Posted by Administrator on 06-28-2008 at 02:06 pm
Valentino Rossi fell on the first lap and rejoined in last. Nicky Hayden ran out of fuel on the exit of the final turn, handing third to Colin Edwards.
Dani Pedrosa now leads the world championship standings by four points from Rossi, with Stoner 29 points behind Pedrosa…
1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 42min 12.337 secs
2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 42min 23.647 secs
3. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 42min 29.462 secs
4. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 42min 32.814 secs
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 42min 39.683 secs
6. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 42min 40.945 secs
7. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 42min 44.667 secs
8. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 42min 47.229 secs
9. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 42min 50.903 secs
10. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 42min 51.154 secs
11. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 42min 58.362 secs
12. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 43min 0.550 secs
13. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 43min 11.931 secs
DNF:
Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 11min 41.383 secs
Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) lap 1
Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) lap 1
Posted by Administrator on 06-28-2008 at 02:06 pm
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Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards was involved in more late drama at Assen today as a stunning surge from the back of the field was rewarded with third place. For the second time in three years, Edwards was involved in dramatic incident at the final chicane with Nicky Hayden as he snatched third from his fellow American just metres from the finish line.
Fourth at the start of the last lap, Edwards produced a brilliant display of overtaking to come from dead last on the opening lap as he narrowly avoiding an early tangle between Valentino Rossi and Randy de Puniet.
Producing lap times close the formidable pace set by eventual winner Casey Stoner, Edwards fought his way back into seventh when he passed Jorge Lorenzo on lap 10. He then quickly closed on an exciting battle for fourth that included Chris Vermeulen, Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano.
Reeling off a succession of personal best laps, Edwards passed Nakano at the start of lap 13 and a lap later claimed fourth with brilliant moves on Vermeulen and Dovizioso. Trailing Hayden by over seven seconds on lap 15, Edwards halved the deficit by the last lap, but having settled for fourth, he grabbed third with Hayden encountering machine problems exiting the final corner. Today’s result was Edwards’ second podium of 2008 and moved him to within 16-points of Lorenzo in fourth place in the championship standings.
James Toseland made a welcome return to the top ten today despite encountering some small front-end set-up issues during the 26-lap encounter. His points though helped the Tech 3 Yamaha team consolidate fourth in the Team World Championship standings.
Colin Edwards - Position: 3rd - 98 points
“Third is never a win, but this feels as good as one. I remember how disappointed I was with third in Le Mans and I feel much better with this after what happened. I thought I had a good start and was fifth or sixth when Valentino got tangled with Randy de Puniet and he crashed. I might have gone left but I knew Valentino was on the ground and I didn’t want to run over him or his bike and I just stopped. The next thing I know is I’m dead last and then Alex de Angelis went down soon after and I lost a bit more ground. I just decided to get my head and push. I thought I’d rather be in the gravel than riding round for eighth or ninth. I started picking guys off and before I knew it I was on the back of the group fighting for fourth. I just kept pushing myself to go faster and the next thing I’m fourth. I could see Nicky and Dani in the distance and all I did was ride as hard as I could and my Tech 3 guys gave me a great bike today. Michelin had some great tyres so I started to hammer away at Nicky. I thought if I kept applying pressure he might make a mistake and if I hadn’t kept pushing as hard as I did then I might not have been close enough to pounce on Nicky. I’d settled for third but as I came out of the chicane he was sat up, and I couldn’t believe it. I guess that’s karma corner after 2006. This place owed me something after I crashed a couple of years ago with my first win in sight, and I’m really happy with third just because in the way I achieved it. It’s hard to get on the podium at any time in MotoGP, so to do it from last is a great feeling.”
