2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship
Round 15 – COTA

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Marc Marquez – P1

“The plan was to do exactly what we did today: start well and fight into the first corner, take the first few laps a bit easy and then when the tyres start to drop a little bit – that’s when I would start to push. It’s exactly what I did and I saw the gap increasing with my lap times in the high 2m04s, very consistent and comfortable. In the last few laps I was very tired and it wasn’t easy to keep my concentration but Fabio was far behind and my instincts said he would not risk anything as he’s fighting for the championship.

“Today is a great day, I want to say thanks to the whole of HRC and the Repsol Honda Team who have worked so well all weekend. It’s been a hard season to understand everything, I was really looking for this victory because we know we had a good chance here. It was nice to win here for Nicky Hayden and also for the Viñales family, I have known them since I was eight years old and it’s a hard year for them and for the world of racing.”

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Fabio Quartararo – P2

“You can imagine how happy I am! I think that we managed to do a really great job. This morning I tried the soft rear, and honestly that was not really a race option for us all weekend, but I felt good. The first 12 laps of the race were the toughest, when I tried to make a gap between me and Jorge. And we did it. This is the best second place that I‘ve ever gotten in my life. It‘s even better than a victory, to be honest, because I‘m getting closer to my dream. It was so emotional because there are only three races left, and I have an over 50-point advantage.

“At least we made this long flight to leave here with a great result. I will now go back home and relax with my family for a few days. I will enjoy those moments with them a lot. I think that we are starting to think in a different way now, because the championship‘s end is getting closer. This is my first time really talking about it, but things are looking good.”

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Francesco Bagnaia – P3

“Today, we couldn’t do more than this. We gave our best until the end and took another important podium, so we can only be satisfied. Right from the start, it was a complicated weekend for us, given the track conditions, but we still managed to get a great result. I also have to thank Jack because he let me through when he was in trouble, and I had to make one overtake less.  For sure, we lost some points today to Quartararo, and now the Championship fight is getting tough, but I’m not too worried about it. We’re working well and improving race by race. Now we’re already thinking about the next Grand Prix where, of course, we’ll try again.”

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Alex Rins – P4

“Today was a very difficult race for me, I struggled a lot, it was so hot and physically tough for everyone. Coming out of the slow corners I was losing time – I’m not sure if it was rear grip, or something in the set-up, but I struggled to accelerate out of the corners. But on the more flowing and faster corners I felt good and I was able to hold the speed and fight better. We chose the soft rear, like everybody else, because it seemed to be the best option to enter the fight with the same weapons. In the end it’s hard to tell whether another choice may have worked better, but I’m glad I was able to get fourth – it’s not so bad and I could bring home some nice points.”

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Jorge Martín – P5

“I really didn’t expect to do a race like that, I am very happy. It’s a shame because I could have been on the podium.”

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Enea Bastianini – P6

“It was another unexpected result. Yesterday we had a difficult day, but we knew that our potential on this track was quite high. I had a good race, and in the first laps I tried to recover some positions. I didn’t know if I would arrive to the end of the race, because I went to the maximum and it’s a really tough track. On the last lap I managed to overtake Mir and Miller and it was a lot of fun. We knew we could fight for the top 10, but we didn’t expect to get this 6th. Another great result and we will try to keep it going.”

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Jack Miller – P7

“That was a hot one, and riding here in Austin in October is a different story than when we’re normally here in April, that’s for sure. Like last time in Misano I finished in one position and then a penalty lifted me a position higher – it’s a story you’ve heard before …

“I crossed the line eighth at the end but you all saw what happened with (Joan) Mir on the last lap. It was like last time in Misano all over again. I got hit, lost spots to two guys … at Misano he got pushed back a place for track limits, and here it was one place for irresponsible riding. Race direction did what they did with him, so there’s not much more to say about it really. I was struggling with my front tyre, I tried to protect the line … but you can’t protect when someone runs into the side of you, can you? I swear, every time I race with the guy he seems to run into me. It’s not just the last two races either. I think there’s better ways you can go about the situation. I was fading at the end of the race, don’t get me wrong, but that didn’t need to happen.

“Fortunately I was able to stay on the bike and I felt I controlled myself rather well afterwards. Maybe I’m getting older and more mature, that’s a nice sign you could say…

“The race itself, I was the only rider to use the hard rear tyre because I knew I needed to have something to attack with late in the race starting from way back in 10th after qualifying went badly for me. The rear tyre held up fine, but I was more surprised that the soft rear that most of the rest of the guys used held up as well as it did because it was so hot out there. In the end, I was more limited by the right side of my soft front tyre, so that made the right-handers harder for me the longer the race went. The left side was fine which was good as I could defend at the end of the back straight, but the right-handers were a battle from about halfway through.

