FIM MotoGP World Championship Catalunya, Spain July 4, 2010 Race Results (all using Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (Yamaha), 25 laps, 43:22.805 2. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (Honda), -4.754 seconds 3. Casey STONER, Australia (Ducati), -4.956 4. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Honda), -18.057 5. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (Suzuki), -21.361 6. Ben SPIES, USA (Yamaha), -21.503 7. Loris CAPIROSSI, Italy (Suzuki), -24.181 8. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Ducati), -27.941 9. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Honda), -28.046 10. Hector BARBERA, Spain (Ducati), -32.439 11. Colin EDWARDS, USA (Yamaha), -38.406 12. Mika KALLIO, Finland (Ducati), -58.257 13. Kousuke AKIYOSHI, Japan (Honda), -69.348 14. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (Honda), -92.402, crash 15. Wataru YOSHIKAWA, Japan (Yamaha), -95.237 16. Marco SIMONCELLI, Italy (Honda), -12 laps, DNF, crash 17. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Ducati), -20 laps, DNF, crash World Championship Point Standings (after 7 of 18 races): 1. Lorenzo, 165 points 2. Pedrosa, 113 3. Dovizioso, 91 4. TIE, Hayden/De Puniet, 69 6. Stoner, 67 7. Valentino Rossi, 61 8. Spies, 59 9. TIE, Melandri/Simoncelli/Edwards, 39 12. Barbera, 34 13. Espargaro, 28 14. TIE, Bautista/Capirossi, 25 16. Kallio, 24 17. Aoyama, 18 18. Akiyoshi, 4 19. Yoshikawa, 1 More, from a press releases issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki, Álvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi all recorded their best race finishes of the season so far at the Catalunya Grand Prix in Spain today. Bautista scored a career best MotoGP result of fifth, as he controlled his race from start to finish, before bringing his Suzuki GSV-R home for the team’s best result of the season. He got a good start from ninth on the grid and was up into sixth place at the end of lap one. Bautista benefitted from Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli crashing out when they were in front of the Rizla Suzuki man, but he then never looked like giving up his fifth position, even as he came under pressure from Ben Spies on the final lap. This was a strong end to a very promising weekend for the Spaniard in front of his home fans many of whom were sporting the colours of his own fan club. Capirossi crossed the line just behind his team-mate as he finished the race in seventh place. He was relegated to 10th position early on, but battled back to make a number of passes before deteriorating rear grip became an issue and a safe finish was better than going for glory and risking a crash. Capirossi was pleased with the weekend and is certain that this is the step forward that the team has been looking for. His seventh position, allied with Bautista’s fifth, also gave Rizla Suzuki its best result at a MotoGP event so far in 2010. Today’s’ race was held in very warm conditions and 81,426 fans witnessed another home star take victory as Jorge Lorenzo won his third consecutive Grand Prix to strengthen his lead at the top of the championship. Rizla Suzuki now has a weekend off, after the busy three-week back-to-back races, before it heads to Sachsenring in Germany for the next round of the season on Sunday 18th July. Álvaro Bautista: “I am very happy because this fifth position is like winning the race after the last few races we’ve had. We really needed this result, for me, for my team and especially for Suzuki. I was very strong all weekend and was confident that I could do a good race here. I was very concentrated at the start because I knew if I could start well I could stay with the group in front. I did that, but I did have a bit of a problem in the race with the hard-braking places because I didn’t feel that the bike was entering the corners like in the practice. I got a good rhythm in the race and tried to control what was going on behind me and go for a good result. In the last laps I saw that Spies was coming very fast and I tried to push a bit more, but the rear tyre was used up and I couldn’t do any more, so I rode tight for the last lap to make sure I got fifth position. I want to say thank-you to all my team, to Suzuki and the sponsors Rizla and especially everybody that is here to support me, all my fans and family.” Loris Capirossi: “I want to say well done to the whole team because this is the first real result of the whole year. For sure we did a good job all weekend, but we made a mistake with the tyre for the race. All the information we had said that it was impossible to use the softer tyre for the race and we used our ones in practice because we didn’t think we’d need them for this afternoon, but in the end I was the only rider with a harder tyre in the warm-up and I had a bit of a problem with grip and then in the race I was one of the only ones with the harder compound and I struggled a lot with feeling at the start. It worked well in the middle of the race, but the performance dropped for the last four laps and I struggled to keep a good rhythm. This is the first time this year I have felt that the bike has been right and this for us is a really important thing.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “I am so pleased for Álvaro here today, because to see him come back from his injury and the problems it’s caused him in the last few weeks to such a high level, is a fantastic achievement. He thoroughly deserved his top-five finish. Loris also looked strong especially in the middle of the race and only lost out to Ben in the final laps when a finish rather than a crash – as his rear grip dropped away significantly – was the right decision. The team prepared well for the race today, but most importantly the riders have some belief back in the bike and in their ability to push hard. From a riding performance and a bike setting point of view, hopefully this is the start of our season.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Lorenzo makes it three in a row, this time using a softer rear in Catalunya Round 7: Catalunya GP Race Catalunya, Sunday 4 July 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Hard, Extra Hard (asymmetric) Jorge Lorenzo took his third victory in a row at Catalunya today in tricky conditions. He and his Yamaha M1 machine used the harder front and softer rear Bridgestone slicks most efficiently on a hot and slippery track. After witnessing the performance of the softer slicks during yesterday’s qualifying session, during which they proved their durability and consistency even in such hot conditions, the softer option rear tyre became the preferred race tyre for many riders. Only Randy de Puniet, Loris Capirossi, Mika Kallio and Wataru Yoshikawa opted for the harder rear tyre for the race. The softer rear slick proved to be the winning choice, being used by the top three riders. Every rider with the exception of Hector Barbera favoured the harder front slick tyre because of the high track temperature which reached 55 degrees Celsius. The heavy braking points and the condition of the tarmac, which was not helped by the high temperature, tested the durability of the front tyres as the front-runners pushed hard in their respective battles. Tyre performance was consistent though and the final laps of Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner were within 0.9seconds of their respective best efforts, which came within the first three laps of the 25-lap race. Hiroshi Yasukawa Director, Bridgestone Motorsport “Congratulations to Jorge and the Fiat Yamaha Team for their third victory in a row today. Spain is an important market for us and it is great to see that MotoGP is so popular in this region. We invited many guests and VIPs to the circuit this weekend to experience Bridgestone’s activity in MotoGP, and this showcase of our technology continues to be very valuable for driving sales and OE supply negotiations. Our track signage was strong in Catalunya too and I am happy that through television and photography this helps us communicate the Bridgestone brand to a worldwide audience. I am looking forward to our involvement in many more grands prix.” Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “Last year we brought the same tyre specifications to Catalunya and every rider chose the harder options. This year however even with a higher track temperature the softer option rear worked best in the race so I am very pleased with this and it shows how much the teams have improved their bike packages on our single supply tyres. Front tyre wear appearance was good but, as some riders experienced, such hot conditions like today can affect front stability under hard braking at this kind of tough circuit. Many riders were fighting for position until the end and with the high track temperature, the circuit’s nature and the less than ideal track conditions, this made the challenge for the tyres quite severe, but the timesheets show that the consistency of both the front and rear slicks over race distance was good.” Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team Race Winner “It was a hard race but I think we rode an intelligent and clever one. The track conditions were worse than ever, especially for the front tyre. From the first corner the track felt slippery, but fortunately the front tyre didn’t drop so much by the end and I could be consistent. I didn’t know which rear tyre to use for the race, but we didn’t want to take any risks so we chose the softer tyre that it looked like everyone would use. It was a difficult race but for this finish I am so happy. It’s been an almost perfect start to the season and to win five races in seven is better than all my dreams.” Top ten classification (Sunday 14:00 GMT+2) Pos. Rider Team Race time Gap Front spec Rear spec Tyres 1 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 43m22.805s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 2 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 43m27.559s +4.754s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 3 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 43m27.761s +4.956s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 4 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 43m40.862s +18.057s Hard Extra Hard Bridgestone slick 5 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43m44.166s +21.361s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 6 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 43m44.308s +21.504s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 7 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43m46.986s +24.181s Hard Extra Hard Bridgestone slick 8 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 43m50.746s +27.941s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 9 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 43m50.851s +28.046s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 10 Hector Barbera Paginas Amarillas Aspar 43m55.244s +32.439s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick Weather: Dry. Ambient 33°C; Track 55°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Jorge Lorenzo became the first Yamaha rider to win three successive premier class races from pole position since Eddie Lawson back in 1986, when he took his fifth victory of his 2010 campaign at today’s Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. The Mallorcan is now 52 points clear at the top of the championship standings as a result of his phenomenal run of form and his second win on home soil this season. Dani Pedrosa made one of his trademark rapid starts from the second row to lead into Turn 1, but he then ran wide coming out and had dropped down to ninth by the end of the first lap. It was an error Pedrosa managed to recover from in the early laps however, as he quickly fought his way back to third. Aleix Espargaró had a run-off as he pushed hard to move up the order and Andrea Dovizioso started a fight for the lead with Lorenzo on lap three when he overtook to move into first, but it was a lead Lorenzo regained on the next lap as the battle lines were drawn. Running in third place, Casey Stoner ran off track shortly after and dropped to fifth as Randy de Puniet and Pedrosa came through. Espargaró then suffered disappointment in his home race when he crashed out on lap six. Lap 14 proved to be an eventful one as first Marco Simoncelli crashed out of sixth place, as he chased his best premier class finish to date. Then, in a decisive moment for the race, Dovizioso also went down as he pushed himself when chasing Lorenzo at the front, rejoining the race in 15th place shortly after. With that, Lorenzo was clear by just over 5.5s with less than half the race to go, and Stoner and Pedrosa began duelling for second place with de Puniet further back in fourth. Lorenzo’s lead proved to be too much and he crossed the line 4.754s clear to take his fifth win of the season. Pedrosa won the scrap for second by just two-tenths of a second from Stoner, as the podium of the previous round at Assen was repeated. Fourth place and his best result of the campaign so far went to de Puniet after yet another impressive ride on the satellite RC212V of the LCR Honda team. In fifth with a superb ride was rookie Álvaro Bautista, as he produced a magnificent effort on his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R. Ben Spies continued his progress with sixth place on another new circuit, and Loris Capirossi, Nicky Hayden, Marco Melandri on his return from a dislocated shoulder and fractured sternum and Héctor Barberá all finished inside the top ten, with Dovizioso eventually finishing 14th. Lorenzo now has 165 points with Pedrosa on 113 in second. Dovizioso remains third on 91, with Hayden, de Puniet and Stoner all leapfrogging the absent Valentino Rossi to fill positions four to six. Moto2 Yuki Takahashi took his first Grand Prix victory since 2006 when he won today’s somewhat chaotic Moto2 race at the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. The Tech 3 rider won from second place on the grid, profiting from a mistake by Andrea Iannone who was penalised for overtaking at Turn 1 when the yellow flags were out. A typically frantic Moto2 start was marred by a huge crash in Turn 1 as Alex Debón, Mike