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By Riccardo Tafà| Posted April 10, 2016 | In MotoGP, MotoGP
Marc Marquez scored his fourth successive win from pole at Circuit of the Americas, making it his 10th victory in a row on American soil and extending his lead in the Championship standings by 21 points over Jorge Lorenzo. Marc Marquez led from the beginning of the Texas weekend, finishing first in every practice, earning pole position and finally leading the race from the start to the chequered flag, setting the fastest lap of the race at 2’04.682 on lap 11. With this success, Marquez overtakes Kevin Schwantz in number of victories in the premier class, with 26, while Honda now leads both the Constructor and Team standings.
It was a masterful victory, the result of his particularly good feeling with the track and the good teamwork performed in the garage. After today’s warm-up in fact, the Spaniard, together with his team and Michelin technician, chose to race with a medium rear/soft front tyre combination that proved to be successful.
Dani Pedrosa got a good start from the third row to slot into fifth place by the end of the first lap. He moved past Rossi on lap two before the Italian crashed out of the race, and passed Aleix Espargaro on the third lap. Dani Pedrosa was able to keep a very competitive pace and set the third fastest lap of the race at 2’04.950, and was closely chasing Dovizioso and Lorenzo, preparing to battle for second position, when he lost the front while braking into turn one on lap seven. He crashed, and in doing so, he unfortunately took out a blameless Andrea Dovizioso. After rushing to check that the Italian was unhurt, Dani remounted his bike and re-joined the race but was forced to retire on lap 11 due to damage to his bike.
With two demanding back-to-back flyaway races behind them, the MotoGP field will be back in action in less than two weeks’ time at the Jerez GP, the first race of 2016 on European soil.
Marc Marquez
“I’m very happy with how the whole weekend has gone. This is a circuit that I like, one of my favourite, but there were some unknowns here because just before the race we decided to run the soft front tyre. In the end the team advised me very well, because the change gave me the good feeling with the bike that I had partly lost in the warm-up. I have to thank them all, as well as the Michelin technician. When I asked, they told me that I would be okay for the first 12-15 laps, and then after that I would have to manage the situation more, which is exactly what happened. We’ve taken another victory here in Austin and are now on a run of four in a row, which is great. In addition, the joy of the team after we won illustrates everything we’re working on. In these first three races of the year, we’ve made good use of the situations that we’ve encountered.”
Dani Pedrosa
“It was a rather difficult weekend overall. The practice sessions didn’t go entirely well, but I approached the race with hope and I think we started quite well. I gained positions and was in a very good group, and I think we could have fought with Lorenzo for second place; the pace we had was much better than in practice. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake, losing the front end under braking when I was still turning into the corner. I lost control and tried to save the crash, but I ended up going down and taking Dovizioso with me. It’s a shame to have finished the race in that way, and I feel especially bad for Andrea and want to apologise to him. I’m glad he’s fine. The good news is that we took a big step forward from practice to the race. Now we must carefully look into the data we collected during the race and try to build on it for the Jerez GP in two weeks’ time.”
Race Results
Pos. Rider
Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 MARQUEZ
Marc 93 SPA 25 Repsol Honda Team 43’57.945
2 LORENZO
Jorge 99 SPA 20 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 6.107
3 IANNONE
Andrea 29 ITA 16 Ducati Team 10.947
4 VINALES
Maverick 25 SPA 13 Team Suzuki Ecstar 18.422
5 ESPARGARO
Aleix 41 SPA 11 Team Suzuki Ecstar 20.711
6 REDDING
Scott 45 GBR 10 Octo Pramac Racing 28.961
7 ESPARGARO
Pol 44 SPA 9 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 32.112
8 PIRRO
Michele 51 ITA 8 Ducati Team 32.757
9 BARBERA
Hector 8 SPA 7 Avintia Racing 34.592
10 BRADL
Stefan 6 GER 6 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 40.211
11 BAUTISTA
Alvaro 19 SPA 5 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 45.423
12 LAVERTY
Eugene 50 IRE 4 Aspar MotoGP Team 47.127
13 RABAT
Tito 53 SPA 3 Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 47.426
14 HERNANDEZ
Yonny 68 COL 2 Aspar MotoGP Team 51.190
15 BAZ
Loris 76 FRA 1 Avintia Racing 1’12.929
16 CRUTCHLOW
Cal 35 GBR 0 LCR Honda 1’19.252
17 SMITH
Bradley 38 GBR 0 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’28.036
18 PEDROSA
Dani 26 SPA 0 Repsol Honda Team 10 laps
19 DOVIZIOSO
Andrea 4 ITA 0 Ducati Team 15 laps
20 ROSSI
Valentino 46 ITA 0 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 19 laps
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider
Num Nation Points Team
1 MARQUEZ
Marc 93 SPA 66 Repsol Honda Team
2 LORENZO
Jorge 99 SPA 45 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
3 ROSSI
Valentino 46 ITA 33 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
4 ESPARGARO
Pol 44 SPA 28 Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5 PEDROSA
Dani 26 SPA 27 Repsol Honda Team
6 BARBERA
Hector 8 SPA 25 Avintia Racing
7 DOVIZIOSO
Andrea 4 ITA 23 Ducati Team
8 VINALES
Maverick 25 SPA 23 Team Suzuki Ecstar
9 LAVERTY
Eugene 50 IRE 21 Aspar MotoGP Team
10 ESPARGARO
Aleix 41 SPA 21 Team Suzuki Ecstar
11 IANNONE
Andrea 29 ITA 16 Ducati Team
12 REDDING
Scott 45 GBR 16 Octo Pramac Racing
13 SMITH
Bradley 38 GBR 16 Monster Yamaha Tech 3
14 BRADL
Stefan 6 GER 15 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
15 BAUTISTA
Alvaro 19 SPA 14 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
16 PIRRO
Michele 51 ITA 12 Ducati Team
17 RABAT
Tito 53 SPA 11 Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS
18 HERNANDEZ
Yonny 68 COL 2 Aspar MotoGP Team
19 MILLER
Jack 43 AUS 2 Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS
20 BAZ
Loris 76 FRA 1 Avintia Racing
Team Standings
Pos. Team Points
1 Repsol Honda Team 93
2 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 78
3 Team Suzuki Ecstar 44
4 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 44
5 Ducati Team 39
6 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 29
7 Avintia Racing 26
8 Aspar MotoGP Team 23
9 Octo Pramac Racing 16
10 Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 13
Pos. Team Points
1 Honda 66
2 Yamaha 65
3 Ducati 49
4 Suzuki 28
5 Aprilia 18
HONDA RACING CORPORATION PRESS RELEASE
Are you ready to explore the transformative power of athlete sponsorship for your brand? Click here to learn more about how sponsorship can help brands grow and thrive in the exciting world of motorsports.