“The first half of the race was good and I was able to get up to fourth there for a few laps, but then I was taking different lines to try to take some of the load off the front tyre and (Jorge) Martin started moving away from me in third, so I knew that the podium was pretty much gone at that point. I was struggling by that stage so it was an easy decision to let my teammate Pecco (Bagnaia) through, he has a championship to fight for and there’s nothing to be gained for him and for us in the teams’ championship by making it too hard for him when he was clearly faster at that point. He caught me, I was struggling, so it made no sense to f**k his race up any more so I waved him by. One less overtake for him to do made it easier for the teams’ championship, and Pecco was able to limit the damage to Fabio (Quartararo) in the riders’ championship as best he could.

“Saturday night after qualifying was so frustrating for me was all about calming down, considering the job I had to do for the race. I remembered what ‘Dovi’ (Andrea Dovizioso) did on the Ducati the last time we raced here in 2019, when he got knocked out in Q1 and started 13th but finished fourth and was coming on strong at the end, I was fading in front of him and just about held on for the podium. I had to first concentrate on getting away cleanly from back in 10th – never easy here but possible – and then get in with the front guys as early as I could and stay there. The start went alright but I got boxed in at the car park in the first corner, but I was able to get to fourth pretty quickly before I wasn’t able to ride 100 per cent how I wanted to after about 10-11 laps.

“For the championship, it was Mir and (Johann) Zarco I had to get ahead of, and they were both starting in front of me. So at least that happened, and I’m now up to fourth overall which is better than I’ve ever done before. Three races to go to defend that now and see if I can move forwards.

“Anyway, it was really good to be back at COTA for the first time in so long, over two and a half years. It felt like even longer, especially when you think that the last time we were here was just my second MotoGP podium! Being back in America was definitely enjoyable, and it makes me look forward to even more of a ‘normal’ calendar next year so I can get back for a home race as well.”

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Joan Mir – P8

“All race long I was trying to gain positions and make overtakes, but due to some issues with acceleration and traction I wasn’t really able to do it easily and I had to push really hard. I’m sorry for the touch with Jack (Miller) at the end of the race, I understand why he was angry, but it’s a shame I had a penalty because it was not a deliberate hit, of course. I hope in the future we can be more competitive, because I don’t want to be in these types of fights with another rider, I want everything to be clean and to be able to make passes more easily and battle with the lead group. Anyway, today I’m eighth and that’s just how it is. I’m ready to focus on Misano.”

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Brad Binder – P9

“Today, going into the race, I felt that we hadn’t done a lot of quality laps this weekend. I didn’t have the best rhythm and I was missing a bit of speed but in the end I gave my best and the team did a fantastic job to give me the best available package for the race. We are nowhere near where we need to be – and where we want to be – but it was P9 today. There was not much more I could have done. We’ll keep working and try again in Misano.”

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Pol Espargaro – P10

“We went into the race knowing it would be difficult and from the start the feeling with the front was not so good, there was a lot of pushing. With the situation we had, I couldn’t do any more. It’s strange because in previous races the rear has been where we had our problems, but today it was the front. It’s unfortunate because we started the weekend well. Now the next objective is Misano where we know we have a good setting from the test, so we get ready to go again. The year isn’t over, so we keep our head up and keep trying. Congratulations to Marc and the Repsol Honda Team.”

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Miguel Oliveira – P11

“As we expected it was a hard race and difficult to make a lot of positions. Anyway, we recovered some places. We scored points and we raced well. We are looking forward to Misano where we just need to understand how to qualify better and then fight for better positions in the race. I’m happier now that we have finished the race here and achieved something. Looking to the future this was an important step.”

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Álex Márquez – P12

“We finished P12 today, I’m not really happy because it’s not the position I wanted to be in and it’s not the performance we needed to show. But I gave 100% throughout the race, the main problem was the rear grip which did not feel good from the beginning to the end. But I was able to keep the lap times and my rhythm quite constant. I made a big mistake on lap seven when I went straight on the back straight at turn 12 and lost three or four seconds there, without that I think the top 10 was possible. It was not the race I expected, I expected a little better so we need to keep pushing. Now, we have three weeks to rest and to reflect on it.  We’ll be looking to make a step forward and be more competitive in Misano.”