di Meglio, Roberto Rolfo, Robertino Pietri, Shoya Tomizawa, Héctor Faubel, Dominique Aegerter, Sergio Gadea and Alex Baldolini all went down. Clear of the pile up were Thomas Lüthi, Toni Elías, Takahashi, Iannone and Julián Simón and it was this group that ended battling for the top positions throughout the race. With the yellow flag still out from the opening lap and no overtaking therefore allowed, Iannone’s move on Takahashi to assume the lead resulted in the Italian being demoted back to second, a message his team tried desperately to convey to him but without success. Shortly after Niccolò Canepa crashed out at Turn 9 and his bike caught fire in dramatic fashion, and Ratthapark Wilairot was another faller as the pace remained at the limit. With eight laps remaining and Iannone not having taken his demotion the Italian was issued with a Ride Through penalty – he eventually finished 13th – and his surrendering of the lead placed Takahashi at the head of the race. Following behind the Japanese rider were Lüthi and Simón, but at a distance of almost five seconds as the end of the race approached. Victory was therefore safe for Takahashi and he crossed the line 5.037s clear of the pair, who fought to the last corner with Lüthi edging it by just 0.163s for his third successive podium. Simón’s third place was his third podium of the 2010 campaign. Completing the top six were Karel Abraham, Toni Elías and Simone Corsi. There was a spectacular crash for Carmelo Morales as he tried to slipstream Kenny Noyes for seventh on the start/finish straight. Apart from a minor contusion on his hand the substitute rider was uninjured in the crash. The race result means Elías remains at the top of the standings on 111 points, with Lüthi second on 94 and Simón third on 77. Tomizawa is fourth, just a point behind Simón, after his DNF today. 125cc Marc Márquez became the youngest ever rider to take four successive Grand Prix wins today when he triumphed in the 125cc Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. Taking the record off Valentino Rossi, the 17 year-old Spaniard won by a comfortable margin as he underlined his dominance of the category with his third victory from pole position. Bradley Smith got a fantastic start from the front row and led into Turn 1 but when he ran wide at the exit it was Márquez who took advantage to shoot through and immediately start building an early lead as the field settled into their rhythm. Unfortunately for Esteve Rabat his race was ended prematurely as it had been in the previous round at Assen when he crashed out at Turn 10 on the opening lap. Randy Krummenacher made an impressive start to rise from 14th to seventh, whilst towards the front a battle for second started to settle between Smith, Nico Terol and Pol Espargaró, as they became detached from the remainder of the field and Márquez continue to build his lead. There were further fallers in the form of Alexis Masbou and Sturla Fagerhaug as they pushed for positions further down the field, but the real battle was unfolding between the trio competing for the remaining two podium positions. Luis Salom was forced to retire shortly after. As the final quarter of the race approached Márquez had established an unassailable lead, which stood at close to four seconds, but Smith, Espargaró and Terol were incredibly closely matched as they engaged in a tactical contest. The distance back to fifth placed Sandro Cortese had stretched to almost 40 seconds as the last two laps beckoned. Drama on the final lap saw Terol try to make a move but have to pull back suddenly to avoid hitting Espargaró and he ran wide and dropped to the back of the trio. The tension peaked further when the Bancaja Aspar rider then had a highside as he pushed hard, ending his participation. That left Smith to take his second podium of the season and cross the line in second place at 4.638s off winner Márquez. Espargaró was a further 0.358s back as he took third. Cortese won the battle with Efrén Vázquez for fourth place, with Tomoyoshi Koyama sixth and Krummenacher seventh. Johann Zarco, Jonas Folger and Danny Webb completed the top ten. The result moved Márquez onto 132 points and into top spot in the standings, with Espargaró now second at just a point behind. Terol’s non-finish means he is now third on 118, with Smith remaining in fourth and now on 94 points. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA SECOND IN CATALUNYA, DOVIZIOSO LEADS THEN FALLS Dani Pedrosa took a closely-fought second place in an action-packed Grand Prix of Catalunya for the Repsol Honda Team today. It was a brilliant result for the 24-year-old Spaniard who came close to disaster on lap one when he was forced to run wide in the first corner and dropped back to 11th place, before mounting a rapid recovery. For Andrea Dovizioso a great early race ended in disappointment after he had battled for the lead for with today’s winner Jorge Lorenzo for 15 laps. The Italian set what was to be the fastest lap of the race today, but was unfortunate to fall as he entered turn nine, recovering to finish 14th. Pedrosa was not to be denied at least a podium finish today – in spite of his first lap drama which saw a front end shake cause a momentary loss of braking power as he led into turn one. He immediately mounted a spirited fight-back, recovering an amazing five positions before the first lap was over and another place on lap two. Pedrosa moved forward again when he overtook the LCR Honda of Randy De Puniet on lap six and quickly inherited one more position when Casey Stoner ran wide – also in turn one. Now in third, Pedrosa benefitted from his team-mate’s misfortune when Andrea Dovizioso fell from second position, and Pedrosa spent the rest of the race skillfully fending off Casey Stoner behind him. The gap as they crossed the line was rarely more than two tenths of a second and Stoner was a menacing presence for the final 10 laps. But Pedrosa rode immaculately in spite of low front-end grip and never gave the Australian a chance to get past – crossing the line just 4.754s behind Lorenzo and 0.202s in front of Stoner. Andrea Dovizioso made a good start from sixth on the grid and was hugely impressive in the opening laps, closing in on Lorenzo and taking the fight to the Spaniard as the pair stretched away at the front of the field. On lap three Dovizioso set the fastest l ap of the race and he took the lead from Lorenzo on lap four, before settling in behind once more and applying constant pressure in second place for 12 of the 25 laps. In spite of his impressive pace, Dovizioso was having an issue with his rear brake on the way into corners, and entering the tight left hander at the end of the back straight he was unfortunate to fall. The Italian remounted however, and recovered one position to finish 14th. Despite the disappointing result, today’s display from Dovizioso underlines his burgeoning status as a MotoGP frontrunner. The MotoGP series now pauses briefly for one weekend before heading to Sachsenring near Dresden in readiness for the German Grand Prix, which takes place on Sunday 18 July. DANI PEDROSA 2nd World