In these circumstances, words don’t seem to be appropriate. I think of Marco’s family and all the people dear to him, in particular his father and mother. I also have a child and what happened today is the hardest situation you can imagine. I watched the images and I’m shocked: in a race you fight and push hard and disaster is often around the corner. Marco was a strong rider and he always pushed hard. We raced together since we were kids, I saw him always pushing to the maximum, he crashed many times, but without major injuries, he seemed invincible. What happened today seems impossible”.

Casey Stoner
“I’m so shocked and saddened by the loss of Marco. When things like this happen it reminds you how precious life is, it makes me feel sick inside. All I can say is how sorry I am for Marco’s whole family I can’t imagine what they are all going through and our thoughts and wishes are with them at this time. I hope they all stay close and pull through this tragedy together.”

‘Super Sic’ will challenge Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo for victory tomorrow at his favourite circuit, despite suffering his third crash in as many sessions at turn ten this morning.

Hiroshi Aoyama’s confirmed this weekend that he would be leaving the MotoGP paddock to join Ten Kate Honda in World Superbikes for next season. Aoyama suffered a crash in the qualifying session and managed a 12th place finish, just ahead of Valentino Rossi.

Marco Simoncelli (3rd 1’ 30” 599)
“I am really happy because it has been a while since we started on the front row. We have been fast over the past two days although we have had a few crashes too. The day didn’t start well because of the conditions, which were cold and windy, and that made it difficult. This afternoon we managed to do a better job and enjoyed an excellent qualifying session so my goal tomorrow is to push to the maximum from the start. Stoner looks untouchable at the moment but in racing you can never say never!”

Hiroshi Aoyama (12th 1’ 31”” 889)
”Unfortunately when I went out to improve my position on the starting grid I crashed at turn six and that compromised the whole session. It was a violent impact and I decided not to go back out because I didn’t feel in the best shape. The cold and wind did not help us to work as we wanted today but even though I had more confidence yesterday the set-up is not bad. I hope the weather improves tomorrow so that I can have a good Grand Prix.”

Casey Stoner dominated the first day of practice sessions at his home track
Phillip Island. Stoner was fast from the start and set an early pace that only Jorge Lorenzo came close to.

Despite his instant speed, Stoner stated that he wasn’t totally comfortable on his Honda, and felt that there was more to come from him and the bike as they improve set-up over the duration of the weekend.

The Phillip Island circuit itself is also causing some challenges, and almost all the riders complained that the track was more bumpy and unpredictable than last year.

The rest of the Repsol Honda team had other issues and were unable to match Stoner’s performance – Dani Pedrosa struggled with rear grip finishing mid-top 10 in both sessions, and Andrea Dovizioso complained of grip issues with the front end.

The Repsol Honda riders give their thoughts on the first day of Free Practice below:

Casey Stoner:
“I don’t feel totally comfortable with the bike today and I’m sure we can improve the bike a lot. The track is certainly a lot more bumpy than last year and I think it will be very difficult to get the bike feeling 100% as the circuit is making things worse. In general we’ve found the Honda is better in certain aspects than what we had last year but with these bumps it’s difficult to compare in other areas. We need to get the bike riding the bumps in the front a lot better, and also find some more rear grip. There is still a lot of work before we find the right race set up and we know we can go a lot faster”.

Andrea Dovizioso:
“It’s been a difficult first day of practice. The track has many more bumps than last year and it’s difficult to see them, maybe because the surface is very dark I don’t know, but I’ve been struggling to get a good feeling with the front. I decided to keep the hard tyre in front because it suits my riding style more, but with these bumps it’s impossible to control the bike and when I switched to the soft front tyre I couldn’t improve my time either. If the temperature drops tomorrow it will be even more complicated, but we will try our best to improve and have a good qualifying session”.

