inspiring talents - eng

INSPIRING TALENTS

SPECIAL THANKS

INSPIRING TALENTS

“The spirit of man has always been accompanied with the desire to go higher, deeper, faster…

This is part of human nature. However, through the years, our passion to go against the clock with an opponent in constant harmony on two wheels has brought a deeper meaning.

Being able to create opportunities for new talents, to contribute to bringing joy to fans, to develop new technologies for automotive progress and for safer/eco friendly mobility represents the essence of our mission.

The following extract of photographs, interviews and stories embodies our task through the years with the aim as well to spread the wonderful culture of motorcycling.”

Lucio CecchinelloLCR Honda Team Principal

INDEX

06 WHO WE ARE... LCR Honda MotoGP TEAM

08 THE LCR TEAM

14 LUCIO CECCHINELLO

20 STEFAN BRADL 28 FACE TO FACE WITH STEFAN BRADL

32 2012 SEASON Rookie of The Year Highl ights

70 OUR PAST...

72 CASEY STONER

78 RANDY DE PUNIET

84 EUGENE LAVERTY

90 ... AND MORE 92 OUR FEELINGS...

108 SPECIAL PHOTO SHOOTS

150 OUR FRIENDS...

166 ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

188 2013 CALENDAR

W H O W E A R E . . .L C R H o n d a M o t o G P T E A M

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Lucio Cecchinello founded the LCR Team in 1996, compe-ting in the 125cc World Championship.Th e fi rst remarkable successes of the Team arrived just

two years later with Japanese racer Noboru Ueda fi nishing fi rst at the Malaysian GP and with Lucio claiming the second victory at the 125cc Jarama GP in Spain.

Over the years the LCR Team continued to increase its achieve-ment list in diff erent categories obtaining 72 podiums, 21 Victo-ries and 23 Pole Positions, thanks to the amazing performancesof Lucio and talented riders such as Casey Stoner, Randy De Puniet, Roberto Locatelli, just to name a few. In 2003, Lucio retired from racing and is now focused on his duties as a team manager. He gradually formed a complex and professionally or-ganized racing team, competing in the MotoGP class. Th e debut in the premier class was made in 2006 with Casey Stoner and continues now with the Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl.

Currently, the LCR Team includes over 25 collaborators from ten diff erent countries all united by a common passion for two-wheels competitions.

T H E L C R T E A M

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L U C I O C E C C H I N E L L OLCR Team Founder

Current LCR Honda Team Principal1996 to 2003 LCR Team Rider

1992 125cc Vice European Champion1995 125cc European Champion

2001 - 2002 4th in the 125cc World Championship

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“My dad drove me around on his Vespa and the feeling of wind on my face made me fall in love

with motorbikes...”

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Lucio strongly wanted to cultivate his passion for mo-torcycles racing, so he chose to fi nd a job as a mechanic in national and international racing teams. He started

to race motorcycles in 1989, when he competed in the Italian Sport Production Championship, riding a HONDA 125NSR. In his third race in Monza, Lucio obtained his fi rst victory, further victories and pole positions gave him great expectations for the future. In 1990, he fi nished as Runner Up in the Italian Cham-pionship just behind Max Biaggi.

In 1991, Lucio made his debut in the European Championship joining the Team Italia and he placed 10th overall. He signed with Team Italia again in 1992 and took the European Cham-pion Runner Up honors. In 1993, he joined the 125 World Championship, riding for the Gazzaniga Team. In 1994, he mo-ved to GIVI Team riding a private HONDA RS 125 scoring his fi rst important world ranking points.

In 1995, Lucio signed with the famous Team Pileri starting on a HONDA RS 125 Kit in the European Championship and gai-ning the European Title winning nine races out of eleven. 1996 represents a turning point in his career. Lucio founded his own team competing for the World Championship in the 125cc class oft en fi nishing in the top ten positions. In 1997 and 1998 he gained his fi rst GP victory on the Jarama circuit (Spain). Still in 1998, he took further podiums and started racing with the Japa-nese talent Noboru Ueda. In the two following years, the duo on the Honda machine gained further important results. In 2001 the LCR Team changed the Manufacturer to Aprilia and Lucio ended the championship on 4th position both in 2001 and 2002.

In 2003 (his last season as a rider), Lucio won the Spanish, French and Italian Grand Prix racing against the young and ta-lented Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso. Since 2004, Lucio is engaged in running the LCR Team, which moved to the premier class (MotoGP) in 2006 changing the Manufac-turer back again to Honda. He is also a member of the IRTA Committee (International Road Racing Teams Association), the organization that represents the technical sport advices of the Teams, dealing with the MotoGP Championship rights holders (Dorna) and the Institutions (FIM).

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Lucio Cecchinello, bike #4 Casey Stoner, bike #27

Andrea Dovizioso, bike #34Dani Pedrosa, bike #3

GP of Italy 125cc Class (2003)

Lucio CecchinelloGP of France 125cc Class (2003)

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“My dad was a rider so the will to race was run-ning through my veins since my childhood. My

dad’s support is still fundamental for me...”

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S T E F A N B R A D LCurrent LCR Honda MotoGP Rider

2011 Moto2 World Champion2012 MotoGP “Rookie of the Year”

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Stefan BradlHonda RS 125Hockenheim (2003)

Son of former 250cc rider Helmut Bradl, Stefan started out in the World Championship in 2006 in the 125cc class. His breakthrough season was in 2008, when he

won two races and placed 4th overall.

An expected title challenger did not materialise in 2009 and in 2010 he moved to the new Moto2 category with his Viessmann Kiefer team.

Ending the year ninth in the standings with an impressi-ve victory at Estoril, Bradl was a title favourite going into the 2011 season and started off with four wins in the ope-ning six rounds. Consistency proved vital, as he was pushed all the way by Marc Márquez, holding off the Spaniard to clinch his first title ever.

Stefan Bradl was confirmed as the 2011 Moto2 World Champion at the final round of the season in Valencia. This made the 21 year-old the first German rider to take a World Championship since Dirk Raudies in the 125cc class in 1993.

In 2012, he joined the LCR Team riding a Honda. This was his first venture in the MotoGP class, winning the “Rookie of the Year” title after some strong performances. He re-mains with the team for 2013 and is eager to gain his first MotoGP podium.

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Stefan BradlKalex Moto2 - powered by HondaGP of Comunitat Valenciana Moto2 Class World Champion (2011)

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Stefan BradlHonda RC 213V

GP of IndianapolisMotoGP Class (2012)

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Stefan BradlHonda RC213VGP of Czech Republic (2012)

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Stefan BradlMotoGP Class Rookie of the Year

FIM MotoGP AwardsValencia (2012)

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Helmut and Stefan BradlHonda NSR 250 - Honda RC213VGP of Germany (2012)

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F A C E T O F A C E W I T H S T E F A N B R A D LTAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY

by Günther Wiesinger

In December 2011 Stefan Bradl has set his sights high for his fi rst MotoGP season. He wanted to reach the places between 5 and 8 in the fi rst half of the season and in the second half of

the season he wanted to be ranked top 5. Th at was then a very bold plan. But the LCR-Honda-Pilot put his plans into action.

Th e 2011 Moto2-Worldchampion achieved 5th place at the 4th championship round in Le Mans and competed in the next four races (Assen, Mugello, Aragón and Valencia) for a place on the podium.

One year ago you’ve set yourself ambitious goals and have even exceeded the expectations. You could have been sixth in the begin-ning of the season in Katar. What is your personnel résumé aft er the fi rst year?With the improvement during the season it seemed to be perfect. But we were sometimes really bad on Friday practices till the middle of the season. At times only the claiming-rule-pilots were in back of us. But then we improved, even on the Friday practice we were doing great. Also in October at the oversea races we’ve done most of the time a good job. If we were on Friday closer to the top, we also would have had better chances at the qualifying. Th e improvement of the positioning and the distance from the top was satisfying as well.

In Barcelona you experienced for the fi rst time a very good Friday.Yes, from the beginning on, I was doing well. Everything was per-fect. At this circuit I showed for the fi rst time, on the fi rst day, even the fi rst minute, that I could get along well with the motorcycle.Th at showed me that I don’t have to wait a year until it already functions on Friday.

Already aft er the Katar-GP you mentioned for fun: I have Rossi under control. Th at also should not be taken for granted.Yes, but Rossi scores all the time. He only crashed in Laguna Seca. But he is very constant. When he realizes he can only be ninth in a race, then he simply will be ninth. I’m still too hectic and impatient. Th en the mistakes happen.But it shows: if he has material that is not that good ,he’ll be sixth in the World Championship, what is not bad at all. His constancy and numbers of fi nishes are impressive.

I have him under control. With the individual results and the speed I was clearly better than him. Only with the constancy I was less competitive.I’ve looked at the BMW-Qualifying-Award: Th ere I was seventh, even better than Bautista.

You have mentioned once that overtaking Rossi is not the same like overtaking Barberá or Hayden.Yes, it was a sort of respect toward him. You know, Rossi is a le-gend. I’ve always admired him so it felt a bit strange when I could overtake him. But now it cooled down.Th e fi rst time I met Valentino was in 2003 at the Rookies-Cup in Sachsenring. He raced with us on the track, I was so excited that I almost couldn’t breath anymore... Earlier my dad got me a T-Shirt from Dainese with an autograph and a special dedication from him; I was very happy. Th at became my sleeping T-Shirt.I had a lot of fun battling against him in Brno when we were com-peting against each other. Also at some other races. It’s somethingspecial. When I had the chance to overtake him, I always gave himroom for survival.

Nicky Hayden made you a compliment in an interview for SPEEDWEEK magazine. He said: “Hopefully Bradl will not get better.”It’s an essential problem that the Ducati riders in general are too slow; the motorcycle isn’t fast enough. I certainly hope, that I will be faster.

Your Team manager Lucio Cecchinello said that in 2012 four or fi ve podium places could have been possible.Yes, Assen, Mugello, Aragón und for sure Valencia. Th ose occur to me immediately. Let’s keep it with four.

How annoying is it for you that it never worked out? Where do you think a podium place would have been most feasible?You can both see it in a positive or a negative way.It’s great that we’re be able to talk about these options, it would have been worse if we couldn’t take them into consideration. What if our best result was a sixth place and what if every time we ended the race twenty seconds away from the podium… Th at would have been really bad.

Your crew chief Christophe Bourguignon said aft er your crash at the World Champion Final:“It has been a great 12 months. 12 months ago, nobody would have

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the race. Th e fastest and the slowest lap of the race have to come closer together. Th ere shouldn’t be so much diff erence. Th at has to do a bit with the driving style and the change of it during the race as well as the upright position of the motorcycle. I improved gra-dually and know now where to start. Th at has to do primarily with the exit of the corner. In the end, I used the tire too much on the edge. Th e opponents deal more gently with the throttle response, therefore they can use the major surface of the tire better.

You received compliments from HRC-Vicepresident Shuhei Naka-moto. You were aggressive like a shark. How hard were those fi ghts against the MotoGP-Stars?I’ve learned the strength in duels mainly in the fi rst Moto2-year. I’ve noticed that the others don’t look at the lap time but for a fi ght and just want to arrive before all others.I’ve seen how it works. Th at’s how I learned the hardness of a duel. Th e fi rst lap in Moto2 is harder than in MotoGP. Th ese guys are very experienced, they know that you can’t win a race in the fi rst lap and that you have to adjust to the tires. In Moto2 there are a lot of rough procedures that are at the limit, but sometimes still go well. Th ey just want to make in the fi rst round as many places as good as possible.MotoGP is no longer an extreme sprint race, there the driving is diff erent than in Superpole.

Your crew chief Beefy Bourguignon said it’s pleasing if a rider dri-ves fast no matter which weather conditions there are. He trusts you much.He was in the beginning hard for me to understand. It took until I knew how he acts in a situation of success or if I make a mistake. He always remained calm even if we made 13th or 14th position at the Le Mans-Qualifying or reached 4th place at the Mugello race.In the meantime, I got to know him. I can see it in his eyes if he is satisfi ed or not. We understand each other without words. Beefy is that kind of guy who doesn’t show any emotions, he is very calm. He is very critical but goal-oriented and technically he always fi nds a solution. His plans for the trainings and for the qualifying are at highest level. Something I’ve never known before. At home, betwe-en the races, he is constantly thinking nonstop about everything and on how we can fi nish on the podium more oft en in 2013.

Did you know....that Stefan Bradl until now won three Championships? In 2005 he won the IDM 125 in the KTM-Junior-Team. 2007 he won in the Spanish 125ccm Championship on an Aprilia RSW of the Blusens-Team and in 2011 the Bavarian won on a Kalex from Kiefer-Team the World Championship of Moto2.

thought that with a Rookie we would fi ght four times for the po-dium.”Mugello was a lot of fun. I fi nished fourth but I was close to the podium. I could even keep up with Pedrosa. Th en in the last round the battle against Dovizioso and Hayden. Th at was good experien-ce and great adventure to me. Assen, because of the crash in the rain, was very disappointing. Th e most disappointing although was in the end - Valencia.

You were third and 0.8 seconds faster than your pursuers Naka-sagu and Crutchlow. Aft er that Jorge Lorenzo crashed. Would a second place have been possible?Yes, but I didn’t have these informations. I thought I was too slow because Pedrosa overtook me like an express train. While overlap-ping Apyama I was too impatient. I should have waited one more corner. Because of this, I reached a wet point with the front wheel. Th ere also were no blue fl ags.

At some races you could have kept up with Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa. What could you learn from them?I have no idea, I don’t know how I can answer this. My mistake was that I was too hard on the brakes. Because of this I missed the peak point and automatically the acce-leration was not used optimally.Th is is the reason the others made the most meters.I struggled like crazy to keep up. I braked later and later. Th at was wrong. Th e opponents slowed down a little bit earlier and like this took advantage of the acceleration which aff ected the lap time most.

Your secret goal for next season is to end the World Championship fourth and be on podium fi ve times. To reach those goals you have to be more patient and lose less time at the last third of the race.It will not be easy. Stagnation means regression. We want to move forward. Of course those are ambitious goals. But they are not unrealistic if we get some good results at the Sepang test from the beginning. I’m very careful with statements like this. But you shouldn’t sell yourself below your value.I just hope that with the experience and data we have gathered, we can increase the capacity in 2013.Th is year we started the season without any experience. My mental and physical defi cits at the fi rst tests were exhausting. I did not sleep well before the fi rst Sepang Tests and was afraid. Mentally I wasn’t in good shape. It will be diff erent in 2013. I know what to expect and I know every team member, we have become a great family. Th ey support me in every way.

How hard is it to drive with worn tires quickly?My biggest handicap is the decrease of lap time in the last third of

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Stefan BradlHonda CIVIC 1.6 DIESEL i-DTEC - Honda VFR 1200F

Off enbach am Main (2012)

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2 0 1 2 S E A S O NR O O K I E O F T H E Y E A R H I G H L I G H T S

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G P O F Q A T A RStefan: “I am very happy and we are doing a good job as all the weekend was very positive for us. My start was perfect, but maybe I was a little bit too careful in the fi rst laps. But I really could see this is a diff erent category compared to Moto2 and the guys are cleverer with the new tyres. I was able to follow the fastest guys, not for the whole race, but I was capable to do my own race quite well. At the end I went in the wrong direction with the brake lever adjuster and this cost us half a second. Th is is the reason why Hayden, Barbera and Bautista caught me. Th ey are also more experienced than

me on used tyres at the end of the race, but overall this is an exciting weekend for us. I was also expecting to be more exhausted aft er 22 laps, but I am ok.”

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G P O F S P A I NStefan: “I am very happy with this result. First of all, I think it was a difficult weekend for everybody due to the weather conditions, so I want to thank the whole Team for their great job. During the sighting lap I was very nervous because I thought that the last part of the track was wet, so I changed my helmet visor and everything was clearer. I was capable to attack my competitors since the beginning of the race, but I found it a bit risky, so I waited a little bit and after some laps I was fighting with Bautista and Hayden. We were doing well, but Hayden blocked me a little bit in the middle of the race and Bautista got away from us. When he was gone, I started my fight with Nicky, which I enjoyed very much, especially in the last two laps. I got some problems with my right arm, because it was sore in the middle of the race and this cost me a bit of time because as I had to force the bike in a different way. Basically this was another positive weekend

for me and I really enjoyed the applause of the Team made for me when I was back at the garage.”

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G P O F P O R T U G A LStefan: “Well... this has been a very hard weekend for us in general. We have struggled a lot with rear grip immediately on Friday morning, but Saturday we have found some good adjustments. Unfortunately during the whole race we had some issues going into the corners. My start was ok and I could make some good manoeuvres in the beginning, but then I was a bit on the limit, and in the middle of the race I was losing too much in the corners entries, which was our problem all the time during this weekend. Especially in the fast corners I needed to wait in opening the throttle and this

cost us a lot of time. We have never had this problem before and Spies had a better pace than us during the race, but I can say this is another good weekend for me and the Team.”

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G P O F F R A N C EStefan: “Th is is a fantastic feeling! I am very happy and the whole Team is happy too: this makes me very proud. Honestly I think nobody was expecting such a good result in my fourth race in this class. In general the weekend was tough because we were struggling a lot in fi nding the right set up for the dry sessions and I also had a big crash in yesterday’s qualifying. Finally it rained before the race and I knew we had a good package on the wet. Already on my sighting lap I could feel that was my WOW bike and my fi rst lap was amazing as aft er the fi rst split I was holding the 7th position. Aft er that I rode behind Pedrosa for a long time, who has got a very precise riding style. I learnt very much from him. When it started to dry up I could ride with more confi dence, adapting to the situation, even

if Hayden was trying to catch me.”

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G P O F C A T A L U N Y AStefan: “In the fi rst part of the race I could follow the top riders and I was very aggressive. But as soon as the tyres started to work properly, we had some issue and it started spinning too much. We were on the hard tyre considering the last two days track temperature, while the most of the guys in front were on the soft ones. Unfortunately the spinning started very early because we did not have enough edge grip compared to the other riders, and we were also expecting to have drier grip but at the end it was not there. I am a bit frustrated because my potential and the bike package were there, but we

could not use the tyre correctly. Eighth position is still okay and in tomorrow’s testing day we are looking forward to improve the bike for future races.”

