Wednesdays Press conference
Silverstone, UK -Marquez, despite winning four races in a row, remains coy on his chances this weekend: “We will see how this weekend goes. Normally here I struggle a little bit in Moto2. 125 was good but I struggled a bit in Moto2. We will see over the weekend. We will try like always to do our best, but I think Cal will be fast here – he even was last year with a foot injury. Anyway, I’m happy and I feel good. It looks fun with MotoGP. I look forward to trying it. It will be heavier, but nice on the long straights. I think we can do a good weekend.”
Pedrosa, now almost back to full fitness, believes that running the event here in August will make for better racing: “Yes, fitness-wise I’m much better every week which is a big relief. Last race I had a big push and tried to fight for the win, so that is important for the mind-set – for me and for the team. Every few days I feel better and am able to train a little harder, so that is positive. It was always super cold or even raining here, so it was always really hard for the tyres. Maybe this time in August it will be easier for the tyres and we will be able to enjoy the track more.”
With Yamaha still not introducing their much-anticipated seemless gearbox, Lorenzo will have to push harder than ever to beat the Hondas: “I am trying to win races because we have to recover points after Assen and the Sachsenring and everything that has happened, but at the moment it’s not possible. We’ll have to see what happens here with a different track, but at the moment we have to wait for Saturday. For this moment we must focus on trying to win races and forget about the championship. We are still not on the level I expect to win the race, but things can change suddenly…and maybe this weekend…so we don’t need to change the motivation.”
Rossi, who has not raced his M1 at Silverstone before, is looking forward to doing so this weekend: “I think Silverstone is a super track. Very good, very fast, and so big for MotoGP. Unfortunately the first time, in 2010, I had to see the race on television – and the last two years I liked the track a lot, but I was never strong enough – so I don’t have many good memories. But it’s now the first time with the Yamaha and I hope to be faster.”
Crutchlow has had tough home races in GP in the past, but that will not hinder the Brit as he pushes for a win in front of his home crowd: “Yeah it’s great to come back home to the British Grand Prix, and Silverstone is the perfect place to have it. I’m looking forward to it, all of the riders love the circuit and a lot of fans come out to it. No reason we can’t refine things this weekend, looking to try a few things and find something for Silverstone. It’s technical and physical, but has a lot of grip.”
Speaking about the home-pressure and his previous accident-packed weekends at the track, he joked: “It’s not easy because there’s only one British Grand Prix and, being the guy fighting near the front in MotoGP, expectation is always high, but I like a bit of pressure and no reason we can’t do well. I hope not to make a Saturday trip to the hospital, they’ve been very good to me, but I don’t want to go back and see them again! If I can make Saturday I think we can have a good Sunday.”
Moto2’s Scott Redding will be hoping for a win in front of his home crowd, particularly on a weekend he announced his step up to the Gresini team for 2014 to race the new Honda Production Racer.
Scott Redding will ride a Honda RCV1000R for Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini next season, after signing a two-year agreement that will see the promising young British rider on-board the Japanese factory’s new ‘production racer’. For Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini it is an exciting moment to be developing a MotoGP project with a young rider who has such a great deal of both talent and personality. The intense period of acclimatization to the MotoGP bike will begin as soon as the current championship comes to a close.
Fausto Gresini – “I’m delighted to be able to work with a young talent like Scott Redding. We have signed a two-year contract together, with the clear aim of building an ambitious project that should see him develop and be taken to the pinnacle of MotoGP. Scott has already shown that he has a lot of quality and so we are proud to welcome him into our team. We cannot wait to begin working with him; his riding style is great to watch, as is his approach to racing.”
Scott Redding – “I am looking forward to the challenge of MotoGP next season. I’ll be racing alongside the best riders in the world, aboard the brand new Honda RCV1000R, so I know already how steep a learning curve it’s going to be. This was why it was so important to me that I made this step with an experienced team, and there are few more experienced in the MotoGP paddock than Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini. But my focus now is on winning the Moto2 World Championship for Marc van der Straten, without whose support over the past four years I wouldn’t even have been given this opportunity to move up to the premier class.”
Bruno Bollini, GO&FUN President – “I’m really happy that we have signed the deal with Scott Redding. We couldn’t have chosen a better rider. I’ve been following him closely over the past couple of seasons and I think he’s a great talent and represents the future of motorcycling. He is young, fast and full of energy. His riding style along with his own ‘trendy’ look mean he fits in perfectly with the GO&FUN message; energy, adrenaline, intelligence and enjoyment. I am certain that 2014 will be a fantastic season results-wise, and that Redding will be a positive addition to the success of Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini.”
