Valentino Rossi Ducati - MotoGP 2012 » Phillip Island

Race Results Phillip Island Australian MotoGP

Administrator — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:40:30 +0000

Factory Yamaha riders Jorge Lorenzo (warm-up) and Ben Spies (qualifying), plus Aspar Ducati’s Damian Cudlin (practice), all missed the race as a result of accidents during the weekend.

1. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda 42m 2.425s
2. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 42m 4.635s
3. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda 42m 4.879s
4. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 42m 15.585s
5. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 42m 33.311s
6. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing 42m 51.225s
7. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro 43m 18.739s
8. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda 42m 5.177s
9. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing 42m 9.187s
10. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 42m 45.142s

DNF:
Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki
Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini
Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3
Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro

DNS:
Damian Cudlin AUS Mapfre Aspar
Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing

Rossi takes tenth consecutive Phillip Island podium as Lorenzo slides out

Administrator — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:58:18 +0000

Valentino Rossi

Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi finished a strong second in an entertaining Australian Grand Prix, chasing home Casey Stoner to finish on the podium for the tenth successive year at Phillip Island and for the eleventh time this season. Jorge Lorenzo’s challenge ended in the gravel trap at turn one, when a mistake at the start saw the Mallorcan slide out of the race. Rossi, starting from the front row for the tenth race in a row, finished the first lap in third position, behind Dani Pedrosa and Stoner. On lap two both Stoner and Rossi passed the Spaniard and then quickly began to pull away on their own, quickly opening out a gap from the chasing pack. Darkening skies overhead at that point meant there was a rush in pit lane as the mechanics switched the spare bikes over to wet settings, but the sun eventually came out and the threat of rain subsided as the Italian and the Australian set in for a head-to-head battle. At times Rossi looked to be within striking distance and he made a couple of moves at mid-race distance, but with Lorenzo out he knew that he had to capitalise and he eventually played it safe to come home behind the resurgent Stoner with twenty important points in his pocket and an impressive gap of over twenty seconds to Pedrosa in third.

Lorenzo had struggled with grip issues all weekend here and he made a mistake at the start, braking too late and cannoning into the back of Nicky Hayden. The impact damaged his front brake and he was unable to slow down for the corner, losing the rear and tumbling into the gravel trap. He was taken to the Clinica Mobile and treated for mild cuts to his nose and the little finger of his right hand, but there were no serious injuries and nothing that will affect his being able to ride next week.

Today’s result means that Rossi now has a lead over Lorenzo of 38 points with two races left. He will have his first chance to clinch the World Championship title at the next round, which comes at Sepang in Malaysia in one week’s time.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: +1.935
“This was one of the most fun and definitely one of the most important second places of my career! We were on the limit for the whole race and there were some amazing slides, it was ‘old-style’ racing. To have a race like this in the sunshine at Phillip Island is an incredible emotion and I really enjoyed myself. Of course I wanted to win but I had to use my head a bit and once I’d seen that Lorenzo was out, I knew that if I made a mistake it would be a big disaster! Anyway I tried in places but Stoner was a bit faster than me. I didn’t give up until the end but Casey really deserved this win; I want to give him my congratulations. We leave with twenty important points and now the championship lead is big and we can try to finish it in Malaysia, where we will have the first ‘match point’.”

	Jorge Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: DNF
“I’m a little bit sad for this crash, not for the championship but for my mistake; I didn’t expect this kind of mistake from myself. It was totally my fault, I miscalculated the distance off the line and Nicky braked earlier than I was expecting and I hit him. I thought I could save it but my front brake was broken and so when I tried to brake for the corner I couldn’t and the rear made a big slide. I have a bit of damage to my nose and my finger but it could have been a lot worse. This is what happens in racing and, although I am disappointed about the race, the most important thing is that I am not badly injured. I want to say sorry to Nicky because I ruined his race today. As for the points, the title was a long shot anyway and now I just want to look forward to the final two races.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“This has been a very important day for our championship because now we’re leaving with a lead of 38 points. It is a pity that Lorenzo crashed, because who knows what kind of race this could have been with him in it as well? Valentino today rode with a big heart and a lot of fight, trying to win the race but also making sure he didn’t lose these twenty points. He tried hard but never went over the top. The team did a great job as well this weekend to make this possible and we have to carry this same concentration and motivation forward to Sepang next weekend, where we will be aiming for the maximum possible result.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“For sure we weren’t expecting a result like this, even after such a difficult weekend! We have found a lot more problems here than we were expecting but in the end the team were able to make a good step for warm-up and another improvement for the race, so we missed a chance to fight for the podium today. It just wasn’t to be this weekend. The championship is basically finished for us now but we will look forward to the last two races and continue as we were before. At the end of the day, we’re lucky that Jorge didn’t pick up worse injuries in a crash like this so we will count ourselves lucky and move on to Malaysia.”