Dani Pedrosa:
“In the morning I began calm just to get the feeling with the track and we did a decent time, but in the afternoon I struggled a lot with the rear grip, the bike was spinning a lot and we couldn’t fix it during the session. The fact that my lap times are practically the same in the morning and in the afternoon is a sign that something is not right. It’s a pity because maybe tomorrow the weather is not as nice as today, possibly colder, but I trust my team and I hope we can improve. The track is also very bumpy, much more than last year, which makes things even more difficult, there are many places where the wheels are off the ground. Anyway, we will try to make some changes on the bike and I will do my best to improve my riding and let’s see what we can do tomorrow”.

Dani Pedrosa – 1st
“I’m super happy with this victory, for the team that has been working so well, for HRC because this is the first win in Motegi with the Repsol Honda Team and for myself because it is the first time I’ve won here in MotoGP after doing so in 125cc and 250cc. The race was strange at the beginning with Stoner and Dovi really fast on the first few laps, they pulled away and then Casey had some problem and Andrea had a ride through for his jump start. I was alone in front with Lorenzo close, but I tried to put my head down and push every lap to pull away. I’m happy because at this track I’ve had a mix of good and bad results and some bad injuries, so to come back one year later and win in MotoGP is fantastic.”

Casey Stoner – 3rd
“The whole weekend had gone so well for us and we got a great start and I was able to pull a small advantage. Andrea was riding very well on the soft tyre compound and we knew ours would work well towards the end of the race, so the pace we had at that stage I was very comfortable with. As I came out of the back straight I got a wobble on the bike, we hit the big bump and as the front came down it practically shook the bars out of my hands. I went for the brakes and there was nothing there so I had to pump them up a couple of times, when I pumped it the second time if flicked me up over the front and I was lucky to stay on the bike. Thankfully I avoided hitting the wall at the end of the gravel trap but it’s really disappointing as we had the bike to win here to day, but in the end I guess I should be thankful that we were able to climb back up to a podium spot after other people’s misfortunes and mistakes on track. I’m looking forward to going to Phillip Island now and to see what we can achieve there, I’ve got a Championship lead to protect but I also want to win races.”

Andrea Dovizioso – 5th
“I cannot believe it. I have never had a false start in my career and it happened today, in a race where I felt that I could fight for the win! I don’t know why the bike moved a little before the green light but I realised it immediately and expected the ride through. In the first laps I had a good feeling and I was pushing hard because I knew I was the only rider up there with soft tyres, in my opinion this was the right choice today and I was catching Casey. Then Casey went wide and I found myself leading the race, but unfortunately it didn’t last long. When I rejoined after the ride through I pushed hard but it’s not the same as when you are fighting for victory. In the last five laps the rear tyre started to drop off and I was no longer able to be fast in the middle of the corner. Meanwhile, Simoncelli recovered and was behind me, I did all I could to defend my position but I wasn’t able to. I’m really disappointed as I’m sure today I could have fought for the win, we can see the final gap to Dani is similar to the time it took to do the ride through. I’m sorry for the team, we did a great job and I felt competitive. It’s also a shame for the Championship points, anyway I look forward to Phillip Island because once again I showed to be fast.”

Not a huge surprise this one – Marco Simoncelli and Gresini Honda have confirmed that they will extend their existing contract into 2012, and Simoncelli will get a factory Honda RC213V machine and all the technical back-up required to keep him at the front of the grid.

He has proved that he has the speed, all he has to do now is bring the bike home consistently on race day.

Fausto Gresini:
“I am really happy to announce that Marco will be back with Team San Carlo Honda Gresini in 2012. Over the past two years together we have been able to appreciate Marco’s qualities as a rider, as a man and as an extroverted communicator, which made us keen to continue our collaboration. Obviously in order to make this possible we needed a lot of effort from our sponsors, who have shown such belief in this project and I am grateful to them. HRC are going to offer a general level of support that will be very important as well as making a factory RC213V factory available to Marco. Al l this gives us great pride and is a testament to the close relationship we have built with the Japanese factory over fifteen fruitful years of partnership. Marco’s huge determination will give us all a lot of motivation ahead of what promises to be an exciting new season.”



