Motul TT Assen / Start

01 / 07 / 2015 Motul.Sport.News 26 ENGLISH VERSION Motul.Sport.News 26

FIM MotoGP - Motul TT / Assen Round 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Poncharal - Espargaro - Smith / Team Yamaha / Yamaha R1

First Motul TT Assen keeps its promises

Already title sponsor of the Motul Grand Prix of Japan The TT Circuit at Assen is the only site to have orga- at Motegi, the international lubricants specialist an- nised a world championship Grand Prix every year nounced at the end of last year that the event held at since 1949. Located in the north of the Netherlands, Assen would also sport its colours in 2015. Since then popular success is guaranteed. Motul rolled out origi- efforts have been stepped up even more: in a recent nal operations for the eighth round of the season. For press conference, President of the Management Board, instance, a Facebook contest led to the selection of the Mr Hervé Amelot, disclosed that new agreements of the Motul TT Assen Super Fan. Entered by his son, win- same type had been signed for the Grand Prix of Valen- ner Gerard Fenneman attended the event for the 47th cia, as of 2015, and Argentina from 2016! time. His present? A weekend in the shoes of a real VIP, enjoying a private visit of the paddock with team Tech3, a lap around the circuit in the safety car and access to the starting grid and the pits to watch the race. To crown it all, Gerard presented a trophy on the Moto3 podium, a once in a life time experience! On Friday and Saturday morning, 1000 motorcyclists among those who had parked their machine on the cir- cuit motorcycle parking zone benefited from the Motul MC Care Pit Stop. Their headlights, screens and visors were cleaned gratuitously with Motul MC Care pro-

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FIM MotoGP - Motul TT / Assen Round 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Aleix and Pol Espargaro / MotoGP - Yamaha Tech3 / Suzuki GSX RR - Yamaha YZR-M1

ducts and they also received a product from the range time in Open category, while broke a sca- and goodies. phoid and has just been operated in Germany. Last, On the track, the teams partnered technically by Motul Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, back at the highest level more than enlivened the show. The two Monster Ya- this year, placed its riders 17th and 19th. maha Tech3 riders did particularly well. Pol Espargaro left 5th and arrived 5th, but between these two phases Standings of the race, what a battle! The young Spaniard crossed 01 / , Yamaha, 163 pts the arrival line first of a lead pack of four riders separa- 02 / Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, 153 pts ted by less than 4 tenths of a second. Among this four- some, Bradley Smith gave a fine 7th place to Tech3. 03 / , Ducati, 107 pts At Suzuki MotoGP, Aleix Espargaro, Pol’s big brother, 06 / Bradley Smith, Yamaha Tech3, 77 pts and his team-mate Maverick Viñales, both entered the 08 / Pol Espargaro, Yamaha Tech3, 56 pts Top 10. A certain frustration dominated however, as 09 / Maverick Viñales, Suzuki, 52 pts Aleix, in pole position on the Catalunya Circuit, quali- fied again on the first line. The road-holding of 12 / Aleix Espargaro, Suzuki, 38 pts is excellent, but they are slightly lacking in power on 16 / Loris Baz, Athina Forward Racing, 14 pts acceleration. 21 / Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia, 11 pts At Forward Racing, the two riders experienced oppo- site luck. Loris Baz won for the second consecutive 23 / S. Bradl, Athina Forward Racing, 9 pts

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Brazilian Drift Championship / Serra

Espirito Santo

Kings of oversteering burn rubber in Serra

Known worldwide as a sport created by the Japanese, between Márcio Kabeça, winner of the first two rounds, drift is gaining more space on speed tracks around the and Juba Nishimura, three times champion of the State of world. Brought to Brazil by driver Sergio Hanazono, who São Paulo Championship. In the final battle, Vitor Jatobá, practised drift for 12 years in Japan’s mountains, this car who is only 16, defeated Rodrigo Meireles and earned his discipline is gaining more and more admirers on the Bra- first career victory. Five drivers sporting Motul’s colours zilian motorsport scene. arrived among the first eight of the event. The city of Serra, in the state of Espirito Santo, hosted the third round of the Brazilian Drift Championship, where Motul is the official lubricant and proud sponsor of several Results bike and car racing teams from all regions of Brazil. On 01 / Vitor Jatobá, Nissan Silvia S15, 60 pts Saturday, 23 year-old driver Nicolas Costa gave the best 02 / Rodrigo Meirelles, Nissan Silvia S15, 58 pts performance at the wheel of his Nissan 350Z, qualifying therefore for the battles on Sunday. 03 / Pantelis Ledakis, Nissan Skyline, 54 pts Weather was perfect, so the drivers could present a real 06 / Nicolas Costa, Nissan 350 Z, 40 pts show and the final day was full of emotion and adrena- 07 / Márcio Kabeça, BMW E36, 36 pts line for the crowd that completely filled the stands. The seven battles were fiercely fought, especially the duel 08 / Carlos André, Toyota Mark II, 30 pts

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China Rally Championship / Hunan

Chen Dean-Wang Yang / FAW Volkswagen / VW Golf VII

FAW Volkswagen finishes top!

