Petite remarque avant la présentation du GP: l'année dernière, c'était la psychose, avec des teams apportant leur eau et leur nourriture par peur de la radioactivité. Cette année, ça semble le contraire, puisque plusieurs équipes sont déjà sur place...
La radioactivité, au Japon, ça dure combien de temps?
Longueur: 4.801 m. / 2,983 miles
Largeur: 15m
Virages à gauche: 6
Virages à droite: 8
Ligne droite: 762 m. / 0,473 miles
Construction: 1997
Modifié: 1997
Records | Season | Rider | Motorcycle | Time | Speed |
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MotoGP |
Fastest Lap | 2011 | Casey STONER (AUS) | Honda | 1'45.267 | 164,2 km/h |
Circuit Record | 2011 | Dani PEDROSA (SPA) | Honda | 1'46.090 | 162,9 km/h |
Best Pole | 2011 | Casey STONER (AUS) | Honda | 1'45.267 | 164,2 km/h |
Top Speed | 2004 | Tohru UKAWA (JPN) | Honda | | 310,1 km/h |
Moto2 |
Fastest Lap | 2011 | Marc MARQUEZ (SPA) | Suter | 1'52.067 | 154,2 km/h |
Circuit Record | 2011 | Andrea IANNONE (ITA) | Suter | 1'52.307 | 153,9 km/h |
Best Pole | 2011 | Marc MARQUEZ (SPA) | Suter | 1'52.067 | 154,2 km/h |
Top Speed | 2011 | Thomas LUTHI (SWI) | Suter | | 260,9 km/h |
125cc |
Fastest Lap | 2007 | Mattia PASINI (ITA) | Aprilia | 1'56.954 | 147,8 km/h |
Circuit Record | 2006 | Mika KALLIO (FIN) | KTM | 1'57.666 | 146,9 km/h |
Best Pole | 2006 | Alvaro BAUTISTA (SPA) | Aprilia | 1'57.231 | 147,4 km/h |
Top Speed | 2005 | Mateo TUNEZ (SPA) | Aprilia | | 230,1 km/h |
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- Wild cards :
Hyuga Watanabe, 18 ans, un des adversaires de Kenta Fujii en All Japan J-GP3 en 2011, déjà Wild card l'année dernière avec une Honda RS125R du team Project µ 7C HARC (28° aux essais à 3″7 de la pole, chute en course), sera cette fois sur une Honda NSF250R du Team 7C HARC e Project µ après avoir participé au CEV cette année, avec un podium à la clef. http://www.seven-c.jp/
Autre Wild Card,
Yudai Kamei s'alignera sur une Honda orange du 18 Garage Racing Team.
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Toni Elias fait son arrivée chez Italtrans après des essais privés sur une Kalex du CEV à Alcarras.
Toutefois, cela n'est que provisoire puisque le team vient de signer
Julian Simon pour 2013.
- Le très jeune Japonais (16 ans)
Kohta Nozane, en provenance du All Japan Road Race sur une R6 modifiée, remplace
Marco Colandrea au team SAG (Stop And Go), officiellement pour "problèmes physiques".
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- Retour très attendu de
Casey Stoner... Première photo!
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Nicky Hayden s'est finalement fracturé la main droite durant son accident à Aragon.
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Roberto Rolfo remplace un
Mattia Pasini très énervé chez Speed Up.
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Ivan Silva remplace
David Salom qui remplaçait Silva, le tout chez BQR Avintia.
Le point au championnat:On essaie de se persuader qu'il y a encore un suspens, que Stoner pourrait venir aider Pedrosa en s’intercalant devant Lorenzo, etc.
On essaie... mais seul un abandon du Majorquin pourrait vraiment en relancer l'intérêt.
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative) Round fifteen of the 2012 MotoGP
season takes place at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit for one of the most important contests of the year, as the strong Japanese presence in the paddock – including Bridgestone - celebrate their home Grand Prix as the championship battle enters a critical phase.
At approximately 4.8 kilometres in length Motegi is characterised by four straights that create numerous heavy braking and acceleration zones. As a result, the centre section of the tyres at this circuit are placed under considerable stress, requiring the supplied tyres to grant high levels of front stability under braking, and good rear grip for acceleration.
The tarmac at Motegi is quite abrasive and with the race now being run in October, track temperatures are generally quite cool so Bridgestone must develop tyres with good warm-up performance and durability for the Japanese Grand Prix. Tyre compounds for this year remain unchanged with the soft, medium and hard front slicks being offered alongside the asymmetric soft and medium rear slicks. The asymmetric rear slicks feature slightly harder rubber on the right shoulder in response to the greater number of right-hand turns at the Motegi circuit.
The main wet tyre for Motegi will be the soft option to ensure maximum grip levels in the likely cool temperatures, although all riders will be able to select a limited number of the alternative wet tyre, which for this race is the hard option, if required.
Hiroshi Yamada - Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“Motegi is one of the highlights of the season as the large Japanese contingent in the paddock gets to celebrate its home grand prix and put on a big show for all the local fans. This is certainly the case for Bridgestone and we will be hosting a large number of guests, for many of whom Motegi presents the only chance to see some live MotoGP action. Like every year we will have a large display booth in the public area where we will be hosting a talk show with many riders and this year we are also holding a charity auction to help victims of last year’s Tohoku earthquake, and I look forward to meeting many MotoGP fans there over the weekend.
“Adding to the excitement is that there is still everything to fight for in the championship between Jorge and Dani, and with Casey making a welcome return to the paddock there are many reasons why this weekend should be a great show.”