Marco Simoncelli:
“To be wearing the colours of Team San Carlo Honda Gresini for another year and riding a Honda RC213V gives me a lot of satisfaction. To be kept on as part of project that Honda HRC are so supportive of in collaboration with Team San Carlo Honda Gresini gives me a lot of confidence and all the motivation I need to show that I can be amongst the best in MotoGP again. 2012 will be an important season for me and I want to give all those people who have believed in this project plenty to get excited about.”

Marco Simoncelli (4th)
“I am pleased with this result – we had to grit our teeth and I’m sure that even without the mistake I wouldn’t have been challenging for the podium anyway. Lorenzo was faster than me on used tyres so no complaints there. I didn’t get a great start but I managed to get into my rhythm quickly and make some passes to get up to third place. From the tenth lap onwards the tyres really dropped off and then again after another five laps, although Spies was in even worse shape than me so I was able to fight back to fourth.”

Hiroshi Aoyama (11th)
“It was a nice race and a fun battle with Rossi and Crutchlow. The final position isn’t great but I am happy with the way I rode in difficult conditions, with much less grip than yesterday which made it tough. Valentino, Cal and I passed each other a few times and it was great fun. Now I am hoping to put up a much stronger performance at our home GP.”

CASEY STONER – 1st – World Championship Position: 1st with 284 points
“Before the race everyone was a little cautious with the wind picking up after the morning warm up session and conditions being a lot different to those we have seen all weekend. This was on our mind and also warming the hard tyres to makes sure everything was good for the beginning of the race. Our start was pretty average, I pulled to the left a little on the start and managed to avoid hitting Dani but Ben came around the outside and I ended up third or fourth going into turn one, but from there we were able to settle down and feel pretty comfortable with the bike. I wanted to get to the front as soon as possible as the bike has been working perfect all weekend and it was our race to lose, so I wanted to try and get out in front and pull a gap. I passed Dani as soon as I could and tried to pull that gap, Dani kept with me for the first few laps but slowly I was able to push and put in a gap and from there manage the race. I think everyone was struggling with tyres to some degree but the bike was fantastic and I don’t mind the bike when it slides around a little! A big, big thank you to the whole team and to take this hundredth win for Repsol Honda is something special”.

DANI PEDROSA – 2nd – World Championship Position: 4th with 170 points
“We already saw in practice that Casey was very fast here and it was also like this in the race. I was loosing some tenths in the first sector and I was unable to reduce the gap in the other parts of the lap. The second half of the race I was sliding all the time and I had some fun, but it was a shame not to be closer to Casey, I had many problems with the rear tyre for the whole race. My priority was to control the gap to Spies and Jorge in the final laps and get another podium. We’ve been second in the last three races, which is not so bad, but we want to keep improving in the coming races”.

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – DNF – World Championship Position: 3rd with 185 points
“I made a small but fast slide at the first right turn, all the weight went on the front, I wasn’t able to control the bike and I immediately lost it as the front tyre was still not at temperature. It’s so disappointing to see your race over on turn two of the first lap after all the hard work done during the race weekend. This morning we struggled during the warm up on used tyres and of course a bad session can affect you slightly, but at the start I was 100% focused and motivated for the race. It’s a pity because we had the pace to fight for the podium and the team did a good job. Leaving Aragon without scoring any points is also so bad for the Championship. We are still third with fifteen points advantage over Dani, but now we need to return on the podium and have good results. Last year we had a strong end of the season, especially in Japan and Malaysia, so I look forward to the next GPs”.

The new, one-off design was by Spanish designer David Delfin, and it was said to be a homage to superheros, and amongst other things. ‘Human Cannonballs’.

It was eye-catching, that’s for sure. Can’t say we were big fans of it here.

Check out the photos of the Repsol Honda livery below: