MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix 2015: Race Schedule, Live Stream and Top Riders
Jorge Lorenzo will be hopeful of chopping the gap to Valentino Rossi at the summit of the MotoGP standings again this weekend, as Motegi gets set to play host to the Japanese Grand Prix.
The two Yamaha riders have been battling hard throughout this season and with just four rounds of racing to go, things are surely set to come to a head very soon indeed.
Going into this weekend, Rossi has a 14-point lead over the Spaniard, but the momentum is with Lorenzo after his display at Aragon last time out.
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Drama is inevitable given the close proximity of these two great champions and the Motegi circuit is renowned for producing gripping racing.
With that in mind, here are all the key viewing details for this year’s race and a closer look at the two men vying for the world crown.
| Friday, Oct. 9 | 1:55 a.m. - 2:40 a.m. | Free Practice 1 |
| Friday, Oct. 9 | 6:05 a.m - 6:50 p.m. | Free Practice 2 |
| Saturday, Oct. 10 | 1:55 a.m. - 2:40 a.m. | Free Practice 3 |
| Saturday, Oct. 10 | 5:30 a.m. - 6 a.m. | Free Practice 4 |
| Saturday, Oct. 10 | 5:10 a.m. - 6:25 a.m | Qualifying 1 |
| Saturday, Oct. 10 | 6:35 a.m. - 6:50 a.m. | Qualifying 2 |
| Sunday, Oct. 11 | 6 a.m. | Race |
| 1 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | ITA | 263 |
| 2 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | SPA | 249 |
| 3 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | SPA | 184 |
| 4 | Andrea IANNONE | Ducati | ITA | 172 |
| 5 | Bradley SMITH | Yamaha | GBR | 143 |
| 6 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | ITA | 139 |
| 7 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | SPA | 129 |
| 8 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | ITA | 93 |
| 9 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | GBR | 88 |
| 10 | Pol ESPARGARO | Yamaha | SPA | 88 |
Full schedule and standings available via the official MotoGP website.
All the action can be streamed via the BT Sport website.
Jorge Lorenzo
Massive amounts of credit must go to Lorenzo. Throughout the season he’s been blighted by a variety of poor fortune and is chasing down one of the sport’s all-time greats, so it would have been easy for him to have wilted under the challenge.
But the Yamaha man seized his chance at Aragon with a brilliant performance, keeping Rossi at bay and setting up a thrilling finale to the year.
The Spaniard admitted he felt as though he had to beat his team-mate last time out to keep his title hopes alive, per autosport.com:
"It was a really important race. I really felt that if I lost even more points it would be almost impossible to win the world title. It was key.
It was a very important and very difficult and very emotional race, because after these two races where I made some mistakes and probably had some bad luck with the weather, I had some negative feeling inside.
"
There were some concerns that Lorenzo, 28, wasn’t going to be able to take part in this race, as it emerged he had sprained his shoulder during training. But the two-time MotoGP world champion revealed he will be fine to participate at Motegi on his Twitter feed:
Lorenzo has happy memories of this venue, too, having triumphed at the circuit 12 months previously with an accomplished performance.
There’s little for him to lose coming into this weekend, with the pressure all on Rossi to preserve his lead at the top of the standings, but throughout the season, when Lorenzo has put everything together, he’s been the better rider.
Valentino Rossi
Rossi is experienced enough to have known that his team-mate wasn’t going to go down without a fight in the latter stages of the season and after a third-place finish at Aragon, the Doctor will be desperate to bounce back in Japan.
It’s a circuit the Italian has fared pretty well at during his illustrious career, finishing third 12 months ago behind Lorenzo and reigning world champion Marc Marquez.
As we can see here courtesy of MotoGP Fan Zone, it’s rare the Italian does not weave his way on to the rostrum come the end of the Grand Prix here:
The prospect of Rossi going up against Lorenzo stirs memories of some classic clashes down the years between the two, including one notable battle on this circuit.
Then, the latter was on the hunt for his first ever MotoGP world title, but Rossi, who had little to race for after an injury-riddled season, engaged him in a thrilling battle, which saw the Italian take third after six changes of position in the final two laps of the race.
Here’s a look at some highlights from the rivalry between the pair, including that tussle from five years ago:
Rossi, 36, has had disappointing finishes of fifth and third in his last two races and will be intent on setting things right at a circuit where he has performed very well in the past.
His incomparable experience, pedigree and confidence will ensure he’s well prepared for what should be a gripping clash with Lorenzo too.
The Italian seems to be reliant on slip-ups from his team-mate at the moment, though. At some circuits, you’d anticipate that kind of lapse from Lorenzo, but he seems to relish Motegi and will have positive memories to call upon from a year ago.
A win for the Spaniard here is going to make matters even tighter in the weeks to come.
Prediction: 1. Lorenzo, 2. Rossi, 3. Marquez
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