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Stefan: “We can be happy overall because today we improved our pace both in the warm up and in the race. Unfortunately yesterday I crashed in FP3 and that cost us a lot of track time but it could be worse than this: I mean I could break my fi nger. So it’s not been the perfect weekend for us but we have to take the positive things. Today my start was not perfect due to the injured fi nger and I lost the feeling for the fi rst laps. Th en some riders stopped me and it was tough to overtake them. In the middle of the race Crutchlow passed me and I made a small mistake with the clutch because the

downshift ing was harder with this painful fi nger. Anyway our lap times till the end of the race were pretty fast so this means we have a good potential: let’s see what we can do in Assen”.

G P O F G R E A T B R I T A I N

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G P O F N E T H E R L A N D SStefan: “Well... I do not have so much to say. Yesterday we obtained a very good grid position and today I took another good start. In the fi rst laps the feeling with the bike was great and I could easily close the little gap to Spies. I do not remember last time I had such a good feeling in the fi rst laps but I have to be honest... Probably I was too much aggressive in braking into turn 10 and I crashed. It’s my mistake and I am very sorry for the guys: today we could get a very positive result. Now I want to learn from my mistakes making another step forward ahead my home race. Th e potential is there

and we are capable to race with the top riders”.

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G P O F G E R M A N YStefan: “It was a tough race from the off because I had to fi ght to maintain the gap to the group behind me. But I made another good start and this is very positive: aft er that I was able to follow the Yamaha riders for a while but I could feel that our corner speed was not enough and our edge grip in the left side was poor, because aft er three or four laps the bike started to spin already. Th at caused me some issues because I was not able to attack them and in the middle of the race I had to let them go. From that moment I had to manage the group behind me right up to the chequered fl ag and it was very diffi cult. I had to push myself to the maximum to block Rossi, Hayden and Barbera in the last three laps. I am very happy about this result because I kept them behind me and this fi ft h place

is a fantastic result for me, for my family, for the team and for my local fans.”

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G P O F I T A L YStefan: “It’s a fantastic feeling for me and the whole Team. Doubtless a podium fi nish would have been simply perfect but I am extremely happy about this great result on this track. I think that our asset was perfect since the beginning of the race, because in the last couple of races we struggled a bit too much with a full fuel tank and could not feel the front tyre properly, but here we made a diff erent set up. It worked perfectly on this special layout, but at the end of the race I missed a bit of front end feeling on braking. So I preferred to stay calm and Dovi passed me, but aft er that I was trying to follow him and it was pretty easy for me. Th en Hayden put in a brave move on me, but he had not the best exit on the right corner and I could pass him again. Probably my manoeuvre looked a bit aggressive on TV but I think it was normal for a last lap. Being so close to the podium is fantastic and I feel happy for the team: they support me in the best way every weekend and especially Lucio. He is a hard

worker and with this great result I want to give him something back.”

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G P O F U S AStefan: “Actually it was a positive debut for us in Laguna. I am quite happy about this 7th fi nal place. In general it was a pretty diffi cult weekend for us, because we mainly started to work on the bike Saturday aft ernoon as on Friday I had to learn the track. Basically in the beginning of the race I was quite comfortable on the bike, because we had a full fuel on board but aft er ten laps I started to lose confi dence compared to Dovi and Crutchlow due to the front end issues that we already had yesterday. From that moment, it was too dangerous for me entering the corners with the same speed. Th en I tried to keep Nicky behind him, but I could see he was faster than me, so I preferred to maintain my position scoring further points in the classifi cation. I think we have done our best and we

keep this experience for next season.”

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G P O F I N D I A N A P O L I SStefan: “Honestly it was not one of our best races so far and I am a bit disappointed because we looked stronger than this. Sixth position is not a disaster, but I was expecting a bit more, considering the pace of our qualifi cation yesterday. Unfortunately I was not able to push in the fi rst gear corners and I was losing quite a lot in the acceleration areas. I tried to pull it back in section 2 and section 3, which was possible in the beginning but not over the whole race distance. At the end I had to accept, that today we were not so strong, but we are doing well and we still hold the sixth position in the world standing.”

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G P O F C Z E C H R E P U B L I CStefan: “I am quite happy because aft er some technical issues we have found a good race setup. I could not push as hard as I wanted yesterday and the warm up session was wet, so we could not test the last adjustments, but the Team made a very good job and I could make another positive race. During the race I was quite confi dent and motivated: I took a good start and Rossi was in front of me in the beginning, but suddenly he had a technical problem and some smoke came out from his exhaust. Aft er that I thought he was having an engine problem and some oil soiled my visor, which cost me a bit of time because I did not know what was going on. Also Spies slowed down and Bautista overtook me but aft er that I started to set my pace. It took some laps to pass Bautista and Rossi again to do my own race. I had a better speed compared to the guys behind me, so it’s a pity that we lost the race at the beginning. In any case it was a strong race by my side and I want to thank my crew for

their concentration and their eff orts.”