Championship position: 2nd 113 points “I made a really good start and was leading towards turn one. I had a bit of a front end shake on the way to the first corner but I didn’t think anything of it until I hit the brakes and”¦ for a moment there was nothing. I was surprised because it was not such a bit shake, but anyway I pumped a few times and it came back, but by then it was too late and I had to run wide. I took it slowly to get back on track because I didn’t want to be to be penalised [for cutting the corner]. And then I tried to recover as quickly as possible and make up the positions I’d lost. I got past Casey when he made a mistake and we raced together for many laps. I was pushing as hard as possible but we had a bit of a front end issue through the race and the front end was closing in the corners – I think many riders were having this problem today though. I was able to hang on until the end of the race though and I’m happy enough with second place after that first lap. We’ve linked two good results together which was our target and now we must maintain this consistence and fight for the win at the next races.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 14th World Championship position: 3rd 91 points “Today we had a really good race pace and we could have fought with Lorenzo for the win at the end of the race. Unfortunately though, from lap one my rear brake was not really working properly in the last part of the corner entry and this gave me some problems entering corners and mid corner. I was still able to be fast, but this issue put more weight on the front, it was very difficult to control – I was always at the limit. Then at turn nine of 15 lap I went a little bit over the limit and crashed. It’s a pity but I have to take the positives from today – and fighting at the front of the race is where we want to be and we achieved that for a time today. Anyway, I’m happy with my performance, and I’m sorry for the team because we are all working hard. Next time we’ll aim to be back up front again.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “This was a bitter sweet day for the Repsol Honda Team on a few counts. On the plus side, Dani recovered very well from a problematic first lap and rode very well to take second. Also Andrea’s battle for the lead with Lorenzo is hugely positive and proves his ever-increasing pace. Of course we’re also a little disappointed about what could have been because both riders had the chance of victory today but it didn’t work out for us. We go to the next race confident that we have enough performance to fight for victories, and we will continue to strive to improve further.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO SCORES A HAT-TRICK WITH EMPHATIC HOME WIN Jorge Lorenzo took an emphatic home win in front of a passionate Catalan crowd at Montmeló this afternoon, his fifth victory of the season and third in a row. This means that Yamaha now has more wins than any other manufacturer in the four-stroke MotoGP era, with 57. Wataru Yoshikawa, standing in for the injured Valentino Rossi, put in a brave performance to finish 15th in extremely hot conditions, taking a championship point in the process. Starting from pole, also for the third consecutive race, Lorenzo lost ground to Dani Pedrosa into turn one but his fellow Spaniard then ran wide, leaving the Fiat Yamaha man in the lead. The next few laps saw Lorenzo at the head of a tight trio, as Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner pushed hard to stay with him. Early on lap four the Italian Dovizioso briefly got his nose in front but Lor enzo soon got back by him to lead once again the next time around. On lap six the trio became a twosome when Stoner ran off track, but it looked like Lorenzo might have a battle on his hands as Dovizioso showed no signs of letting him get away. With ten laps to go however Dovizioso crashed out, leaving Lorenzo nearly six seconds clear of Pedrosa in second. From then on it was just a case of keeping his head as the tyres started to slide more and more in the extreme heat, but the 23-year-old is a cool customer these days and he eventually flew over the line 4.754 seconds ahead of Pedrosa, with Stoner third. Lorenzo has taken a hat-trick of wins once before in his career, in his 250cc days, and is the first Yamaha rider to take three wins from three poles since Eddie Lawson in 1986. Having not raced competitively since 2002, Yamaha test rider Yoshikawa was faced with a near impossible task this weekend in the testing conditions at a track he had never see n before. The 41-year-old fought on to the finish however, gathering important information for the M1’s future development in the process, and was rewarded with a championship point for his efforts. Lorenzo now has an impressive 52-point lead in the standings ahead of Pedrosa, whilst Rossi drops to seventh after missing four races. Following three punishing weeks on the road, the MotoGP paddock now has a ten-day rest before it reconvenes at the Sachsenring in Germany for round eight. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 1st Time: 43’22.805 “This is very special. After losing so closely last year I was happy but not completely so and today I can say I am completely happy, winning here at my home race. It was very difficult today because it was so hot and the front tyre was sliding a lot. I thought I was going to have a big battle with Dovizioso because he was pushing very hard but then he crashed and I was alone; it was lucky for me because then I was able to take it more gently to the finish. I think I rode a clever race today. I am so grateful to my team and to everyone at Yamaha and Bridgestone because they are working so hard to make our bike competitive at every track. I also want to say thank you to all the fans that came to watch today, it is a great feeling for me to win here in front of them all.” Wataru Yoshikawa Position: 15 Time: +1’35.237 “It was really hard to ride in the heat plus after eight years without racing 25 laps is a lot, but I am really happy to finish and to win one point. I hope that this experience will help me at Sachsenring and in my future work. I have really enjoyed working with the best team in the paddock; they were quick and professional at the same time as being relaxed and friendly and the atmosphere in the garage was great. I am glad that I have had the chance to work with them.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “What can we say? Five races won out of seven, three in a row…it’s amazing. I was a little bit worried about this one because it’s Barcelona, Jorge’s home track and there was maybe a little bit more pressure for him, I think he was even a little bit nervous! But finally we decided to use the same tyre as the others and just go for it. He was under pressure from Dovizioso plus Moto2 had changed the grip conditions quite a lot so the race pace was quite a lot slower, but he was clever and smart, stayed on two wheels and won the race. Well done to him and to our whole team.