Fantastic fifth for Edwards, Toseland frustrated in Phillip Island

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland had a day of contrasting fortunes at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit in Australia this afternoon.

Starting from fifth on the grid for the fifth successive race, Edwards made a slow getaway off the line and dropped down to ninth on the first lap in front of 50,094 fans. The Texan then produced a magnificent exhibition in overtaking to first pass Andrea Dovizioso on lap four. Setting a fast pace after pre-race tweaks with the set-up of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 helped with stability and agility, the 35-year-old then superbly passed Mika Kallio, Toni Elias and Ran dy de Puniet in quick succession on lap five.

Edwards then set about closing the gap on Alex de Angelis in fourth position, but despite consistently lapping faster than the San Marino rider throughout the race, his hard challenge was in vain. His seventh top six finish of 2009 though boosted his hopes of overhauling Dovizioso for fifth place in the championship standings. With just two races remaining, Edwards is just seven points behind the Italian.

It was a frustrating afternoon for British rider Toseland, who had started the 27-lap race optimistic of claiming a second successive top six finish at Phillip Island.

Toseland was locked in the intense battle for fifth place when Race Direction imposed a ride through penalty after the 28-year-old was adjudged to have jumped the start. Toseland entered the pits on lap 10 and gallantly rode a hard pace in the second half of t he race to almost fight his way back into a creditable 13th place, finishing just 0.034s behind Gabor Talmacsi.

Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards – Position: 5th Time: +0’35.885
“I’ll hold my hands up and say I really messed up the start. I pretty much fell asleep and when the lights went out, I was just sat there. That left me down in ninth place but the pace was pretty quick in the low 31s and I was able to pick off a few of them quite quickly. I knew if I didn’t get my head down then I’d be towing them around because of how you can slipstream at this track. I never relented and my pace was pretty hot, and thankfully it wasn’t too difficult for me to make a break from the pack. I saw de Angelis in front of me and I tried everything I could to get close to him. I’m tired of finishing fifth, so I gave it everything I had. But the start cost me fourth and some precious points. Towards the end of the race I star ted to lose some side grip and I couldn’t do anything more to try and put pressure on de Angelis. I beat Dovizioso again which is all I can do to try and get fifth in the championship. I really want that fifth to reward all my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3. They’ve been great and I’ll be giving it my all for them in the last two races.”

	James Toseland

James Toseland – Position: 14th Time: +1’17.985
“I’m really struggling to describe how I feel right now. All I can say is I feel the jump start decision was incredibly harsh and I am extremely disappointed. I have looked at the start on TV and I can’t see I’ve done anything wrong. It is hard for me to take but I’ve got to try and put it behind me as soon as possible and aim for a strong result in Sepang next weekend. I was confident of a strong race today and I was latched onto the back of the group fighting for fifth. I felt my pace was strong enough to hav e put up a strong fight for a positive result, but the ride through ended all that. I want to thank all my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 for all their hard work and effort this weekend. They have been brilliant as always and I’m not going to let this disappointment stop me from giving my all to finish this season on a high at the last two races.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“It was another very strong weekend from Colin and he rode another hard race. Had he made a better start then I’m convinced he would have been able to fight with de Angelis for fourth place. His lap times were better than Alex for most of the race and it would have been a good battle. Unfortunately we only gained one point on Dovizioso, but Colin is still fighting hard for fifth in the championship and there is still a lot to fight for. With James, I understand his frustration. I went with him to Race Direction to look at the start and honestly speaking, it was a very marginal decision. We have to respect the decision of Race Direction and I am convinced that James will bounce back strongly in Malaysia next weekend.”