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G P O F S A N M A R I N O R E P U B L I CStefan: “First of all it was a strange beginning of the race with two starts… aft er that, since the beginning, I was not fully confi dent with my front tyre and throughout the race it became worse and worse. Th en in the last laps I even felt something wrong in the front, but do not know what happened exactly and must check the data with the technicians. Once I arrived at the garage, we noticed that I had very low front tyre pressure and we are going to investigate later. In those conditions I was not capable to stop the bike on braking, so I was losing the position. It’s very frustrating because we were in a good shape and I could gain my fi rst MotoGP podium, but I have to take the positive aspect of the weekend. We are capable to stay up in the pack and we will try our best in Aragon. I want to thank

the whole Team, because this race was very busy for them and once again they made an excellent job.“

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G P O F A R A G O NStefan: “Well…it’s diffi cult to fi nd the right word for me because we are all very disappointed, but this is racing. My feeling out there was very good today: good overall package, good start and good fi rsts laps. I felt very comfortable on braking and then I noticed I could go as fast as the guys like Spies and Crutchlow, so I wanted to push immediately, because I knew that the rear tyre would have dropped towards the end of the race. I overtook Spies and I lost the front in turn 3: maybe I was a bit too aggressive and I am sorry for my Team and my fans. Anyway we are in good shape and really

looking forward to the next race.”

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G P O F J A P A NStefan: “We had a little problem with my arm today and I was not really able to steer the bike, and aft er 10 laps I was struggling a lot and I have never had such a big problem with the arm pump. At the beginning, I could easily follow the group in the front of me with Stoner and Dovizioso, but the problem with my breaking hand got worse and worse, lap by lap and I could not go any faster. I had

to slow down and managed to fi nish the race 6th. It’s a bit frustrating and this was surely not a perfect weekend for us, but I aim to bounce back in Malaysia next weekend.”

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G P O F M A L A Y S I AStefan: “First of all we must check the data to understand what happened. I took a very good start from the 8th place, but it was pretty tough out there because of the wet and slippery surface. I could lap with a good pace and constant speed, but aft er some laps I had to change the map because we had too much engine break. Since that moment something changed and the engine was pushing me in the corner entries and I did not know what was going on. Aft er that I was back to the standard engine brake, but it was too much in those diffi cult conditions and I started to be slower. In the heavy

rain I was more careful, but suddenly I lost the rear and crashed out. I do not think it was completely my fault and I feel sorry for me and the Team.”

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G P O F A U S T R A L I AStefan: “Off course we are all happy, because we did not expect such a close fi ght for the 4th place today aft er the diffi cult fi rst day of practices we had here. It’s a shame that we lost the 4th place, because I was on hard tyre today and had a small advantage on my competitors so I thought I could take it. But the other guys had other advantages on me and so we were plus or minus on the same level, but in the last lap I was stopped by Bautista and Dovi passed me. I am not the one who usually lost the battle, but I am quite happy anyway, because we showed our pace once again and want to thank the

Team for their excellent job this weekend.”

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G P O F V A L E N C I AStefan: “First of all we had very tricky conditions today, as almost everybody was on wet tyres because the dry line was less than 10cm and we decided to go on slicks, because we wanted to avoid a bike chance which could cost us a lot of time. At the end we made the right choice and I want to thank the Team for their support, because it’s not easy for a rider to decide when the surface is so slippery. I was on a good pace since the beginning and was lapping third when I crashed out. Th e rider in front of me was slower and I wanted to overtake him quickly, but in turn 5 I was a bit too aggressive and lost the control of the bike. I should have waited a bit longer to make the move and I feel bad for the Team, because I lost the chance to fi ght for the podium. However, I feel happy today, because I will be awarded as the Best Rookie of the Year and this is simply great. Th is fi rst year in the premier class was incredible for me and I must thank Lucio and his Team, because at the beginning I was a bit

worried, but now I know this is like a family.”

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O U R P A S T . . .

71

C A S E Y S T O N E R

2002 to 2003 - 2005 to 2006 LCR Rider2007 MotoGP World Champion2011 MotoGP World Champion

72

“I loved the winning, I could take the defeat, but most of all I loved to race. Now I set a diff erent goal for my

forthcoming future... ”

73

Casey Stoner joined the premier class in 2006 with the satellite Honda LCR Team after working his way through the 125cc and 250cc ranks, following

his GP debut as a 125cc wildcard at Donington Park in 2001.

His switch to Ducati in 2007 proved to be the catalyst for his potential, starting with his first MotoGP victory at round one in Qatar, followed by 9 more which ultimately gave him the Championship title.