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Andrea Dovizioso – P13

“I’m very disappointed with the start because I almost switched off the engine – I don’t know if I made a mistake but I lost a lot of positions, so we’re looking into that. This made it not very easy, especially as it’s very difficult for us to overtake, but in the end my pace was quite good and quite consistent. I’m disappointed because I didn’t achieve the maximum – with a good start I believe I could have been in the top ten, but the improvement since Misano is huge and we’re continuing to work hard and to adapt to the bike. We are in a strange situation that I can be happy even when we don’t get a good result because I’m learning, so it’s ok and we will continue to work in this way.”

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Luca Marini – P14

“In the race we had a bit of the same problems as in the last races and that didn’t allow me to make the difference I would have liked in terms of riding. Overall it was a positive weekend, we have to be happy with the whole team for the progress we have made since Misano. I struggled a lot physically, it was a long race and I struggled to ride the way I wanted to be faster.”

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Valentino Rossi – P15

“Considering my pace during the weekend my speed today in the race was decent. I was able to take one point, but it was really, really hard. A very long race. This track is always very demanding because we have some wild braking, a lot of change in direction and a lot of bumps, and with this temperature it was very long today. For the level of MotoGP machines now you have to be very, very fit. I used the medium rear and I felt good and was able to recover some positions, but unfortunately I was not fast enough. We expected to be stronger, but we suffered through the weekend. Finally though at the end I’m happy because it was so tough but still I took one point.”

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Iker Lecuona – P16

“It was a very difficult weekend in general. I don’t feel good with the bike in these track conditions, so I struggled a lot. In Warm Up this morning, I was alone and my pace was pretty good to fight maybe even close to the top 10. But in the race, on the first lap, some guys hit me two or three times in the first corners, so I was far back. Then I tried to recover, but I used a lot of rear tyre in the first laps, so I didn’t have any grip anymore. In the last 10 laps I tried to recover the gap to Rossi and I made up almost three seconds, but then he improved a lot as well. It was very hard and finally we didn’t get any points in P16. But we gathered experience. We learned a lot during this weekend and I think now I have two weeks to recover and be fit for Misano two.”

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Takaaki Nakagami – P17

“At the start of the race I had a good feeling on the bike and I was ready to attack as I saw Marc (Marquez) was trying to go away after the start. I was trying to overtake Joan Mir and then next Bagnaia, I was really confident on the braking so I kept pushing, but unfortunately at turn 12 I hit the bumps in the apex and lost the front. It’s a shame that I crashed because after that I rejoined the race and I tried to keep pushing to the maximum and the pace was amazing. We had really good pace in the end, so it’s a shame I lost this opportunity. I’d like to say sorry to my team. Now, we are on to the next race in Misano.”

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 Danilo Petrucci – P18

“It was really a difficult race. I tried at the beginning to stay with the others, but we faced the same issues like all weekend long. It feels like I can’t really use the tyre properly and my bike doesn’t turn like I want it to. I lose a lot of energy on braking in order to try to stick with the rest, but then also in the corners I was slower and in trying to be faster I risked crashing many times. On the last lap, I was really blocked with my back. I was riding all the race with a lot pain. It was very difficult. Anyway, we tried and we will try again in Misano.”

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Franco Morbidelli – P19

“The race was very, very tough. I wasn‘t in the condition to fully perform in the race because this track is really demanding on the body and I‘m still recovering, and 20 laps here with my physical condition were really tough. At some point I was just trying to get the bike to the end. At the beginning of the race, when I was still able to, I wanted to push a little and make some more kilometres to learn and adapt more to the bike. We got some interesting information that we can analyse, and we can do something with it for Misano. The next GP weekend is in three weeks, so I will have some more time to heal and prepare for that race. This is positive, and overall it was a positive weekend. We understand better which direction to take. Of course, the result is not what we wanted, but this is like a pre-season for us. We have to see it in this way. We are collecting interesting data for the next races.”

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Johann Zarco – DNF

“I am very disappointed, a good opportunity wasted because of a mistake. Now I will use these two weeks to train and get back to 100%.”

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Aleix Espargaro – DNF

“I am truly disappointed. Not so much for the crash, which is always a possibility in racing, but certainly not when you’re riding with such high lap times. Unfortunately, something just didn’t work this weekend and we need to take a deeper look at that. Until now, we have been competitive everywhere, with various results but consistently battling in the group of the best. I want to apologise to the team. Five crashes in three days are definitely not a good record and both they and the engineers have worked nonstop throughout the weekend. The goal was to stay calm and aim for the best possible result, which was the points zone for us today. We were doing just that before the crash, which fortunately came without any physical consequences.”