Phillip Island MotoGP – Race results

Administrator — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:33:58 +0000

Race results from the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, round 15 of the 2009 MotoGP World Championship.

Casey Stoner wins home race for third year in a row; Jorge Lorenzo hits back of Nicky Hayden and crashes out at turn one; Rossi builds title lead to 38 points over Lorenzo; James Toseland given jump start penalty; Loris Capirossi starts from back of grid after engine change.

Niccolo Canepa, who injured his arm in Friday practice, missed the race and could also be ruled out of next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 40min 56.651 sec
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 40min 58.586 sec
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 41min 19.269 sec
4. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 41min 29.353 sec
5. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 41min 32.536 sec
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 41min 35.133 sec
7. Marco Melandri ITA Hayate Racing Team 41min 41.112 sec
8. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 41min 41.592 sec
9. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 41min 50.996 sec
10. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 41min 57.856 sec
11. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 42min 2.068 sec
12. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 42min 2.601 sec
13. Gabor Talmacsi HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 42min 14.602 sec
14. James Toseland GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 42min 14.636 sec
15. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 41min 27.127 sec

DNF:
Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Turn 1

Rossi makes front row as Lorenzo battles to fourth on the Island

Administrator — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:25:15 +0000

Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi will start his Phillip Island assault from second on the grid tomorrow, after sealing his twelfth front-row start of the season in Australia this afternoon. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who was still feeling under the weather following yesterday’s upset stomach, missed out on the front row by just 0.001 seconds, the first time he has been out of the top three this season.

This morning’s practice was interrupted by rain, which allowed the riders a quick chance to check their wet-weather settings in case of more rain tomorrow. By the afternoon the weather had cleared up and qualifying was run in the dry, albeit with grey skies and a cold wind. Rossi spent most of the hour-long session a few tenths off Casey Stoner in second but a late setting update gave him the extra pace to challenge the Australian and he duly moved to the top of the time sheets with nine minutes to go. Stoner hit back five minutes later however and set a best time that knocked Rossi off pole by 0.050 seconds.

Lorenzo felt much better today but he was still not at 100%, having been unable to eat much since yesterday’s illness. The 22-year-old was still struggling for rear grip but he was able to improve his time in the later stages and looked like he would make it onto the front row before a late charge from Dani Pedrosa edged him off by just one thousandth of a second. He will now have to mount his challenge from the head of the second row tomorrow, something of a novelty for him having qualified in the first three at all fourteen previous rounds this year.

Tomorrow’s race will start at 1600 local-time tomorrow, which is 0700 CET.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: 1’30.391 Laps: 30
“We are on the front row which is the most important thing and I think we can definitely have a good race tomorrow. We have a few things to check in the morning, depending on the weather, including the final tyre choice – of course we hope for it to be dry. I have a good setting and with the last modification we made I was able to make another step and we were quite fast. The pole position was possible today but unfortunately I made a mistake in the last section on my flying lap and Stoner was able to go a little bit faster than me. We have an advantage on Lorenzo, which is important for the championship points, and I hope that I will be able to fight with Stoner for the win.”

	Jorge Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 4th Time: 1’31.071 Laps: 31
“I’m a bit disappointed to lose my 100% front-row qualifying record by such a tiny amount, but today we just didn’t quite have enough pace. We still don’t have enough grip on the rear and the tyre is spinning too much, which makes it difficult to be fast enough. Tomorrow I will try to adapt my riding style instead in order to try to make it onto the podium. I feel better than yesterday but I’m still not at 100%; I feel quite weak still because I haven’t been able to eat much. I will have to try before tomorrow in order to have enough strength for the race. I don’t feel any pressure, I will just go out and do my best.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“So far all the sessions have gone well for us. We’ve got a good starting position for tomorrow and we’re in good shape for the race. As far as our strategy goes, of course we will have one eye on Lorenzo and the championship but also one eye on Stoner and the chance to win the race if possible! The only issue is the late time of the race, because at 4pm it could be quite a lot colder and therefore this might throw up some surprises.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“It’s a real pity to miss out on the front row by just one millisecond after we have been so consistent all season! We still have rear grip issues at the moment, the team have done a good job to improve it over the sessions but we still have some work to do. The warm-up will be very important for us tomorrow in order to try to solve the problem and put us in a position to be able to challenge in the fight for the race and the championship tomorrow.”

