Hiroshi Aoyama sets fourth fastest race lap!

"On lap seven, Hiro's lap time matched the lap time of Lorenzo"

MotoGP rookie Hiroshi Aoyama, who fractured his back mid-season and hadn't finished higher than tenth place, produced a breakthrough ride at Sepang on Sunday.

The Interwetten Honda rider battled from 14th on the grid to a high of sixth place, but was on the receiving end of several harsh moves from former 250cc rival Marco Simoncelli.

“At the beginning I was finding my rhythm and then I started to overtake rider by rider," he explained. "Then I was able to stay with the group that was fighting for fourth position.

"I could have led this group, as my rhythm was better than theirs. But Simoncelli rode a very aggressive race and touched me a couple of times."

Aoyama crossed the line seventh after losing out to factory Ducati rider Nicky Hayden in the last two laps.

"The seventh place is the best result so far in this season and my team worked very hard to achieve this. I want to thank my team and I hope that we can improve the result at Phillip Island.”

On his way to seventh, Aoyama set the fourth fastest race lap - slower than only race winner Valentino Rossi (+0.566sec), runner-up Andrea Dovizioso (+0.256sec) and new world champion Jorge Lorenzo (+0.059sec)!

“Hiro could have done better without the actions of Simoncelli, but we are satisfied with the result," said crew chief Tom Jojic. "On lap seven Hiro's lap time matched the lap time of Lorenzo. This shows that he can go with the group and we look forward to Phillip Island now.” 

Source: http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/

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Hiroshi Aoyama going for season’s best on home soil

The Interwetten Honda MotoGP rider is highly motivated to achieve a notable result in this weekend’s Grand Prix of Japan, at a circuit at which he has repeatedly performed well in the past.

Round 14 at Motegi this weekend signals the arrival of Hiroshi Aoyama’s home race, his first in the premier class at the track, and the Interwetten Honda MotoGP rider is priming himself to put on a strong performance at the Grand Prix of Japan.

The 28 year-old’s debut season in the premier class has been interrupted by a back injury which caused him to miss six races, but he is already three races into his continual recovery and is confident and motivated as the fourth approaches.

“I am looking forward to Motegi. My family will be there to support me and also my friends and fans will come to see me ride,” said Aoyama. “My agenda is quite full that weekend, but I am happy to be home.”

Aoyama has a strong record at Motegi. As a 250cc wild card in 2003 he placed second and in 2005 he secured his first World Championship in the category from pole position, winning again the following year and placing second last season on his way to the last ever 250cc title.

Added to his knowledge of the track layout Aoyama continues to feel better as his recovery from the fractured vertebra he suffered in June maintains a steady improvement.

“Physically I am much better,” he said. “It is three months now since I injured my back and the bone has almost completely healed. I hope and I wish that I can achieve the best result of this season so far for my team at Motegi.”

Team Manager Daniel M. Epp is also expectant as Aoyama attempts to improve on his season’s best result to date, a tenth-placed finish in the opening round in Qatar.

“At Motegi Hiro can show what he can do. It is his home track and we expect much more from him this time,” explained Epp. “He should be back fully fit again and he knows this track very well. He has achieved some excellent results in the past. I hope Hiro can fight without any worries at this Grand Prix and show us all what we know we can expect from him.”

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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Interwetten 'expect much more' from Hiroshi Aoyama at home

The Interwetten Honda team hope that Hiroshi Aoyama will finally be able to show his MotoGP potential in his home round at Motegi this weekend.

Aoyama, the reigning 250cc world champion, missed six races after fracturing a vertebra during warm-up at Silverstone, leaving him with a best result of tenth - in round one at Qatar - from his seven race starts.

That compares with a best race finish of 2nd (Ben Spies), 5th (Alvaro Bautista), 6th (Marco Simoncelli) and 8th (Hector Barbera and Aleix Espargaro) by Aoyama's fellow rookies.

“I am looking forward to Motegi. My family will be there to support me and also my friends and fans will come to see me ride," said Aoyama. "Physically I am much better. It is three months now that I have injured my back and the bone almost completely healed. I hope and I wish that I can achieve the best result of this season so far for my team in Motegi.”

“In Motegi Hiro can show what he can do," declared team manager Daniel M. Epp. "It is his home track and we expect much more from him this time. He should be back fully fit again and he knows this track very well. He was able to achieve some big results in the past. I hope Hiro can fight without any worries at this Grand Prix and shows us all what we can expect from him.”

