Quick Look – CotA MotoGP Press Conference 2016



I’m very pleased to be back at work in MotoGP for Round 3 here in Austin, Texas. First up, a quick look at the Thursday press conference.

Above, the Dorna press officer makes sure each rider’s helmet is in its appropriate place. The helmet stand is prepped ahead of time, a piece of red tape showing where each rider’s helmet is to go. You can see one piece of that tape still in place, waiting for Lorenzo’s crash hat.

Once the riders were settled, it was fairly standard press conference except for the very happy inclusion of Eugene Laverty, there to talk about his fourth place in Argentina.

With his typical wry good humor, Laverty described how he had no expectation of such a good result, including on the final lap when he’d expected to find himself much father back. As he told the crowd about looking at the circuit TV after crossing the finish line, he had to keep scrolling up and up to finally find himself in 4th place. Valentino Rossi enjoyed the story.

As title leader, Marc Marquez spoke first about his hopes of winning his fourth consecutive race here in Austin, and about the challenges he faces given the many technology changes (new tires, new software, the 2016 Honda) compared to previous years.

Jorge Lorenzo spoke graceful about his difficult Argentina weekend, and as he has done consistently this season, deflected questions about his move to Ducati, which is feeling like the worst-kept secret in the paddock.

Rossi was also asked several questions about Lorenzo’s rumored move, and he also refused to be drawn into the speculation.

Maverick Finales turned in a solid performance, in spite of nearly nodding off a couple of times as other riders were speaking.

Andrea Iannone seemed the most tired after the difficult journey from Argentina, one that has most of the paddock yawning. But the Italian woke up when required to talk about his last lap disaster on Sunday. Still remorseful about crashing into his teammate when the pair of Ducatis seemed a lock for 2nd and 3rd, Iannone said he hopes the performance won’t hurt his chances of staying on the factory Ducati squad in 2017.

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©2016 by Scott Jones / PhotoGP – All Rights Reserved