Edwards and Toseland aim high in Australia
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Colin Edwards finished tantalisingly close to recording his first front row grid position of the season today in typically mixed and unpredictable conditions at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit.

Edwards finished just 0.026s away from a place on the front row of the grid, the Texan working closely with his crew on improving stability and agility with his YZR-M1 machine to cope with Phillip Island’s fast and flowing sections.

Edwards posted a best time of 1.31.096 and the 35-year-old is confident of a strong showing in tomorrow’s race to bolster his bid for fifth place in the world championship standings.

Working hard with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew to find a compromise between front-end stability and rear traction, James Toseland posted a best time of 1.31.722 that left the British rider in 12th position. Proving once again just how close the level of competition is in MotoGP, Toseland was only 0.7s away from a top three placing.

The 28-year-old though is confident with further overnight set-up tweaks that he can launch an attack on a second successive top six finish at Phillip Island and strengthen his challenge for a top seven championship finish.

All eyes will be on the weather ahead of tomorrow’s 27-lap race after today’s rapidly changing conditions. A large Australian crowd witnessed blue skies, strong winds, heavy cloud cover and rain today, though forecasts predict dry conditions for tomorrow’s race.

Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards – Position: 5th Time: 1’31.096 Laps: 27
“I can’t remember how long I’ve been racing at this track but it is always a different experience and today was no exception. It’s no secret that Yamaha had to make the bike much shorter this year to maximise the performance of the Bridgestone tyres, and it hasn’t been easy to make the set-up work this weekend. With the track flowing like it does you need a stable bike for the fast sections but some agility for turning. But it seems with the shorter wheelbase bike here, a tiny change completely transforms the feeling. My guys have worked unbelievably hard to make me more comfortable and we found something that almost got me on the front row for the first time this year. On this track you’ve really got to take some risks to get a fast time, but you can’t do that without having the bike right. At the end I had a setting where the risk was reduced a lot and I could push much harder without feeli ng like I was right on the limit. I feel we’ve got a good package for the race. I’ve got three races to take nine points out of (Andrea) Dovizioso for fifth in the championship and he’s a few places behind me on the grid. I’ll just hope the weather smiles on us so I can get my head down and put up a strong fight.”

	James Toseland

James Toseland – Position: 12th Time: 1’31.722 Laps: 30
“Once again today we saw just how close the competition is in MotoGP and how small the difference is between having a really strong grid position or being down the order. Another two or three tenths and I would have been in the top six and feeling much better after all the hard work we put in today. But today wasn’t easy because I was looking for more rear grip. But changing the set-up to give me more rear grip, we sacrificed too much of the front-end feeling. And when you don’t have front feeling on the fastest track on th e calendar with some really flat-out sections, you can’t ride with the confidence you need. We made some changes to bring back my confidence with the front, but that just created wheelspin and a lack of rear grip again in some parts of the track. We just need to find a compromise but I’m not a million miles away. I’m confident with a good start that battling for a top six is certainly within reach. I’ve still got plenty to fight for in these last three races, so as usual I’ll be giving it my maximum for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team.”

Excitement builds as Rossi and Lorenzo take title tussle to ‘The Island’

Administrator — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:37:49 +0000

Phillip Island

The victorious Fiat Yamaha Team make the long trip down under this week for the Australian round of the MotoGP World Championship, fresh from sealing the Teams’ title at the last race in Estoril. Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo have dominated the field this season and the moment of truth is fast approaching – one of the two is now guaranteed to win the title and with just 18 points lying between them this weekend’s action in Phillip Island promises to be exciting.