Shinji Aoki - Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“Now that the Japanese Grand Prix takes place in October, the temperatures for the race are generally cool, so warm-up performance is a key consideration for tyre development at the Motegi circuit. The track surface is high-grip and abrasive which combined with the circuit’s heavy braking and acceleration zones, places high loads on the centre section of the tyres.
“The circuit has a stop-and-go layout and features eight right-hand corners compared to six left-handers. Though the circuit doesn’t place significant loads on the either shoulder of the tyre, the greater number of right-hand corners means asymmetric rear slicks with slightly harder rubber on the right shoulder are provided here. Overall, Motegi is one of the gentler circuits for MotoGP tyres and this is why we have selected softer tyre compounds selected for this race.”
Dunlop Takes Softer Front to MotegiTyres Turning Japanese Style
Dunlop’s Moto2 tyres head to Japan for the 14th round of the Moto2 World Championship with the AirAsia Grand Prix of Japan which takes place at Twin Ring Motegi on October 12-14 where a new compound front tyre will be employed with the 717 put on the bench and the 345 called into active service.
Stop Start
Motegi is a ‘stop-start’ circuit without high speed corners and significant lateral loads. This means the tyres’ mechanical grip is particularly called upon over the course of the 4.8km, 14 corner lap. The pit straight is 762 metres long, entered from a hairpin meaning significant traction demands at this point.
The circuit is located amongst the vast natural beauty of the northern Kanto district, and the facility consists of the 4.8km road course as well as a 2.4km oval course. Built by Honda as the ultimate test facility in August 1997, the road circuit became home to MotoGP in 2000.
Get a Grip
Dunlop will unleash the Group D Grip Focused combo of the 4886 & 3838 compounds for the high stability and mechanical grip needs of Motegi. The 4886 medium compound was introduced late in the 2011 season with good results. Has the ability to give the rider good initial grip and good life in cool conditions. 3838 is the harder option core compound. Both rear tyres are in the ATR05.
For the front the season regular 717 compound is rested and the 345 is called into action for Motegi, Sepang and Phillip Island. These three different venues will provide Dunlop with significant development data useful for the 2013 season whilst providing riders with a compound which has been developed in the FIM Endurance World Championship and has proved successful in cold and hot conditions while in Japan and in Europe. The 345 will be paired with 717’s erstwhile partner, 302.
Dunlop’s Moto2 Operations Manager, Clinton Howe:
“Motegi is a stop-start track, all slow corners with no real high speed challenges so you need a good balance with mechanical grip and good stability. The stability from the tyres is important as the riders are either standing on the brakes or accelerating hard so they don’t want a tyre with a lot of movement in it.
“In terms of the track surface, Motegi can be abrasive, but because of the slow nature of the turns the tyres do not get punished too much. There is more of a challenge with the temperatures, as these can range from cool in the morning to hot and humid in the afternoon, however we’ve previously found that the track is typically around the 30-35˚C region which is the sweet spot for tyre performance.
“If it rains it’s one of the hardest tracks on front wet tyres, due to the nature of the braking demands, and the heat build-up. We see shape change in the centre of the front wet tyres, but the sides are perfect. The centres almost overheat, so a drying track is the worst scenario.
“It’s exciting for us to be bringing the slightly softer 345 compound to take over from the 717 for the next three races. As we have seen the Moto2 championship evolve, the usual 50/50 split between the two front compounds has the first two years has become one of 70/30 in favour of the 302.
“Moto2 machinery is not as hard on front tyres as it once was and we now see ourselves in a position where we can offer the slightly softer 345 as a substitute to 717. This will give back some edge feeling that the riders lost with the 717 front and hopefully give them confidence to race the harder option at more races.”
Moto2 Tyre Allocation: Motegi
Front Moto2 slicks per rider
120/75R17 Moto2: 4 x 302, 4 x 345
Rear Moto2 slicks per rider
195/75R17 Moto2: 5 x 3838 (ATR05), 4 x 4886 (ATR05)
Wet Moto2 tyres per rider
3 x Front 125/80R17 KR191 414 (4 tyres allocated if all practice sessions are wet).
3 x Rear 190/55R17 KR393 414 (4 tyres allocated if all practice sessions are wet).
Moto3 Tyre Allocation: Motegi
Front Moto3 slicks per rider
95/75R17 Moto3: 5 x Medium, 3 x Hard
Rear Moto3 slicks per rider
115/70R17 Moto3: 6 x Medium, 3 x Soft
Wet Moto3 tyres per rider
3 x 95/70R17 KR189 WB (4 tyres allocated if all practices are wet).
3 x 115/70R17 KR389 WB (4 tyres allocated if all practices are wet).
La F1 en Corée vient perturber la diffusion du GP.
Le week-end sera donc assez pauvre, surtout si l'on compare à l'année dernière, avec très peu de LIVE hormis les courses...
VENDREDI:02:00 - Grand Prix à Aragon, Espagne - Course MotoGP (1h)
06:15 - Essais Moto 3 (45mn) LIVE
08:30 - Essais Moto GP (1h)
11:00 - Essais Moto2 (1h)
SAMEDI:06:00 - Qualifications Moto 3 (55mn) LIVE
11:00 - Qualifications Moto 3 (45mn)
11:45 - Qualifications Moto2 (1h)
12:45 - Qualification GP (1h15mn)
DIMANCHE:03:45 - Moto 3 (1h30mn) LIVE
05:15 - Moto2 (1h45mn) LIVE
07:00 - Course MotoGP (1h) LIVE
10:00 - Course MotoGP (1h)