Japanese Grand Prix Preview

Oct 7, 2015
5 min read

MotoGP heads to Asia for the first of three flyaway races that could well see the outcome of the 2015 World Championship decided over the next three weeks. First stop on this Pacific trek is Japan and to the Twin Ring Motegi circuit.

The circuit was constructed in 1997 by Honda as a testing facility for, primarily, their American oval racing programme. The 1.5-mile oval circuit crosses over the road circuit, hence the name 'Twin Ring', and saw CART & IndyCar action through to 2011. Motorcycle racing first came to the track in 1999 and was the host of the Pacific Grand Prix up to 2003, becoming the permanent home of the Japanese Grand Prix in 2004 following the tragic death of Daijiro Kato at Suzuka the previous year. The World Championship has been coming to the country since 1963 and alternated with Suzuka and Fuji until 1967, with the former the scene of the World Championship's return in 1987.

The circuit is very stop/start, which makes it the hardest braking track on the calendar. As a result teams are forced to use the larger 340mm brake discs to stop the possibility of brake fade. Normally a Honda track, their rear grip issues and problematic engine braking may see most of the Factory RC213V riders struggle. Marc Marquez should be able to extract close to maximum from the bike because of the 2014 frame he is running, but he'll have a tough time with his hand injury.

“Aragon was a tough race and I made a mistake, now I'm eager to get to Japan and try to end the season at the top. Unfortunately last week I had a training accident whilst mountain biking and suffered a fracture in my left hand. I had an operation on Wednesday and have been resting it since. I'm healing well and hope to be as fit as possible for this weekend. Track conditions in Motegi can vary quite a lot and we will work hard on the set-up in terms of the hard acceleration and braking in order to be at the front come Sunday. I hope we can have a good result in front of Honda's home fans!”

Armed with the fully seamless gearbox the YZR-M1 should be much stronger here than in previous years, and their strength in the corners should see them able to punch out with the faster bikes. Gloves are off between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo as the gap between them sits at just fourteen points following the Spaniard's triumph in Spain two weeks ago. Lorenzo tends to be that little bit stronger than Rossi at Motegi, and has won the previous two races. But he too comes into this weekend carrying injury, albeit a small one.

“I have still great feelings from Aragon. It was a nice victory in front of our home crowd. We were also able to achieve the World Championship Team Title for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP. The weekend was perfect and we could make up some good points compared to Valentino. The championship is amazing in this last part of the season, but from now on we need to stay more focused if we want to keep the momentum and try to win the title. Next stop is Japan where I have good memories, especially from the last two years. Motegi is a typical stop and go circuit. But for some reason I could do great races in the past even if it may be better suited for our rivals. This year we go there eager to do another great battle, so hopefully we could do another nice race and try to make the championship tighter. As you may have heard, I had a small incident while I was training but I'm well, I just have a bit of pain in my left shoulder but I will race without any problems in Motegi.”

Rossi does have a good record in Japan, tallying four wins but only one at the Twin Ring. That came back in 2008, so he will need to really dig deep to try and beat his team-mate and retain the lead in the standings. Given Lorenzo's form at the moment, that will be hard but he seems in good spirits nonetheless.

“We're on our way to Motegi to begin a very important part of the season. Motegi is a track that I like very much. Here I made a good race in the past and also last year I had a good weekend, but Jorge was stronger than me so he won. For this reason I will have to give my all, because there are only fourteen points between him and I. These points may seem a lot but they are few. We must give the maximum because we are competitive, which we have demonstrated up to this point. There will be three races in a row and it will be important not to make any mistakes, but at the same time make sure to get the best possible results. I feel good; In Aragon, during the test, I crashed but there were no further consequences, only a little abrasion on my arm. I'm fine and I'm ready for the triple-header!"

Andrea Dovizioso took Ducati's first pole position since 2010 at Motegi last season, but the braking difficulties he is experiencing on the GP15 will make that feat almost impossible despite the brute-force of the Desmosedici. Iannone will really feel the pain in his dislocated shoulder this weekend, so don't expect miracles from the Bologna - based team.

Suzuki are meant to introduce another updated engine at Motegi, so they may able to find a little more pace like they did in Aragon. The heavy braking puts a lot of reliance on the seamless gearbox keeping the rear stable, and because the GSX-RR still doesn't have one this will be a problem. I can't see them finding massive amounts of time, but both Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales could be in for another decent top ten finish.

Stats:

Circuit Length – 4.8km (2.98 miles)
Number of Turns – 14 (6 left, 8 right)
Longest Straight – 762m
Number of Laps – 24
Top Speed – 310km/h
Average Speed – 163.2lm/h
Circuit Record – 1:45.350 (Jorge Lorenzo, 2014)
Fastest Lap – 1:44.502 (Andrea Dovizioso, 2014)
Most Wins (at Motegi) – 4 (Dani Pedrosa – 2002, 2004, 2011 & 2012)
Most Poles (at Motegi) – 3 (Jorge Lorenzo & Loris Capirossi)

Bridgestone Tyre Allocation:

Front – Soft, Medium (Symmetric), Hard

Rear (Open) – Extra-soft, Soft (Asymmetric)

Rear (Factory) – Soft, Medium

Wet – Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)

Motegi is quite an abrasive circuit, but isn't massively demanding on the rear tyres. Instead, because of the heavy braking, the front takes most of the punishment.

Previous Five Winners:

Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1, 2014

Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1, 2013

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team RC213V, 2012

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team RC212V, 2011

Casey Stoner, Ducati Team GP10, 2010

The Weekend Schedule

Friday:

Moto3 FP1 – 01:00-01:40

MotoGP FP1 – 01:55-02:40

Moto2 FP1 – 02:55-03:40

Moto3 FP2 – 05:10-05:50