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James Toseland - Position: 9th - 60 points
“We tried a completely different setting on the front and we had quite a few problems because riding was just not that comfortable for me. It is nice to get a finish under my belt and get a top ten to build on from here because there is no doubt we have got some work to do and we need to find a direction with the bike. The shorter bike seems to be a lot more sensitive to changes but the mixed weather is really killing us at the moment as we try and make some big progress. With all the wet time we are not moving forward in the dry. In the last six races there’s been a wet day and to only have one day to get the bike dialled in is difficult, even on tracks that I know. It is frustrating to watch and frustrating for me to be down in ninth position and I know I have got work to do. We are quite a way off with the setting and it is up to me to make it better. I’m not riding any worse than I was before but we have hit a bit of a brick wall. Sachsenring is another new track and I’ll have a think about where we are at over the next few days, watch some videos of the races so far and try and work out where we can improve.”
Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“Colin was incredible today. I was really upset after what happened on the first lap because he has always been very fast this weekend and we were convinced with the pace he had shown that he could have challenged for the podium. This is racing but Colin was last and we thought it was over. When we saw his pace we had even more regret, so we were just thinking about what might have been. But he made an incredible recovery and we can’t believe this podium. When I saw him come out of the chicane and pass Nicky it was an incredible emotion. His lap times were very impressive and close to Casey’s, which was not easy to achieve this weekend, so I think he deserved this. Nobody wants to see what happened to Nicky but today it was Colin’s turn to have the luck after what happened in 2006. I am really happy for the team and I’m also pleased for James because he has been riding at a competitive pace and he was fast in all conditions. After the disappointment of Donington it was important for him to get a solid result and both have helped us stay close to Ducati in the team championship.”
Lorenzo hoping for more next time after sixth place in Assen
Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took sixth place for the second Grand Prix running in the 60th Dutch TT today, the youngest rider in the class making up one place on his grid position. His team-mate Valentino Rossi made an uncharacteristic mistake and crashed out on the first lap, although he was able to remount and finish in 11th to take valuable championship points. Yamaha’s record of having at least one rider on the podium at every race so far this season was kept alive by Tech 3 pilot Colin Edwards, who took third.
Lorenzo held onto his seventh grid slot at the start but he was unable to find his rhythm and go with the leading riders, gradually tailing off on his own. On lap ten Edwards passed him on his charge through the field and Lorenzo spent the middle part of the race a lonely eighth. In the later stages he began to feel more confident in his Michelin-shod bike and his lap times improved, enabling him to catch first Chris Vermeulen and then Shinya Nakano to take sixth.
Ten points for the Spaniard today means he holds onto fourth place in the championship but the gap to Casey Stoner, today’s winner, is stretched to 28 points.
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Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 6th Time: +28.608
“I said yesterday that the most important thing for me today was to finish after everything that’s happened recently, so this is a good thing. However I am not happy about the race because it wasn’t fun today and I had some problems, although, as in the last few races, my bike became easier to ride towards the end of the race. I must just take comfort now in the fact that we have two weeks until the next round, and hopefully by then I will be feeling a lot better. We are trying to go step-by-step but of course I want to do better than this. Valentino was not so lucky today but I want to say well done to him for finishing and taking some important points.”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“It has been a difficult race weekend for us, we weren’t able to find a good race pace in the practices and today Jorge wasn’t able to fight for the top positions. We have some problems on the rear and the bike is very nervous under acceleration. The team have worked very hard to improve it but we still have some more work to do. Overall however we are quite happy because our aim for these two races was to finish without any more crashes, and we have been able to do this. We are confident that in Sachsenring we will be able to be back in the fight.”
Rossi battles on after crash to take valuable title points
A rare mistake from Valentino Rossi resulted in a first-lap crash for the Fiat Yamaha Team rider today, but he remounted and made up a gap of more than 20 seconds to pass two riders and finish in 11th place, despite riding with a broken gear-shifter and a bent handlebar. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo rallied in the later stages of a difficult race to finish sixth, whilst Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards kept the Yamaha flag flying on the podium by taking third.
Rossi had slipped back some places when he made his mistake at turn five and slid into the gravel, unfortunately taking Randy de Puniet with him. Points were still a possibility however and he re-joined the race, despite the damage to his bike and a gap of 24 seconds to Marco Melandri, the next rider. He then embarked on a heroic ride, consistently lapping as fast as the leading riders and closing the gap lap by lap until he finally came within sight of Melandri, eventually passing him on lap 19 of 26. Four laps later he passed Toni Elias to take 11th and five championship points, finishing 46 seconds behind race-winner Casey Stoner.