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “We are really happy that Wataru was able to finish and he really deserved this championship point. He did very well this weekend in an extremely difficult situation; it was very hot, he’s been away from racing a long time and he didn’t know the track so I think he can be happy with what he has achieved.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BRAVE 4th FINISH IN MONTMELÓ GIVES DE PUNIET 5th PLACE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP Montmeló, 04 July: the LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet got a brave 4th place in today’s 25-lap Grand Prix of Catalunya at Montmeló race track ahead 81.426 warm fans. The seventh round of the season got underway at 14:00 local time and was held in sweltering conditions with ambience temperature of 35 degrees with riders struggling with the extreme heat and grip issues. De Puniet posted the third fastest lap time in yesterdays qualifying placing his machinery on the front row for the third consecutive time. The hyper-fit Frenchman seemed to thrive in the 35C heat, sliding the rear wheel of his Honda RC212V off the long corners of the 4.727k track north of Barcelona. At the end of the first run the 29-yeard-old was 4th and was able to nearly match the pace of the leaders in the first laps. Thanks to his impressive result LCR French racer holds the 5th position in the world classification with 69 points. De Puniet 4th De Puniet : “We have decided to go with the harder tyre and I struggled a bit with rear edge-grip in the beginning. I took a bad start from the front row but immediately push to catch the three riders in the front and after that my race pace was exactly what we were expecting. So I took the fourth position and decided to keep my rhythm till the end as I could easily control the gap to the other riders. Simoncelli tried to catch me but he made a mistake and crashed out. I knew I could get my best result of the season here and this 4th place is simply fantastic for me and the guys. We now hold 5thplace in the world classification as best private Team and we keep on working in this direction to place our Honda in the front at every GP of the season”. More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: UNLUCKY RACE FOR THE PRAMAC RACING TEAM IN CATALUNYA. KALLIO TWELFTH, ESPARGARO’ RETIRED A really unlucky Grand Prix of Cataluña for the Pramac Racing Team. Aleix Espargarò has slipped during the fifth lap, when he was in eleventh position and while, thanks to a good rhythm, was reducing the gap from the riders in front of him. Good start for Mika Kallio who started from fifteenth position made it to conclude the first lap conquering two positions. The Finn rider was able to ride well for a couple of laps but he had to give up to other riders who had a better rhythm compared to him. He concluded the race in twelfth position and therefore gained four world championship points. Next appointment is in fifteen days at the Sachsenring, where the “green” riders will have the opportunity to revenge today’s opaque performance. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “Probably one of the worst race of the season for us. Aleix was really competitive during every session, but today he slipped twice, once in the warm up and once in the race, and this has compromised his home weekend. It’s a pity because Aleix deserved to conquer a good result for the good work he was doing. For what it concern Mika, instead, we didn’t make it to find the right way to follow and today’s race is the proof of it. Almost a minute of distance from the first rider is really too much. From Sachsenring, which is one of his favorite track, we will have to change a lot.” Mika Kallio – Pilota Pramac Racing Team – 12th in the race – 16th of the World Championship “What to say, I couldn’t go any way faster and I couldn’t conquer any more positions. I was riding at least one second slower at every lap compare to the riders in front of me. I made a very good start and this has allowed me to gain some position in the first lap. It has been a difficult weekend for me and for my Team that has worked hard to give me the best bike possible. We will have to make up for this result in the next Grand Prix in Germany.” Aleix Espargarò – Pilota Pramac Raing Team – DNF – 13th of the World Championship “I’m very sad. After the positive results I have done in the last Gran Prix, I was hoping to have a good result also on this track. This morning I had a great lap time during the warm up and I was having good hopes for the today’s race. I was also able to have a very good start, something that has not happened in previous races. This morning during the warm up I had some problems with the front, problems that have recurred also in the race. During the first lap I have overtake Hayden, then its trajectory at the end of the braking line was a bit large and I went off the track to try to not hit him. Thanks to the security street I didn’t fall and I had to cut the first curve so that I have regaining my position. During the fifth lap I was pushing hard to reduce the gap that Capirossi had ahead of me. Unfortunately, in a corner my bike had closed the steering wheel while I was braking and the bike slipped on the asphalt. I tried to get back in the race but unfortunately my bike was off. I am very sorry for not being able to finish the race in front of my fans, but I am aware of the growth that we were able to do in the recent races. We must always continue to improve our results.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Top six for Spies in scorching hot Spain Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies maintained his excellent recent form in today’s Catalunya MotoGP race, the Texan producing a strong late attack to claim his third successive top six finish. Starting from fifth on the grid, Spies found it difficult to find a consistent and fast pace in the opening half of the 25-lap encounter and he dropped down to 10th. Adapting his style to cope with the lack of grip as track temperatures soared to 49 degrees, Spies was able to up his pace dramatically in the final ten laps. He passed Marco Melandri on lap 18 for seventh position after Italian duo Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli had crashed out of the top six. Showing his supreme strength once again on worn tyres, Spies was able to lap consistently in the 1.44 bracket and he quickly closed down on Loris Capirossi for sixth. He swept by the Suzuki rider on lap 23 and then embarked on a hot pursuit of home favourite Alvaro Bautista. But despite a gallant effort to catch the Spaniard, Spies just missed out on fifth by under 0.2s. Fellow Texan Colin Edwards maintained his record of scoring points in every race so far in 2010. But 11th was little reward for the American’s gritty performance. A sluggish start cost Edwards five places on the opening lap but he fought back superbly and claimed 11th from compatriot Nicky Hayden on lap nine. But just as he prepared to shadow team-mate Spies he ran into front-end grip issues and eventually had to settle for 11th position. Ben Spies 6th 59-points “I got an okay start but got shuffled around in the first couple of