Rossi suffered a huge disappointment last time out when he was plagued with rear grip issues, which stopped him from making a competitive challenge. He has taken six wins so far this season and holds a cushion of 18 points over Lorenzo, but he knows that a lot can happen in three races and therefore he and his crew will be working tirelessly to ensure that they do not suffer a repeat of their Portuguese difficulties. Rossi cites Phillip Island as one of his favourite tracks and he has stood on the podium ten times in all classes, including an unbeaten five-year winning streak in MotoGP and title winning rides in 2001 and 2004. Last year he blasted through the field from the fourth row to finish second and will be hoping to go one better this time, having not won there since 2006.

Lorenzo heads east on cloud nine, having dominated every session in Portugal before taking a commanding win in the race, his fourth of the season. The Mallorcan drastically narrowed his point deficit in the process and there is now all to play for – and nothing to lose – in the fight for the championship. He won at ‘the Island’ in his 250cc title-winning years of 2006 and 2007 and he, too, says it is one of his favourite places to ride a motorbike. Last year he just missed out on a podium spot but he knows that he needs another top result in order to capitalise on the ground he made up with his Portuguese victory and also confirm the runner-up spot in the championship.

Phillip Island is undoubtedly one of the most dramatic racetracks in the world, perching on the cliffs above the Bass Strait, which always makes for changeable and often cold weather. The circuit is also one of the sternest tests of rider and bike, with its sweeping and flowing nature making for the ultimate challenge of machine control and throttle accuracy, not to mention the sheer bravery required from the rider.

Valentino Rossi – “Two of my best tracks”
“Estoril was a great disappointment but we have to look at the positive and consider that we still came fourth and took 13 points in these conditions. I know that Yamaha have been studying the data very hard to understand what went wrong for us, and we hope that the situation in Phillip Island will be very different. I love this track and have some of the greatest memories of my career there and I really want to be in the best shape for this race. It’s too long since I’ve won there! I think that the championship is going to be a great fight to the end with Lorenzo, but the next two tracks especially are two of my best.”

Jorge Lorenzo – “The most beautiful circuit”
“I am very happy after my fourth victory this year and now my target is to confirm second place in the championship in Australia. I have the chance it if I get a lot of points! This has been my aim all year and I will fight to get it as soon as possible. Phillip Island is a track that I love, it’s always special to race there and in my opinion it’s the most beautiful circuit in the Championship, along with Mugello. You are riding at 250 km/h but you can still see the sea and the birds, it’s incredible! Last year I couldn’t get the on the podium but I will always remember 2007, when I won with 20 seconds gap. All my team is confident and determined to get more good results in these two important weeks!”

Davide Brivio – “Aiming to get back on the podium”
“In Estoril we confirmed the Teams’ title which is a great achievement for everyone because the Fiat Yamaha riders have really dominated this season. Aside from this, it wasn’t such a great weekend for us and we had some unexpected problems to contend with. Our engineers have been working hard to understand what went wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again this weekend, and we’re looking forward to getting back on track and putting it behind us. Valentino has had some fantastic races in Australia but it’s a few years since he’s won there so we will doing everything we can to get back on the podium this weekend and increase our points lead in the title fight.”

Daniele Romagnoli – “More and more interesting”
“This year the championship just keeps getting more and more interesting. After Brno the chances of catching up were very slight but after Jorge’s wins in Indy and Estoril there is a possibility, with just three races to go. For sure it is still very difficult but we will just continue in the same way – working as hard as we can! I think that Phillip Island will be one of the best races of the year. Between them Casey and Valentino have won here many times but this year we must add Jorge to the frame, this is his favourite track!”

Valentino Rossi : Information
Age: 30
Lives: Tavullia, Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 103 (77 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 224 (164 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 58 (47 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
World Championships: 8 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 5 x MotoGP)

Jorge Lorenzo: Information
Age: 22
Lives: Barcelona, Spain
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 26 (5 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 125 (31 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 35 (9 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 2 (250cc, 2006/7)

Phillip Island: Record Lap
N. Hayden (Honda) 2008, 1’30.059

Phillip Island: Best Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1’28.665

Grand Prix Results: Phillip Island 2008
1. C.Stoner (Ducati) 40’56.643
2. V.Rossi (Yamaha) +6.504
3. N. Hayden (Honda) +7.205
4. J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) +11.500