With Rossi’s closest championship rival Dani Pedrosa finishing second, his gutsy ride could prove crucial in the championship race. The Italian’s first non-podium finish since the opening race of the season means he has surrendered his title lead to Pedrosa but he is adrift by only four points, the pair on 171 and 167 respectively.
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Valentino Rossi - Position: 11th Time: +46.025
“After seven podiums in a row I made a mistake today – this is racing! I am very disappointed because we made a change to the set-up of the front and it worked very well, and I could tell from the warm-up lap that my bike was very good today. Unfortunately I made a mistake at the first left; I arrived too fast when the tyres were still cold, I was too hard on the brakes and I lost the rear. I am sincerely sorry to Randy de Puniet and all of his team. After the crash I had a bent handlebar and no gear shifter, but despite this I was able to do the third fastest lap time, 37.1! I know I could have been faster than Pedrosa today and, although it’s easy to say now, I think I could have fought with Stoner for the win. I am glad for these five points and although we have lost the lead we are not far behind Pedrosa. I am looking forward now to some more technical improvements for my bike and being fast, together with Bridgestone, at every track.”
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“This was a good race for Valentino, except for the first lap! The crash was unfortunate and we’re very sorry to Randy de Puniet and the LCR team; we apologise to them all and we hope that Randy is okay. Once Valentino remounted what he did was simply amazing, especially without a gear-shift and with a bent handlebar! For several laps he was the fastest rider on the track, which shows once again his spirit and determination, although it’s also disappointing because it’s clear that we could have done a good race today. These five points today are incredibly important because they have kept the gap to Pedrosa to just four points, with half of the season still remaining. Now we will just have to start again in Sachsenring and hope for a better weekend!”
Posted by Administrator on 06-28-2008 at 02:06 pm
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Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi took his fifth front row start of the 2008 season at Assen today, ahead of tomorrow’s 60th Dutch TT. The Italian missed out on pole by just 0.139 seconds and will share the front row with Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, his closest championship rivals.
The bright sunshine of yesterday gave way to bad weather this morning and the first session was run on a wet track, with Rossi finishing seventh. The sun came out after lunch and the track was dry for qualifying, giving the team some time to continue with yesterday’s work and refine their dry set-up. During the last third of the session Rossi was able to improve with each of his Bridgestone qualifying tyres and looked to be in with a chance of pole on his final flying lap, when a small problem in the final sector lost him his advantage. Second place behind Stoner looked secure until a last-minute dash from Pedrosa relegated him to the outside of the front row, with his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo two rows behind him in seventh.
Rain is a possibility tomorrow and with the weather at Assen generally changing extremely quickly, the team may have to wait until just before the race to make a final tyre decision. Tomorrow’s 26-lap race will begin at 1400 CET.
Valentino Rossi - Position: 3rd Time: 1′35.659 Laps: 29
“Like always, the front row is our target and so we are happy with this third position. Anyway it’s better than last year, when I was 11th! We made some small modifications with the qualifying tyre and today everything seemed to work very well. Now we hope that it will translate to the race tyre, although of course we have to wait and see what the weather is like before we can make a choice, things change so quickly here! I was able to try for pole and I thought it was possible on the last lap, but unfortunately I had a small problem with the last tyre. Today we were all very close, closer than yesterday, but I think we still need to improve a bit more if we’re going to be sure to be able to fight with Casey, so we will try to finalise things tomorrow morning.”
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“It’s very good to be on the front row and it was good to see Valentino so fast this afternoon with the qualifying tyre and going very close to pole position. We still have some important final tuning to do in order to be able to stay at the front tomorrow, and then we will just have to see how the race develops. Of course we’re all hoping for it to be dry but it’s difficult to know what to expect with the weather here! It’s clear that Stoner is very strong again, but we will be hoping to be able to go with him.”