corners but I’m not really happy with today. We didn’t have the grip that the other guys have in the first ten laps and that lost me some places. When everybody had a big drop with their tyre performance and they were sliding and moving around, they were in the same boat as me and I could go through the field. For the last ten laps I was probably the fourth quickest guy on track. But coming from where I was it was the best result I could get. I rode as hard as I could and did everything I could. I made a couple of small mistakes and definitely should have been fifth. I’d have caught Bautista in time to pass him but I took too long to get around Loris. I’m not really satisfied with sixth because a couple of guys crashed out in front of me and that helped make us look a bit better.” Colin Edwards 11th 39-points “That was a tough race. I had big problems all weekend and I tried a completely different set-up this morning. I put some more weight on the front and it seemed to work this morning when the temperature was a bit cooler. At the start of the race it felt good, even though I got an awful start. But I started pushing really hard and was able to get ahead of Nicky but immediately I started having a lot of trouble on the right side of the front tyre. After that it wasn’t a whole lot of fun because I couldn’t ride the bike how I wanted and kept running wide. I tried carrying less lean angle but nothing I could do was going to help me go any faster. I was riding as hard as I could and finished but 11th is not where I expect to be or where the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team expects to be.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “We are a little bit disappointed with the race today because it was clear that in the final laps that Ben was very strong as always. He did a race simulation yesterday and was really fast, so we felt quite confident. But he was unable to repeat that performance and had an issue in the first ten laps where he couldn’t push at the pace he wanted. But he came back really strong and unfortunately it was just too late to finish fifth. But I’d say in the last ten laps he was easily the fourth fastest rider on track and with a better first half to the race, I think fourth was a possibility. But another top six keeps the momentum going for Ben and he’s only ten-points off fourth place in the championship. Colin was the opposite and he had a very strong first ten laps but he was unable to keep his pace. As usual though he never gave up and continued to push and it was a shame because he deserved much better. It has been a hectic period in whi ch the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 has done well in MotoGP, so we hope for a good rest ahead of the Sachsenring and then a big race for Ben and Colin at Laguna Seca.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER ON THE PODIUM IN CATALUNYA, HAYDEN EIGHTH Casey Stoner picked up his second consecutive podium in Catalunya today, repeating his third-place finish from Assen eight days ago, whilst his team-mate Nicky Hayden, who struggled to find the right balance for his Desmosedici GP10 in practice, finished in eighth place a result that lifts him to fourth in the championship. Stoner, who himself moves up to sixth overall, came through a demanding race after making a good start to follow early leaders Lorenzo and Dovizioso as they opened up a gap over the field. An off-track excursion on the fifth lap ruled him out of the chase for victory but he returned to the track in determined fashion to pull himself back into the podium hunt. After three back-to-back races the Ducati Marlboro Team now has a week to rest before returning to action on the 18th July at Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3° “I made a decent start and managed to pull away from the others along with “Dovi” and Lorenzo. Unfortunately after a few laps I made a mistake, without which I think I could have stayed with them for the whole race I just ran wide under braking and lost a lot of time. The bike felt more balanced in the second half of the race and I was able to make up a bit of ground but once I caught Dani I just couldn’t find a way past him. He rode really well – clean and faultless, without leaving me a single gap. To be honest I am a little disappointed but another podium is good for us and we have to be positive. We are working well, my feeling with the bike is good after the last three races and now we have to start making the most of our potential. NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) 8° “What a tough race! We thought we had found something in the warm-up this morning using a worn tyre but in the race with the extra grip from a new tyre the balance just wasn’t the same. I was really struggling over the first few laps and held myself up on my elbow a couple of times. The situation improved in the second half of the race, I was able to push a little harder to the point where I thought I could make up some positions. I lost too much time behind Melandri though and we finished eighth. It’s not a great result but at least we have brought some points home and we’re now fourth in the championship. If we want to stay there we have to do much better and get back to the level we were at a couple of races ago.” Vittoriano Guareschi, Team Manager “It is another podium but we hoped for more after a positive warm-up that didn’t really bear fruit in the race. But I am happy to see that Casey is back to being”¦ well, Casey! Even after running off track he recovered with a lot of determination and tried his best to the end but he could do no more than he did. Nicky hasn’t had a great weekend in general he hasn’t been able to find a balance for the bike but he has picked up some important points. We have to work hard to get back to the level we set ourselves at the start of the season.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: PEDROSA SECOND IN RACE AND CHAMPIONSHIP Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) solidified his hold on second in the MotoGP World Championship with a fine second place in his home grand prix before a crowd of 81,426 on a sweltering afternoon at the Circuit of Catalunya. The race was won by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), with Casey Stoner (Ducati) third, the trio completing an identical podium to last week’s Dutch TT. Pedrosa, racing in front of friends and family from his nearby hometown of Sabadell, got the jump on the 17-rider field as they sped down the kilometer-long front straight. But a front end shake on the run to turn one had knocked his brake pads back and he arrived at the highest speed point on the track with no brakes. Pedrosa made the split second decision to ride onto the tarmac run-off. He rejoined the field in ninth place. From there it was a fight to the front, with Pedrosa gaining spots quickly. He was fifth by the second lap, third by the sixth and into second on lap 16. His elevation into second came at the expense of teammate Andrea Dovizioso. Dovizioso had gotten away with Lorenzo and matched him corner for corner, even taking the lead on the fourth lap. Then Lorenzo took advantage of a mistake by Dovizioso to reclaim the lead and controlled the pace. The Italian was riding hard to keep pace with Lorenzo. From the start of the race his rear brake wasn’t working properly, which made it difficult to settle the rear of the machine for corner entry. He was able to be fast, but there was added pressure on the front and he was always on the limit. The aggressive riding finally caught up with him. Dovizioso was within half a second of Lorenzo when he lost the front end and crashed entering turn 10, the entrance to the stadium. He remounted and rode dust-covered to 14th, and two valuable championship points. Once in second Pedrosa was under pressure from Stoner, but remained steadfast and took his fourth podium of the season. It was also his second in a row, which he believes shows that he’s able to demonstrate the consistency needed to remain in the championship fight. He now has 113 championship points to 165 for Lorenzo after seven of 18 races. Dovizioso sits third with 91. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) came into the race better prepared than ever. He had the advantage of a new chassis and forks, supplied by Honda in recognition of his recent results, which he put to good use by qualifying third fastest. For the race de Puniet took a gamble on his rear tire. On a day of 49C track temperatures, the Frenchman was the only Honda rider, and one of only four riders in the 17-rider field, to opt for the harder Bridgestone rear. De Puniet was hoping it would give him an advantage over the second half of the race, but it wasn’t so. Instead he moved into a solitary fourth on the 15th lap and rode it home. Still, the result was his best of the season and moved de Puniet into a tie for fourth in the championship with Nicky Hayden (Ducati), and sole honors as top non-factory rider. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) rode valiantly to finish just behind Hayden in ninth place. Melandri was riding just over a week after separating his left shoulder at Assen and in considerable pain. Braking was difficult and by the end of the race he was relying heavily on the right side of his body. He held Hayden off until the three laps from the end. Even when he was in ninth, Melandri never gave up and missed out on eighth by just over .1s. Kousuke Akiyoshi finished his second and final ride on the Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V by scoring three championship points, his most ever. The 35-year-old Honda test rider, who was riding in place of the injured Hiroshi Aoyama, came out on top of a friendly battle with fellow test rider Wataru Yoshikawa, 41, of Yamaha. Akiyoshi learned a great deal about racing at the grand prix level and will put it to good use as he returns to his job as a test rider in Japan. Akiyoshi will be replaced at the next grand prix in Germany in two weeks’ time by Alex de Angelis, the former MotoGP rider who’s racing for RSM Team Scot in Moto2 this season. The team has said the San Marinese remain on the bike until Aoyama is fit to return. No date has been set. When Aoyama does return, de Angelis will return to his Moto2 duties with RSM Team Scot. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) was on pace for a career best result when his day came to a premature end. Like de Puniet, Simoncelli had the use of a revised chassis and forks in Spain. The tall, lanky Italian used them to good effect by finishing the first lap in fifth, then slotting into a secure sixth on lap two. He was pushing de Puniet when he let off the brakes too early and the front end washed away on the 14th lap. And, despite his first race crash of the season, the MotoGP rookie came away encouraged with his form and the progress the team has made. The Moto2 race began with a massive crash in the first turn that would have a profound effect on the outcome of the race. It was hard to assign blame for what happened, but it appeared there was some overaggressive riding mid-pack which caused a chain reaction that sent eight riders to the ground with several more forced to take evasive action. Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2) was ahead of the carnage and sped into the lead, unhindered by a broken collarbone which had been mended exactly one week earlier. He was leading on lap two when what would turn out to be a critical mistake took place. Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up) passed Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3) under a waving yellow in the turn one crash site, a clear violation. Within a few laps a marshal held a sign with his number and a “-1,” meaning he should move back one position, but it was clear he didn’t know what it meant. His team tried similar communications, both with their arms and with their pit board, but nothing worked and Iannone was assessed a ride-through penalty, which he served on the 16th of 23 laps. As soon as Iannone pulled into the pit lane, Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3) took the lead and sped to victory, his first in the MotoGP class and the first for the Tech 3 team. Takahashi also had two wins on a 250. The margin of victory was 5.037s. Luthi overcame the discomfort of his recently mended collarbone to emerge victorious over Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter). Luthi passed the Spaniard on the 22nd lap and beat him to the flag by .163s. A spirited battle for fourth went to Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing, FTR) over Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) and Simone Corsi (JIR Moto2, Motobi). Despite finishing sixth, Elias continues to lead the championship with 111 points. Luthi moved into second with 94, with Simon third at 77. Shoya Tomizawa (Techomag-CIP, Suter), who came to Spain second in the points, crashed on the fifth lap. He’d been relegated to the back of the field after avoiding the first turn disaster. Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125 Team) scored points for the third time this season with a 14th place finish in the 125cc race which was won by Marc Marquez (Derbi). Having had less success in Assen last week, the young German vowed to do better and he did. Though he didn’t get the best of starts, Schrotter methodically attacked the riders in front. Having finished the first lap in 19th, Schrotter continued his march making his final pass on the last of 22 laps. Now, after three consecutive races, the paddock can take a breather before reconvening at the Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix on the weekend of July 16-18. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V): 2nd “I made a really good start and was leading towards turn one. I had a bit of a front end shake on the way to the first corner but I didn’t think anything of it until I hit the brakes and”¦ for a moment there was nothing. I was surprised because it was not such a bit shake, but anyway I pumped a few times and it came back, but by then it was too late and I had to run wide. I took it slowly to get back on track because I didn’t want to be to be penalised [for cutting the corner]. And then I tried to recover as quickly as possible and make up the positions I’d lost. I got past Casey when he made a mistake and we raced together for many laps. I was pushing as hard as possible but we had a bit of a front end issue through the race and the front end was closing in the corners – I think many riders were having this problem today though. I was able to hang on until the end of the race though and I’m happy enough with second place after that first lap. We’ve linked two good results together which was our target and now we must maintain this consistence and fight for the win at the next races.” Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V): 4th “We have decided to go with the harder tyre and I struggled a bit with rear edge-grip in the beginning. I took a bad start from the front row but immediately push to catch the three riders in the front and after that my race pace was exactly what we were expecting. So I took the fourth position and decided to keep my rhythm till the end, as I could easily control the gap to the other riders. Simoncelli tried to catch me but he made a mistake and crashed out. I knew I could get my best result of the season here and this fourth place is simply fantastic for me and the guys. We now hold fifth place in the world classification as best private team and we keep on working in this direction to place our Honda in the front at every GP of the season.” Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V): 9th “That was a tough race really tough. The temperature was incredible but the heat was the least of my worries and I was struggling most of all with my condition under braking. I could hardly get the bike stopped in the first corner, but my pace was good and I was hopeful of following Spies and Capirossi to the end. Unfortunately, I made a couple of mistakes and I started to feel more and more pain. I was practically riding using only the right side of my body and when the front started to lose grip it was hard for me to hold on. I made one last attempt to pass Hayden at the end but I couldn’t hold it on the brakes so it was impossible. “ Kousuke Akiyoshi (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V): 15th “The race today was a big thing for me and it was quite difficult as well. I am a test rider and I work in a different way than the MotoGP riders. But the experience was a lot of fun for me. I would like to come back one day.” Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V): 14th “Today we had a really good race pace and we could have fought with Lorenzo for the win at the end of the race. Unfortunately though, from lap one my rear brake was not really working properly in the last part of the corner entry and this gave me some problems entering corners and mid-corner. I was still able to be fast, but this issue put more weight on the front, it was very difficult to control – I was always at the limit. Then at turn nine of 15th lap I went a little bit over the limit and crashed. It’s a pity but I have to take the positives from today – and fighting at the front of the race is where we want to be and we achieved that for a time today. Anyway, I’m happy with my performance, and I’m sorry for the team because we are all working hard. Next time we’ll aim to be back up front again.” Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V): DNF “I was on course for the result we had hoped for and thought we were capable of. I knew if I could be consistent I could be up near the front and in fact I was setting low 1’44s. I was catching De Puniet but then I let off the brakes a little too early as I entered the corner and the front folded. What a shame! Today we were capable of finishing fourth and that would have given us a massive boost. We have made progress but it would be nice to just have that extra injection of morale. Now we are even more sure that we have taken big steps forward over the past three races but mistakes can happen. It is my first race crash but we didn’t want it! “ MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3): 1st “I am a little bit speechless right now because I expected to be on the podium but this win is like a dream for me. Luckily I got on the front row in qualifying yesterday and that meant I wasn’t involved in the big crash at the first corner. I didn’t have a very good pace in the early laps while I gained some confidence with the front tyre, but once in my rhythm I could easily catch Luthi and Simon. My bike was working fantastic out of the last corner and it meant I could pass them both on the brakes at the first corner. I tried to follow Iannone but it was very difficult. He was riding very fast and I didn’t realise he was penalised for passing me under a yellow flag. My board said P1 even though I was second and for a while it was a little confusing. But when I saw him pull into the pit lane I understood the situation because I’d seen the penalty board and his number but I wasn’t sure what was happening. Then it became incredibly hard to maintain concentration because Iannone was a good reference. I settled down though and could win and it was an amazing feeling. I can’t thank my team at Tech 3 Racing enough. This team is like a family and everybody works incredibly hard. They have unbelievable passion for racing and for me, and this win feels a lot more special than before because it is with a bike we’ve all developed.” Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki): 2nd “The whole weekend was hard and brutally hot. With the fresh operation it was not always a nice feeling. We still had a good weekend and could start the race from first row and I finished the race in second place, which was really good. These points are very important for me.” Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter): 3rd “I haven’t seen what happened at the beginning of the race, but I consider myself lucky to not have been involved in the first corner crash. I was very focused on not losing positions from the start, because that is something that has been a problem for the past two races. I was aggressive on the opening laps, knowing that I had to take advantage of a good pace on fresh tyres. I made a couple of mistakes and let Iannone and Takahashi get away, so from then on I stuck on Luthi’s back tyre and waited for a last lap move. The end of the race was when I was waiting for him to leave an opening, but he was on it and I was left sliding around on worn tyres. I am very happy to have finished third here in Barcelona, after having made a silly mistake last year to miss out on a win. The next race is at a circuit that I love, so I’m very happy.” HONDA 125 RIDER QUOTES Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125 Team): 14th “The race started quite well, but in the second lap I had problems with the engine. It stopped and I lost time, almost two seconds. At the end I was around 20th position, but I could fight back and I tried to make up the five seconds to the front group. Regarding all the problems with the bike, the race was not bad, unfortunately I lost so much time. I am satisfied with the result though.”