Stoner set out to defend his title in 2008, but rare mi-stakes and pressure from Valentino Rossi left him 2nd in the Championship. Stoner moved to factory Honda for the 2011 season, a switch that proved a resounding success.

By the time Stoner clinched the 2011 title with a win at Phillip Island, he had already taken 9 victories. Stoner closed the 800cc era in Valencia with a 10th victory.

2012 the Australian focused on defending his title, but half way through the season Stoner decided to retire, en-ding his last MotoGP season with a 3rd overall place.

74

Casey StonerAprilia RSV 125GP of Catalunya

125cc Class (2003)

Casey StonerHonda RC211VGP of PortugalMotoGP Class (2006)

77

“Th e spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure for a lifetime.... I can’t image

my life without races...”

78

R A N D Y D E P U N I E T2003 to 2004 - 2008 to 2010 LCR Team Rider

2003 3rd in the 250cc World Championship2012 2nd in the CRT World Championship

79

Randy De PunietAprilia RSV 250GP of Catalunya 250cc Class (2003)

Aft er 5 wins, 22 podiums and 9 pole positions during his time in the 250cc World Championship, De Puniet joi-ned the MotoGP class with the Kawasaki Team in 2006,

qualifying fourth at his home race in Le Mans and placing tenth in Portugal, for his best fi nish in his debut year.

Th e French rider celebrated his fi rst MotoGP podium in 2007 at Motegi, placing 10th in the fi nal standings, despite failing to fi nish seven of the 18 races due to frequent crashes.

In 2008, De Puniet signed with the Honda LCR Team, where he remained for three seasons, running fi ft h in the Championship in 2010 until breaking his leg at the Sachsenring round, demo-ting him to ninth by the end of the season.

2011, De Puniet moved to the Italian based Pramac Racing Team aboard a Ducati, though multiple DNFs saw De Puniet fi nish 16th in the standings.

A return to the Aspar Team in 2012, De Puniet worked with the team to develop its Aprilia powered CRT motorcycle, fi ghting for the top CRT spot until the fi nal round. He remains with the Team for 2013.

81

Randy De PunietHonda RC212V

GP of Spain MotoGP Class (2010)

83

E U G E N E L A V E R T Y2007 LCR Team Rider

2009 Supersport Vice World Champion2010 Supersport Vice World Champion

84

“My brothers, John and Michael, are both racers - so racing is part of my family and my life. Racing

is a habit for us... what else can we do?”

85

Laverty started road racing in 2001 in the Irish Young Guns series, fi nishing third. He made his debut in the Bri-tish 125cc Championship in 2002, his eff orts were reco-

gnized and he was announced a winner in the Irish Champion of Champions award.

He continued to race in the 125cc class through 2003, fi nishing seventh and 2004, where he narrowly missed out on the title, taking second in the standings.

2005 he moved up to the British Supersport Championship, sco-ring ninth in his fi rst year and rising to second in the standings in 2006, before moving to the world stage to ride in the 250cc world championships with LCR Honda Team.

In 2008, he has competed in both, the 250cc World Cham-pionship and the World Supersport series. He went on to be runner up in the World Supersport Championship in both 2009 and the 2010 seasons.

In 2011, he moved up to the World Superbike Championship with the factory Yamaha World Superbike Team, alongside for-mer MotoGP rider Marco Melandri, ending the season in 4th place.

Th e Irish rider signed a contract with Aprilia Racing for the 2012 season (alongside Italian rider Max Biaggi), fi nishing 6th overall and will remain with the Italian Team in the 2013 sea-son.

86

Eugene LavertyHonda RS 250

Jerez de la Frontera Circuit250cc Class (2007)


GP of Spain 250cc Class (2007)

88


GP of Comunitat Valenciana 250cc Class (2007)

89

... AND MORE

TONI ELIAS2011

CARLOS CHECA2007

ROBERTO LOCATELLI2004 to 2005

MATTIA PASINI2004

DAVID CHECA2002

ALEX DE ANGELIS2002

RAUL JARA 2001

NOBORU UEDA1998 to 2000

91

O U R F E E L I N G S . . .