Third row puts Lorenzo in better shape for Dutch challenge
Jorge Lorenzo finished his second day’s work in Assen in a somewhat happier mood than yesterday, after qualifying seventh for the 60th Dutch TT. The Fiat Yamaha Team rookie was struggling yesterday but a good run with his Michelin qualifying tyres this afternoon gave him confidence and he will start tomorrow’s race ten places higher than he started last Sunday’s in Donington.
After yesterday’s troubles a wet session this morning was the last thing that Lorenzo and his team needed, and the Mallorcan was languishing down in 15th place after the rain-hit practice. The sun soon came out though and a strong wind helped to dry the track out, meaning that the team were able to try out a new dry setting in the first half of the afternoon session, which seemed to work well. Things improved even more with qualifying tyres; it was clear that Lorenzo was in much better shape than last week and he will head the third row tomorrow, alongside Chris Vermeulen.
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Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 7th Time: 1′36.532 Laps: 26
“Today was a bit better than yesterday and I felt stronger, even if the improvement is still not what I hoped for since Donington. With race tyres we still have some problems, although it was better than yesterday with a new setting, but with my Michelin qualifying tyres I was able to push more and seventh is not so bad for us today. The front riders are very fast here and we know that to stay with them is going to be very difficult, but I have more confidence today and so I hope that I can be at least in the top seven. If I can do this I will be happy. We still have to go step-by-step and if I can improve a bit again tomorrow then I hope to be able to push more within the next two or three races.”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“Overall this afternoon was important and interesting because we found some general improvement, even if we still have more work to do. Unfortunately the weather didn’t help us this morning and for us it was an almost useless first session. In the afternoon we decided to try the new setting that we found last night and, although our lap time was more or less the same as yesterday, other riders were a bit slower than yesterday with race tyres due to the different track conditions and so this is actually encouraging for us. With qualifying tyres we were able to be in seventh place, which is much better than in Donington and gives us some confidence for the race tomorrow.”
Edwards on second row, Toseland 13th in Assen
A windy but dry qualifying session in Assen today ended with Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards claiming his ninth successive top six grid position in 2008. On his first set of Michelin qualifying tyres, the American posted a best time of 1.36.278 to move to the top of the timesheets as he went in search a fifth front row start in nine races.
Edwards though, who has won three World Superbike races at the historic Assen circuit, was thwarted in his attempts to improve his lap time by minor front tyre issues with his last two sets of qualifying tyres. He eventually had to settle for sixth place, but is confident he can mount a podium challenge in tomorrow’s 26-lap race, despite a strong chance of rain. Inclement weather conditions this morning gave Edwards the chance to improve his rain setting after encountering some problems a week ago at the British GP.
James Toseland will start from 13th on the grid as he continued to try and adapt to a new set-up on his YZR that he first tried yesterday. Only a small mistake on his last flying lap cost him the chance of a third row start.
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Colin Edwards 6th 1.36.278 – 23 laps
“The grip didn’t seem to be quite as good as yesterday and the times on race tyres weren’t as good because of this morning’s rain. I put my first qualifier on and did a 36.2 and I thought ‘awesome.’ I told my team I could do a mid-35 because that first qualifier is always just getting used to the extra traction, so I was really confident and I expected to be on the front row. But on my next set of tyres and it just never happened, most corners at this track are right-handers and I had an issue with the right side of the front tyre. It wasn’t chatter and it is really strange. I’m not blaming anybody but I can’t remember the last time I had this problem. But I couldn’t go fast and I didn’t have the same issue with the first set and I didn’t change the bike. I wasn’t too worried because I had another set and went out and it was the same problem but even worse on the left side of the front tyre. The right was perfect but I was struggling to get my knee on the ground on the left and it was weird. We need to have a look at the data and talk it over with the guys but it has really thrown me because I’m not sure what caused it. But I’m ready for tomorrow whether it’s raining or not. I was pleased it rained this morning because we got the bike set-up good for the rain. I can’t complain too much being on the second row with some of the problems I had.”
