2014 MotoGP Qatar, we take a look at what was said

By Sam TickellRace Reviews
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Marc Marquez took out the opening 2014 MotoGP Qatar round (photo Bridgestone)
Marc Marquez took out the opening 2014 MotoGP Qatar round (photo Bridgestone)

MotoGP started its 2014 season at Qatar and we took a look at what was said through the weekend…

Honda

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda – Race Winner
“I’m very happy with the victory as I didn’t expect this result. I felt better physically yesterday but I still had a question mark over how I would go in the race. I chose the hard rear tyre so I was a bit cautious at the start of the race, but then it was ok so then I decided to push. The battle with Valentino was very exciting and we swapped positions many times, last year he came out on top but this year it was my turn. I hope to have many more nice battles like that this year.”

Yamaha

Valentino Rossi
“It was a great battle, but I enjoyed it a little bit less than him [Marquez] because I finished behind! It was great and my race was fun, starting from the fourth row was very risky but I did all the right overtakes and it was great when I got to the front. I was very happy and the bike was good. I had the potential to fight with Marc, but he was stronger than me.”

Ducati

 

 

Andrea Dovizioso
“We have to look at the positive aspects of this result, because in view of the championship a fifth place is always important,” said Dovizioso. “But another important objective for us was to reduce the gap to the winner, and we managed to cut that down by half from last year, and that’s another important fact. We still have understeer problems that condition our performance in the race, but I am pleased with the progress we’ve made so far, even though we still have to work hard to improve our bike.”

Gresini

Scott Redding
“I am very happy, I was expecting to be able to follow Hayden for a few laps, not for the entire race and even beat him. In the first laps I wanted to exploit the potential of the softer tyre and I was pretty aggressive, making some moves.”

“At that point I followed Hayden for a lot of laps, then I felt that he let me pass, only to overtake me soon after. I knew, however, that I could be faster than him, so in the latter part of the race I tried to overtake him on the fast sector, with a big move, then I pushed as much as I could for the last two laps. We reached our goal, which was to be the best Open class Honda.”

LCR

 

 

Stefan Bradl
“Actually it’s difficult for me to express my feelings right now. In somehow I did a very good job because I took a good start from the third row making a perfect first lap. Honestly I was not expecting such a strong performance considering the issues we had in the last days but for the race I felt strong and determined. Basically I can not say why I crashed because I made the same maneuver of the lap before but I lost the front in turn six. Luckily I am OK and the positive thing is that I have done a big step in the race. Many riders crashed on left corners so probably the humidity was too high and affected the grip level ..Anyway let’s go ahead to Austin which is another track that I like very much”.

Tech 3

Bradley Smith
“It’s plain to see that this wasn’t the ideal way to finish the opening race of the season as I gave everything that I possibly could have during the race,” he acknowledged. “I was feeling good on the bike, however it was difficult to close the final second to the front runners but with five or six laps to go I was determined to try and catch them. Unfortunately, I then fell.”

Open Class

 

Nicky Hayden
“We had to change our start procedure tonight and it wasn’t easy, there were riders everywhere but I managed to get into a better rhythm than the test and practice here, setting consistent 1.56s. I tried everything to stay with Pol Espargaro before he stopped, but in the end I had worn out the left hand side of the tyre and ran off.”

Moto2

 

 

Tito Rabat
“I’m happy to have come here to Qatar and taken the first win of the season on my debut for the Marc VDS team. I got a good start, but then Taka Nakagami braked really late into turn one and I made a mistake and ran wide. It took me a good few laps to work my way back to the front, but I was pushed all the way by Taka and Mika. In the end I managed to defend the lead to take the win, but I need to think about the early laps and also how to manage better the end of the race. It was a great way to start the season and now we need to look ahead to the next race in Austin.”

Moto3

Jack Miller
“Without a doubt , I could not have ask for anything better from today: My first race with the team, my first podium and my first win -unbelievable. It was a very good race and a great way to start the season. There are still many Grands Prix ahead and have much to learn, but for today I am very happy. Winning a race is an amazing feeling, so I hope I can repeat the feeling more times. Thanks to the whole team for the work we’ve done together so far.”

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