93

Th e Blues Bradls featuring Helmut and Stefan Bradl

108

P H O T O S H O O T SS P E C I A L

109

Szilvia Winter for Playboy Milan (2010)

111

Beatriz Doñorofor LCR

Jerez de la Frontera (2012)

113

Iwona Lisfor RizomaMilan (2012)

114

Quzandria Nurfor LCRSepang (2012)

117

Lou Heldebergfor Trattoria Arlati

Milan (2012)

119

Eveline Bestersfor LCRMugello (2011)

121

Iskra Galicfor LCR

Phillip Island (2009)

123

Red Bull Grid Girlsfor LCRIndianapolis (2012)

124

Eveline Bestersfor RizomaSan Francisco (2012)

126

Lauren Vickersfor MeccanocarLe Mans (2010)

128

Lauren Vickersfor Pokerstars.itMisano (2010)

Lauren Vickersfor Playboy

Mugello (2010)

129

Francesca Lukasicfor PlayboyMilan (2009)

Randy De Punietfor PlayboyMilan (2009)

130

Honda RC213VJerez de la Frontera (2012)

131

Honda RC213VJerez de la Frontera (2012)

132

Stefan and LucioJerez de la Frontera (2012)

Stefan BradlJerez de la Frontera (2012)

133

Honda RC211VSan Marino Republic (2006)

135

Honda RC212VDoha (2011)

136


137


138


139

Honda RC212VMotegi (2010)

140

Honda RC212VFirenze (2011)

141

Honda RC212VParis (2010)

142

Honda RC212VVenezia (2011)

143

LCR Team Racing MotorbikesCasinò di Venezia (2011)

144

Honda RC212VCasinò di Venezia (2011)

145

Honda RC213VSan Francisco (2012)

146

Honda RC213VSan Francisco (2012)

149

O U R F R I E N D S . . .

151

164164

A D V E R T I S I N G C A M P A I G N S

167

LCR for Honda GermanyHonda Fireblade

Advertising on INSPIRE magazine

168

LCR for ArrowAdvertising on INSPIRE magazine

170

“Another onebites my dust”

www.arrow.it

171

LCR for Honda GermanyCBR 600F LCR Edition


172

LCR for Honda GermanyHonda Fireblade


174

LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl riding the Honda Fireblade at Laguna Seca circuit

during a training session (May 2012)

Honda Fireblade.

175



176

// FROM NOW ON, THE JOY OF RIDINGISN‘T LIMITED TO THE RACE TRACK.

Honda CBR600F LCR Edition.

The CBR600F LCR-Edition bikes bring

that racing feeling right to your home. The limited edition motorcycle sports the look of Stefan Bradl‘s championship bike.

Alongside the LCR-Team colours the bike features Progrip handlebar grips, an Arrow Titan exhaust, a pillion-seat cover and a rear rim in pearl

nightstar black. With all these extras, a sporty run-out is guaranteed.More at www.honda.de

177


LCR Honda RC213VPromotional Postcard

178

LCR for Nissin and ProgripAdvertising on INSPIRE magazine

180

BRAKING INSTINCTSPEED UNDER PERFECT CONTROL

www.nissinkogyo.co.jp

181

LCR for ProgripAdvertising on INSPIRE magazine

182

NEXT

. . .FIT

TIME...

PROGRIP !

WORLD’S BEST HANDGRIPS

www.progrip.it

CONTROL YOUR LIFECONTROL YOUR RIDE

www.progrip.itprogrip.it

183

LCR for ElfAdvertising concept for TOTAL ACS

184

A brand of

185

LCR for ElfAdvertising concept for Elf racing products

186

DATE GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT

07 Apri l Qatar Doha/Losai l

21 Apri l Americas Aust in 05 May Spain Jerez de la Frontera

19 May France Le Mans

2 June I taly Mugel lo

16 June Catalunya Circuit de Catalunya

29 June Netherlands TT Assen 14 July Germany Sachsenring 21 July United States Laguna Seca 18 August Indianapol is Indianapol is

25 August Czech Republ ic Brno

01 September Great Britain Si lverstone 15 September San Marino M.Simoncel l i - Misano

29 September Aragón MotorLand Aragón

13 October Malaysia Sepang

20 October Austral ia Phi l l ip Is land 27 October Japan Motegi

10 November Valencia Ricardo Tormo-Valencia

2013 CALENDAR

189

ART DIRECTOREnrico Barbier i in col laborat ion with Lucio Cecchinel lo

GRAPHIC DESIGNEREmanuele Val lorani

PRODUCTION COORDINATORErr ico Gasperoni

CONTRIBUTORSEl isa Pavan, Günther Wiesinger, Tanja Gvozdenov

TRANSLATIONS

Tanja Haydn

PHOTOGRAPHYMilagro, Alex Chai lan & David Piolé, Davide Esposito,

James Pipino, Mauriz io Graziol i , Noémie Hutteau, Max Gualt ier i , Pietro Lucerni, Red Bul l Content Pool,

Aleksy Aleksjew

© 2013 LCR - x racing s.a.m.Al l r ights reserved

CREDITS

2012 WHITE BOOK

أل سي آر

摩托車モト الدراجات النارية мото гран-при

INSPIRING TALENTS

inspiring talents - eng

Documents

lcr team rider1992

team italia

team manager

lcr honda motogp team

th e fi

ganized racing team

c r t e

u c i o c e c c h i