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James Toseland 13th 1.36.978
“I wasn’t on a bad lap on the last lap but I had a big moment coming out of the last chicane and lost all my time. I was only eight-tenths off the leader in the first three splits so it was looking good for the third row. But that mistake cost me and it is a bit unfortunate. The third row would have been a good result. At the start I went out on Colin’s set-up with a couple of modifications and it wasn’t too bad. Then I went out on the other bike which also had Colin’s set-up, but with a few more tweaks to suit me and it wasn’t any better. We ran that with the qualifiers but looking back we had a better base setting with the other bike and we could have done a bit more with the softer tyres. I’m hoping warm-up is going to be dry because at the moment we seem to take a long time to get the set-up. We are still looking to improve it again on the day of the race. The bike needs to be sorted for the race after qualifying and we have got to improve in that area. I’m still holding my breath at every corner and that’s not the way to be riding. I need to get back into the comfort zone. I got into the 37s at the end on race tyres and other than Casey I think race pace will be high 36s and low 37s. I’m sure I’ve got mid-37s in me and that is likely to be fighting for the top six. That’s the target tomorrow but I just want a good solid result at the moment. I have got to finish and get a good race under my belt and be back in the top ten.”
Posted by Administrator on 06-24-2008 at 09:06 am
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After a seventh podium in as many races for Valentino Rossi at Donington Park on Sunday, the Fiat Yamaha team take their title challenge straight to Assen this week for the second Grand Prix in just six days. For 78 years the Dutch TT has been held on the final Saturday in June and despite the quick turnaround this year the tradition will be upheld, as the MotoGP World Championship paddock packs up and races against the clock across the North Sea from England to Holland.
It is a demanding but pleasurable trip for Rossi, who travels from one of his favourite and most successful circuits to a legendary venue where he has celebrated victory on six occasions – including four of the last six races there in the premier-class. The Italian arrives at the ninth round of the season in great form, with an 11-point lead in the championship over Dani Pedrosa and having not missed the podium since the opening round of the season in Qatar and not finishing outside the top two since round three in Portugal.
Rossi’s rookie Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo has dropped to fourth overall after a stressful run of races but the youngster remains in the championship hunt, 58 points off the summit and with conviction and courage back on his side after a confidence-inspiring ride to sixth place at Donington Park, having started from 17th on the grid. A crash-strewn few weeks are now a distant memory for the youngster, who was back to his best in Great Britain and still has ten rounds left to enjoy and entertain before the end of the season.
One of the most technically and physically demanding circuits on the calendar for the MotoGP riders, Assen has barely a straight piece of tarmac in sight. Handling is a major focal point due to high-speed chicanes and dramatic camber changes – the latter, in some places, resembling the profile of the public roads that the original circuit was based around – features that have traditionally favoured the nimble YZR-M1. Last year Rossi took a comfortable victory by 1.909 seconds over Casey Stoner in one of the highlights of his season after starting 11th, whilst Lorenzo also has a strong record there, having won the 250cc race for the past two seasons to add to a 125cc win in 2004.
Valentino Rossi - Aiming for the top step
“I’m really glad that we’re going straight on to Assen, which is another of my favourite circuits. Donington was good and we took important points and extended our championship lead but it was still a bit disappointing not to be able to fight at the front with Stoner and I am happy that I only have to wait a few days to try to turn this around! Last year’s race in Assen was magic, the best of the year, and I would like to repeat that victory again this year. Of course this time I would prefer to start from the front row instead of the fourth, even if making all those overtakes last year was great, great fun! I still miss the ‘old’ Assen but it’s still a fantastic track and the atmosphere is very special, plus our M1 usually works very well there so I’m looking forward to another exciting weekend. Once again Donington showed how strong our rivals are, so we can’t rest even for a moment and we have to be on our best form from Friday morning if we want to achieve our aim of getting back to the top of the podium.”