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Team Managers

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“Today’s second place is the result of very precise work done by the team. We improved session by session throughout the entire weekend, including in the Warm Up when we made the final rear tyre decision. We tried all tyre options this morning, including the soft rear that we hadn‘t considered earlier, and we were able to make the right decision. We also found something to make Fabio feel a bit more comfortable with the numerous bumps here, and that really paid off during this race. Fabio did a great job. It was another really mature ride from him. He had a good start and his immediate retaliation when Martin tried to overtake him was exactly what he needed to do. Then in the second half of the race he just focused on his own rhythm, which is easier said than done at this physical track, but he managed it. Moreover, he took this second place and a crucial 20 points at a track that isn‘t our strongest, and they are like gold for Fabio‘s championship campaign. Franky really suffered because he is still recovering, which wasn’t helped by today’s 20-lap long race. His result doesn‘t really do credit to the hard work he put in and the improvements he and his crew made over the weekend, but that is the way it is for now. We are sure he will be feeling much better again after the two weeks‘ rest before the Misano 2 race weekend.”

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Shinichi Sahara – Suzuki Project Leader and Team Director

“Both Alex and Joan gave 100% in today’s race. To be honest, we expected more in terms of results, but I know that they both managed the best they could in this difficult race, where the feeling with the bike and tyres wasn’t perfect. They kept fighting and it was a case of ‘damage limitation’ – just scoring as many points as possible. Overall the feeling with the bike was not bad for either rider, but this race was extremely demanding. We’re looking forward to the next races.”

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Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“It was good that both riders could finish, and not in bad positions, but we wanted more. We weren’t able to fight for the podium here today, which was a pity, especially given our past performances at COTA. Our competitors were very strong and our riders gave everything to bring home decent finishes, but it’s clear that we need to continue working. We’ll keep our heads down and push for the remaining rounds.”

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Mike Leitner – Red Bull KTM Race Manager

“We knew it would be a tough one. COTA is still a track we have not raced at that much. Brad had a strong one and suffered with a bit of vibration from the bike and tires around seven laps from the end and that cost him the chance to fight in that group going for 6th position. We are happy with the performance but we all cannot be happy with a 9th. Miguel also made an improvement…but we wanted both riders in the top ten and we have to work harder to get them in there.”

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Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager

“Another very frustrating weekend for the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team. This time, Iker didn’t get an ideal start, which is usually something he does quite well. It took him some time to gain a few positions and we were happy to see his progress. We were hoping that finally we could score a few points, which was the target. But again, as it happened quite often, I believe Iker made a mistake halfway through the race and he lost quite a lot of time and a few positions. Although he recovered and was going faster than the guys in front of him, he never managed to catch all of them. He ended up 16th, which is again the worst possible position. We would have been happy to score a point with at least one of our two guys. It’s frustrating and a Déjà-vu. Consistency is what we have to work on and this is the target for the next races.”

“Danilo had an ok start this time, better than his teammate. But soon we could see that the pace was dropping and he managed to finish the race, but there is not a lot to say. For many reasons he was just not in the place to be able to target to score a point. I know our two guys tried and pushed, but at the moment this is not enough. Let’s hope things will be a bit better next time in Italy for the second race in Misano.”

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Razlan Razali – Petronas SRT Team Principal

“First of all we are pleased and glad that nobody got seriously hurt during the Moto3 race after that nasty crash after the restart, and that all the riders are all ok. It was great to see John on the podium for the first time since Misano last year, and for Darryn to be in the top ten too, with both of them clearly having the potential for much more today. For Xavi and Jake I am pleased to see them both in the top ten, especially at this challenging track and with the extra demands of the surface and the weather. Both our MotoGP riders are also back in the points which is great, and they’re the first points for Andrea in just his second race with us. I think it’s the first time that all our riders have got into the points, which is a great team effort.”

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Piero Taramasso – Michelin Two-Wheel Motorsport Manager

“This was a very interesting weekend for us and the teams due to the grip levels of the resurfaced parts of the track being something of an unknown quantity. However, during the first dry session we realised very quickly that while the resurfaced parts offered good grip, the old asphalt was distinctly lacking in this respect. Considering the differences in grip between the various track surfaces and the well-publicised issues caused by the bumps, I was very happy with the consistent performance shown by all the options in our allocation, and the fourth Hard compound rear tyre we brought as a back-up wasn’t needed. The Hard front worked particularly well for all riders and constructors – hence it being chosen by everyone for the race – but all our rear options were race possibilities, with the vast majority taking advantage of the additional grip potential offered by the Soft.”

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Grand Prix of the Americas MotoGP Results

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MotoGP Standings

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2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au