Managing Director for RTR Sports, Riccardo graduated in law at the University of Bologna. He began his career in London in PR, then started working in two and four-wheelers. A brief move to Monaco followed before returning to Italy. There he founded RTR, first a consulting firm and then a sports marketing company which, eventually, he moved back to London.
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By doing so, we are convinced that we are shortening the value chain, saving time and money. However, these DYI methods are anything but risk-free and what initially appears to be a competitive advantage soon turns into a problem that is difficult to resolve. That’s why there are agencies. And this is why you should rely on us for your sponsorships.
When first approaching a sponsorship or sports marketing project, it is difficult to know immediately which stakeholders are correct, what the decision flow is, and what the right timelines are for each process. Sports is a very specialized field of action, and fitting effectively into its paths can take a lot of time and therefore money. We, on the other hand, know referents and spheres of action and know who to talk to, when and how. So you are also more effective.
Sports is an immense passion, and for our heart colors we would be willing to do anything. But business is a different business, and it is important to make the best possible strategic decisions based on independent research, statistics and reliable data. A sports marketing and sports sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which sport, which athlete, which team. This is because we possess a great deal of data and information on ratings, segmentation and attitudes. Because the numbers don’t lie. Never.
Activations are the real heart of sports sponsorship. Without them, there remains only a blank sticker on a motorcycle, car or uniform and no contact with the public, no emotional connection, no impact on the bottom line. Then how do you do it? It certainly won’t be the teams or the athletes who will help you leverage sponsorship and enjoy the many marketing rights you have paid for. To bring out the best in a sports marketing project you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase on the Web, to reach out to Shopping Centers, to organize hospitality, to develop B2B and B2C opportunities, and to get “your” athletes in front of millions of potential consumers.
Would you ever go to the dealer who sold you the car and ask if the competitor’s car is better? No, of course. So, how do you expect to get firm measurements of the effectiveness of your sponsorship if you do not rely on someone super partes? At RTR, we have always worked with independent third-party agencies that allow us to know the return on any exposure of your brand on TV and in the media. In addition, we believe in calculating ROI as the ultimate measure of your success-so we can tell you for every penny you spend how much you are making.
We have been involved in sports sponsorship and sports marketing for more than 15 years. We are consultants in the sense that our goal is to maximize your investment, but we are also an agency that manages the project from start to finish. We have been doing this since 1995 with passion and professionalism, following three principles that have become cornerstones of our business: independence, verticality and transparency.
I would like to highlight the fact that one of the qualities of RTR is its great ability to approach the sponsorship scenario strategically, together with its passionate attitude, its amazing enthusiasm for solving problems, and its high level of professionalism.
Gianluca Degliesposti
Executive Director Server&Storage EMEA
Eurosport is truly delighted with its business relationship with Riccardo Tafà, who has become extremely popular, thanks to his detailed knowledge of the sports marketing sector and his highly diligent attitude to work.
Francois Ribeiro
Commercial Director
Passion and Expertise are the features that I have found in RTR since the very beginning. Serious and reliable professionals but also very helpful, nice and open-mind people, willing to listen and compare different ideas. All the values in which RTR believes make this agency a partner, not just a supplier, a partner with whom we have had the opportunity to achieve significant commercial results in term of success and image.
Luca Pacitto
Head of Communication
We have been working with RTR Sports Marketing for over 10 years. The objectives and the programmes of collaboration continue to be renewed and to grow with mutual satisfaction. I believe RTR is a team of great professionals led by Riccardo Tafà, who I consider a manager of exceptional skills and with a great passion for his work.
Lucio Cecchinello
Team Principal
I have known and worked with Riccardo Tafà since 1995 when we collaborated for the first time on a project for the Williams Formula 1 team. Several clients followed. After leaving Williams to work for Gerhard Berger then owner of the Toro Rosso F1 Team, I turned again to Riccardo to seek his help in finding a tool supplier for the team and Riccardo duly obliged with an introduction to USAG, a partnership with Toro Rosso which endured for five years. I recently started a new role as Group Commercial Director for the renowned Andretti Autosport organisation and I find myself working with Riccardo once again on a number of interesting projects. Why has this relationship with Riccardo endured ? He’s smart, knows the commercial side of sport inside out and back to front and he’s honest and trustworthy. Riccardo Tafà is a “doer” not a “talker”: in over 20 years I have never had a dispute either with him or with a company that he has introduced and each partnership introduced by Riccardo has delivered quantifiable ROI to rights holder and sponsor alike. I can think of no better testimonial of Riccardo’s diligence, knowledge, contact base and hard work than that.
Jim Wright
Group Commercial Director
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