Jorge Lorenzo - Hoping for some fun
“Thinking about Sunday’s race is still giving me a lot of pleasure and it makes me feel much more confident about riding than I felt this time one week ago! I hope, after the good result in the UK, that the bad times of the recent weeks are now just a memory and in fact I won’t be thinking about them at all anymore, only about the rest of the season. I had a lot of fun on Sunday, which I wasn’t necessarily expecting, and this has helped me to move on and look forward to the next races. Assen is one of my favourite tracks, maybe my best of all. Last year I won there and I hope I can have another good result this year, although I know I still have to take things gently and not take too many risks. I’m really looking forward to riding a MotoGP bike there; I think it will be great fun!”
Davide Brivio - Half-way through
“So now we arrive at the half-way point of the championship in Assen, and I think we can be pleased with our performance so far. We’re leading the championship and our motivation is very strong, but there is no time to rest at the moment. Our primary aim is to be on the podium every round and we did this again in Donington, where we took some important points and extended our lead over Pedrosa, but we really want to be fighting for the win and so we will be trying to make up for this in Assen. Our bike has traditionally been very good in Assen, both on the old and the new circuits, and we hope that we will be in the best shape from the start this week.”
Daniele Romagnoli - Assen is a temple
“The aim at Donington was to get Jorge’s feeling back with the bike and he did that, setting some very good laps towards the end of the race, so whilst there is still no pressure on him to get results I think we have a good chance of success at Assen. For sure he took practice much more carefully at Donington, putting long runs together and avoiding taking risks - especially in the early part of the session when the setting was not perfect. A big part of his job this year is to learn, but unfortunately some lessons are more painful than others! Despite the changes to the track in recent years Assen is still a temple for motorcycle racing and we always look forward to competing there. It is a good track for Jorge‘s riding style, as we have seen in the past, and it is also good for Yamaha so I think we can be very competitive.”
Valentino Rossi : Information
Age: 29
Lives: Tavullia, Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 91 (65 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 200 (140 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 50
World Championships: 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP)
Jorge Lorenzo: Information
Age: 21
Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 22 (1 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 101 (7 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 29 (3 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 2 x 250cc
Assen: Record Lap
N. Hayden (Honda) 2006, 1′37.106
Assen: Best Lap
J. Hopkins (Suzuki) 2006, 1′36.411
Grand Prix Results: Assen 2007
V.Rossi (Yamaha) 42′37.149
2. C.Stoner (Honda) +1.909
3. N.Hayden (Honda) +6.077
Jorge Lorenzo Result: Assen 2007
1. J. Lorenzo (SPA) Aprilia 40′25.904 (250cc)
Posted by Administrator on 06-23-2008 at 02:06 am
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Valentino Rossi finished a worthy runner-up at Donington Park today, unable to catch Casey Stoner on this occasion but surviving a mid-race battle with Dani Pedrosa to extend his lead at the top of the championship. Today was Rossi’s 200th Grand Prix and this his 142nd podium since he opened his account with a third place at the 1996 Austrian GP in the 125cc class. It was also a good day for Rossi’s team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who put his recent injuries and yesterday’s poor qualifying behind him to come through from 17th on the grid to take sixth.
Rossi’s recent work in testing on improving his starts paid off today and the Italian held onto his second place at the off. He tried to stay with Stoner but the Australian was too quick in some parts of the track today and Rossi knew that second was going to be as good as it got. Midway through the 30-lap race Pedrosa loomed and twice passed Rossi into turn one, but both times the multiple-champion took him back and over the final stages he was able to create a safe cushion from the Spaniard, crossing the line just under six seconds behind Stoner and 2.558 ahead of Pedrosa, who is his closest championship rival.
Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: +5.789
“I am quite happy about this result, although of course I would have preferred to have been fighting with Stoner for the win! I got a good start today and I tried to stay with Casey, but in some corners he was faster than me and it was impossible to keep up with his pace as the race went on. I knew that second place was important because of the points so I had to win my fight with Pedrosa in the middle of the race! Luckily we took second and now I have extended my lead by four points, which is very important for our championship. Unfortunately this weekend we made some mistakes when it was dry on Friday, and then because of the wet yesterday we weren’t able to work on them until today, when it was too late to make things perfect. Anyway we did the best we could so thanks to all my guys. We are leading the championship but Stoner showed his potential today so I think that this hard battle between us all is going to continue race by race. I am glad we only have a few days to Assen and I am looking forward to doing better there.”