The 2015 China Rally Championship (CRC) season kic- overcame the challenges to lead throughout the race. ked off in Guiyang, Hunan province and FAW Volkswa- The second stage took place in the mountains, and gen team, technically supported by Motul, achieved saw many drivers adopt a conservative strategy great results over the two-day event. so as to be present at the arrival... just 38 out of Driving a Golf MK7 specially built by Prodrive, Aus- the 78 at the start managed to finish! The Aussie sie driver ‘Atko’ Atkinson clocked the winning time of kept contenders at a distance and won beautifully. 01:36:11.1, while Chinese driver Chen De An & Wang Chinese driver Chen Dean and team-mate Wang Yang finished third. The first of the two stages was par- Yang finished third of the local teams, allowing ticularly tough due to unbearably hot weather and the FAW Volkswagen to win in the Teams and Manufac- state of the roads taken by the contenders. Atkinson, turers’ standings of the event and get ahead in the however, used his wealth of racing experiences and Teams championship.

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All Japan Road Race Championship – J-GP2 / Sugo Round 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

Yuki Takahashi / Moriwaki Racing / MD600

Yuki Takahashi bags all

The fourth round of the All Japan Road Race, the Yuki Takahashi got progressively ahead of the lead third for J-GP2 category, was particularly lucky for pack to cross the arrival line with a lead of ten or so Moriwaki Racing, defending teams’ champion and seconds and clinch his third win since the start of technically partnered by Motul. During the prelimi- the season. He thus took his revenge over the 2014 nary tests, Yuki Takahashi beat the Sportsland Sugo championship which left him despondent, while unofficial time record. The arrival of rain did not de- confirming his ultimate goal of winning all the rounds moralise Yuki who bagged his third pole position in of the championship. ‘For me, now, finishing 2nd or three attempts with a wide lead of 1 second and 8 last is the same thing!’ tenths over his closest contender! His team-mate, Daijiro Hiura, had started racing with Owing to persistent drizzle when the race was about a crash on Friday and a low-key qualifying. 10th on to start, suitable tyres had to be chosen. The two the starting grid, he found favourable conditions in Moriwaki drivers chose rain tyres, unlike most of the second half of the race when it rained heavier to the other contenders. Having ‘gotten the holeshot’, push forward to the third step on the podium.

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F1 H2O UIM World Championship / Evian Round 01 02 03 04 05 06 07

Philippe Chiappe / CTIC China Team / Mercury - Moore

Philippe Chiappe breaks way… but misfortune strikes

F1 powerboats contended in the French round of their this year. But in the end he has become the first French world championship in Evian-les-Bains, in Haute-Sa- world champion of the discipline, with two wins in the voie, on 27 and 28 June. On Saturday, racing condi- last two rounds... tions were tricky on Lake Geneva. The crash by Emirati Ahmed Al Hameli led to the postponement of Q3 to Sunday morning. Defending world champion, Philippe Chiappe, was then more than happy to shine on his home lake. The Frenchman of Motul-partnered CTIC China Team bagged a splendid pole position in his second flying lap. From lap 1 to 16, the driver from Rouen brilliantly Standings kept his rivals at bay. Unfortunately, the mechanics then let him down just as a win was in sight steering his 01 / Shaun Torrente, 29 pts boat with a Moore hull and Mercury engine. Philippe’s 02 / Youssef Al Rubayan, 24 pts disappointment was immense but he can console 03 / Jonas Andersson, 24 pts himself by looking back on his 2014 season. After two races he had chalked up a mere 15 points, exactly like 04 / Philippe Chiappe, 15 pts

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Motul 119 bd Felix Faure • 93300 Aubervilliers www.youtube.com/motul Publishing & editing coordinator : Leslie Raiwoit / [email protected] Credits : Moriwaki Racing, Joe Hirakuri Filho, Lukasz Swiderek, David Piole - www.facebook.com/motul Alex Chailan, David Reygondeau