Source: http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/

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Satisfying comeback Hiroshi for Aoyama

The Interwetten Honda MotoGP rider finished 12th in the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, his first race back from injury after nine weeks out.

Hiroshi Aoyama marked his return to competitive action with a 12th-placed finished at Indianapolis on Sunday, as the Japanese rider rode in his first race since Mugello at the start of June.

The Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team rider spent nine weeks out of action after fracturing a vertebra in a warm up crash at Silverstone, and after testing at Brno in mid-August Indy was marked down as his comeback GP.

Starting from 13th on the grid the 2009 250cc World Champion battled the hot conditions as he regained his feel for his RC212V in a race situation, and was happy to be back racing again after his lengthy lay-off.

"In the conditions here at Indy it was quite hard to finish the 28 laps,” explained the 28 year-old. “I had to fight on every single lap. I was able to stay with the other riders, but didn't want to take any risks. I had to find a compromise between not pushing beyond my limit and still having a good race. I’m sure we can be better when I’m 100% fit again, and I’m looking forward to that a lot.”

Team Manager Daniel M. Epp was impressed with Aoyama’s display and is looking forward to the next stage in the rider’s development at Misano this weekend.

"Hiro did a good job this weekend,” he said. “He was able to race the whole race distance. Of course he needs more time to be fully fit again and physically more confident. He already showed in qualifying with his fast lap times that he is on the right path. The team hit its target this weekend and I am looking forward to continuing in the same direction in Misano."

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/

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Hiroshi Aoyama takes first competitive steps back

The Interwetten Honda MotoGP rider made his return to action in FP1 at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Hiroshi Aoyama’s long path to recovery took another big step on Friday when the Japanese rider made his competitive return to riding after nine weeks out with a fractured vertebra.

The last ever 250cc World Champion rode in the hour-long first practice session at Indianapolis and placed 16th on the timesheet, with his focus being on regaining his feeling with his satellite RC212V machine following a run out at the Brno test last week.

Aoyama completed 26 laps in the session, setting his fastest time of 1’42.874 on the penultimate of those as he rounded off a satisfactory first ride of the weekend.

"Like the first practices of any Grand Prix this one was not easy for me,” said Aoyama. “I have to find my rhythm again and get there step by step. I am still careful in the turns, as I don't want to risk too much. My back is not 100% okay yet.”

The 28 year-old continued: “At the end I was able to go faster than I expected to. I am satisfied with the practice today. My feeling with the bike was not bad and I felt that I am coming back now.”

Team Manager Daniel M. Epp added: "Regarding the fact that Hiro is not 100% fit yet, the first practice went really well. Hiro was able to continue his good form he showed in Brno at the test and he was only 0.7s down on Melandri's tenth position. He did well and I hope that this race weekend will continue without pain and physical problems for Hiro."

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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Hiroshi Aoyama receives Indy all clear

The Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team rider will make his return to competitive action at this weekend’s Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Hiroshi Aoyama’s nine-week injury lay-off will come to an end at Indianapolis this weekend as the Japanese rider climbs back on board his Interwetten Honda RC212V machine, his first competitive ride since June 20th.

After a lengthy rehabilitation process to recover from the fractured vertebra he sustained at Silverstone in Round 5, the 2009 250cc World Champion tested his comfort on the bike at the Brno test last week.

Sufficiently pleased with how the day at the Czech track went Aoyama was then given the okay by his medical team on Monday to ride at Indianapolis, and the 28 year-old is understandably eager to now get back to work at Round 11 of the 2010 campaign.

"I am so happy that I am finally coming back,” said Aoyama. “I had another X-Ray and the doctor confirmed that my broken vertebra looks good and did not change its shape, which is essential at this stage of the injury. I got the okay to ride in Indianapolis and I can't wait to get back on my bike.”

Assessing his aims for his comeback ride, Aoyama continued: “Of course I want to be fast but first I have to gain my confidence and feeling with the bike once more, then I can concentrate on being fast. It will not be easy to ride with the group again after such a long time away, but step by step I will get there as I regain the strength I had at the start of the season. I missed six races, which is a lot, and I have to see how I can cope with the situation after such a long time and how I can cope with the pain level.”

Sourec: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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