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“Today it was difficult to do better than this but if you think about the championship it has been a very important result and we have increased our lead on Pedrosa by four points. We’re not quite at the half-way point of the championship yet – one more week – but we’re pretty happy with our season so far and the important thing is that we’re leading the championship. We have no time to rest before Assen but we will be going there with the aim of getting back to the top step of the podium.”
Lorenzo storms to sixth with superbDonington ride
Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo wrote another impressive chapter in his rollercoaster rookie story today with an outstanding ride to sixth from 17th on the grid in the British Grand Prix. After suffering a string of crashes and injuries over the last seven weeks and missing the last round in Catalunya, his aim today was simply to come home in one piece but the determined 21-year-old did considerably better, passing a host of riders to make up 11 places from his grid position.
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In dry but windy conditions, Lorenzo lived up to his nickname ‘Por Fuera’ at turn one by overtaking around the outside of several riders and coming out of the first corner melee in 13th position. He continued with more of the same throughout the lap and crossed the line for the first time in tenth. As his confidence grew he found the rhythm he had been lacking during the rest of the weekend and passed Anthony West to take ninth on lap 13. A consistent pace throughout the middle part of the race, matching that of the leading riders, brought him to Shinya Nakano on lap 20 and, once past him he succeeded in closing a three second gap to Chris Vermeulen and Nicky Hayden in just four laps. He dispensed with these two in turn and then set off after Andrea Dovozioso, however with only five laps remaining time ran out for the Mallorcan and he crossed the line just under a second adrift of the Italian, despite setting a personal best time on the final lap of the race.
Lorenzo now sits 13 points adrift of Stoner in fourth place, whilst Rossi extends his lead over Dani Pedrosa to 11 points as they approach the half way point in the championship, which comes at Assen in just six days time.
Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 6th Time: +15.690
“I’m very happy with this result, because this was a very hard weekend for me and for my crew. I don’t want to think about the past, or think about what might have been if I’d started in the front rows, I only want to think about the present and my ride today. The number one aim was to finish the race without crashing or hurting myself, because at the end of the day your health is the most important thing! After the start however I started to feel more and more confident and found I was able to ride better and better, then I realised that I actually had the chance to do a very good race. I had fast pace throughout and my bike and my Michelin tyres worked very well, so thank you to all my team. Sometimes lately it has been hard to stay optimistic, motivated and happy, even though I have always tried to go out smiling and with a good attitude, but this race today was great and I am very happy tonight.”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“We have achieved the goal for this race; it was very important that Jorge found a good feeling with the bike and started to enjoy riding his M1 again and today this happened. He was able to ride a beautiful race and come back from a difficult grid position to take a brilliant sixth. Today he impressed us once again and it was also a great feeling for everyone to see him making eleven overtakes! The team did a fantastic job because they were able to put him in a position to be this fast. We are very confident now that in Assen Jorge will be back to his best.”
Masahiko Nakajima - Team Director
“We were struggling all weekend in order to try to find the right set-up to fit these tricky conditions. At the end we found a good setting, which enabled Valentino to be fast, but unfortunately one of our rivals was still faster than us today! Anyway we were able to secure important championship points and we are satisfied about this. Now our aim is to get back to the top of the podium next week.
We are all very happy with Jorge’s race today because he came through to a good finishing position from the back of the grid. Unfortunately starting from 17th meant it was very difficult to come all the way to the front but he did a fantastic job in the circumstances. We’re pleased because we have seen once again the impressive riding that he showed us before his accident. Now we will continue to try to improve his bike set-up even more, with the aim of seeing him back on the podium as soon as possible.”
Edwards fourth for Tech 3 Yamaha, Toseland frustrated
The Tech 3 Yamaha team had another day of contrasting fortunes at a blustery Donington Park today, with Colin Edwards claiming a hard fought fourth place in the British GP.
But there was bitter disappointment for James Toseland and a record British GP crowd of nearly 90,000 fans as the 27-year-old finished 17th following a crash at the first corner.
Seventh at the end of the first lap, Edwards started to make his charge through the field on lap 14 when he passed Chris Vermeulen at Coppice. Just three laps later he claimed fifth with an overtake on compatriot Nicky Hayden before he took fourth place from Andrea Dovizioso on lap 18. For most of the second half of the race, Edwards was able to run the pace of podium finishers Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, but despite some aggressive riding he was unable to fight his way back into contention for a second successive podium.
It was a day of frustration for Toseland, who determined to make a strong start from 16th on the grid, crashed at the first turn having gained several places. Despite a nasty bang to his right hand and the loss of his right footpeg, Toseland rallied himself to complete 30 tough laps at a fast pace. Despite his disappointing result, Toseland still got a rousing reception from British fans appreciative of his efforts. |
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Colin Edwards - Position: 4th Time: + 12.678
“I’m a bit cross even though fourth is still a good result. In the dry on Friday it was so good and I was really happy with everything. But with the rain yesterday I got thrown a bit. The geometry of the bike is quite a bit different and the weight bias quite a bit different compared to last year. So riding in the rain threw me a bit today when it was dry. Even this morning I went out and I came in and I started complaining about all these problems with the front end, yet it was exactly the same bike that I had on Friday. I got out in the race and in the first few laps I was struggling. I was riding hard but I couldn’t get into the low 29s like I was doing on a tyre that had done 24 laps on Friday. And then it kind of clicked what I needed to do but it took too long to adjust. I kept letting the front pop up and kept running wide and running wide and then I figured it out. Now you have to brake a lot deeper, harder and longer on this year’s bike with the geometry and I just got my head around it too late. Once I did that I got into the low 29s and started moving through the field. As far as lap times there was not much between me, Valentino, Dani and Casey. I kept seeing them at the same spot on the track and they weren’t pulling away. If anything I was gaining a little bit on them. I might have fought with them had I come through a bit quicker but we still did a fantastic job this weekend. The team and Michelin did a great job and I just wish I could run the race again.”
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James Toseland - Position: 17th Time: +1 lap
“It is hard to explain just how disappointed how I am. I really wanted to get a good result for my home crowd but it was always going to be difficult after the problems of yesterday. Starting from 16th was always going to be tough but I decided to attack from the start. I made a good start and passed a few people and didn’t think I was too fast into the first corner but the rear end came round and I was down. I could have just cruised back to the pits but a lot of people had come to see me ride. I was hurting because I hit my head pretty hard and I smacked my right hand down on the tarmac. And the right footpeg had snapped off, but I soldiered on because I wanted to get to that chequered flag more than anything. I was going to finish for all those fans, who have been unbelievable supporting me since I arrived here. I will bounce back from this but it has got to be one of the biggest disappointments of my career. It is not in my nature to give up and I didn’t today, and I know my turn will come. I am obviously disappointed, but I have to congratulate Scott Redding. He did an amazing job and it was great for the British fans to see him do that.
Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“Firstly I really want to thank Colin because again he did another great race. He qualified on the second row in the rain and although he lose some time in the early part of the race he was running the same times as Valentino and Dani and he was catching them later on. Seeing Colin do that today proves what a competitive package we have got. Of course I am very sorry and disappointed for James. I think he really wanted to do well but the rain on Saturday meant he was always racing against the clock to improve. From then he was always trying to recover. He made a mistake but I have nothing but huge admiration for what he did afterwards. It took a lot of courage for him to carry in the circumstances and it showed that he really wanted to repay the British fans for their support. He wanted to do well for them and I don’t think they can be disappointed with his effort. The good news is we have a race next week and he can show what a strong character he is by bouncing back.”
