FIM MotoGP World Championship Jerez, Spain May 2, 2010 Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain, (YAMAHA), 27 laps, 45:17.538 2. Dani PEDROSA, Spain, (HONDA), -0.543 second 3. Valentino ROSSI, Italy, (YAMAHA), -0.890 4. Nicky HAYDEN, USA, (DUCATI), -9.015 seconds 5. Casey STONER, Australia, (DUCATI), -10.034 6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy, (HONDA), -23.144 7. Mika KALLIO, Finland, (DUCATI), -34.489 8. Marco MELANDRI, Italy, (HONDA), -34.687 9. Randy DE PUNIET, France, (HONDA), -36.160 10. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain, (SUZUKI), -36.791 11. Marco SIMONCELLI, Italy, (HONDA), -37.155 12. Colin EDWARDS, USA, (YAMAHA), -38.260 13. Hector BARBERA, Spain, (DUCATI), -38.371 14. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan, (HONDA), -62.052 15. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain, (DUCATI), -3 laps, DNF, crashed/pitted 16. Ben SPIES, USA, (YAMAHA), -20 laps, DNF, retired 17. Loris CAPIROSSI, Italy, (SUZUKI), -25 laps, DNF World Championship Point Standings: 1. Lorenzo, 45 points 2. Rossi, 41 3. Pedrosa, 29 4. TIE, Dovizioso/Hayden, 26 6. De Puniet, 17 7. Edwards, 12 8. TIE, Stoner, Spies/Melandri, 11 11. Simoncelli, 10 12. Kallio, 9 13. Aoyama, 8 14. TIE, Capirossi/Barbera, 7 16. Bautista, 6 17. Espargaro, 1 More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki’s new Spanish star celebrated his debut home Grand Prix with a gutsy ride to secure him his first MotoGP points by finishing in 10th place. Bautista started from 13th on the grid but by the end of lap two was down to 16th. He struggled early on as he didn’t have the same feeling from his GSV-R that he had during yesterday’s qualifying and practice, but battled through the difficulties and found a good rhythm, to come home as top rookie as he passed Marco Simoncelli on the last lap. Loris Capirossi ended the day with a huge anti-climax to what looked like being a very promising race. He was up with the battle for the top-six positions and entered the last corner on the third lap, but as he turned in he lost the front of the bike and crashed. Capirossi was unable to continue and walked despondently back to the pits. Over 120,000 fans enjoyed the warm and sunny weather at Jerez today and also celebrated a Spanish hat-trick of wins, with Jorge Lorenzo victorious in the MotoGP race and Toni Elias and Pol Espargaro winning the Moto2 and 125cc races respectively. Rizla Suzuki will now remain at Jerez for more day of testing before the whole MotoGP circus heads north to Le Mans in France, for the next round on the calendar in three weeks’ time on Sunday 23rd May. Álvaro Bautista: “Yes, I have finished my first race in MotoGP! I was not my best race though, because I didn’t start too good and I had a bit of a problem with the bike. It felt like it was pushing me the wrong way in the corners and I couldn’t turn in properly like I could in practice. Although the bike was not perfect I tried to get the maximum from it and pushed as hard as I could. I got up to the group fighting for seventh to twelfth positions and I was able to pass some of them and that was a good thing. I would like to enjoy riding the bike more, but I am new to this category and it is important to improve the bike before I can do that. Sometimes we go in the right way, but also sometimes we go in the wrong way, so we need to keep trying to improve. Tomorrow we have a big test and we will search hard for a solution to make the GSV-R enjoyable to ride. I am happy to finish in the top 10, this is a good result, but I think if the bike was like practice I could have done better. I am very happy with the whole team, they are all fantastic and they are working very, very hard. I want to thank all of them and also Suzuki and Rizla for all the support. Loris Capirossi: “This morning we tried a different setting in the warm-up and I felt quite confident for this afternoon because of that. I started the race quite aggressive and I overtook a few guys which was good and the bike was working well, but I crashed on the third lap. In the last corner I braked like normal and flicked the bike in, but I lost the front I don’t know why! I tried to pick up the bike to finish the race, but the engine was off so that was the end for me. I feel really sorry for everyone involved because we’d tried a different way to work on the bike and I think we have a good idea how to improve our potential in the future. I want to say sorry because I don’t want to crash, but sometimes it happens. We now have a test tomorrow and we can carry on with the direction we found this weekend and try to be more competitive.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “It was a tough Grand Prix today, but Álvaro did a great job to come from so far back and catch the fight for seventh place. He didn’t have the best feeling with the bike in the race, but maintained good lap-times and showed fearless aggression in the last couple of laps to pass Edwards and Simoncelli. He now has some points on the board and finished today’s GP in the top-10 and as top rookie, so today’s race is something positive for him to build on. “We are really disappointed for Loris; he had an average start, but easily picked off some good riders to get up into the battle for the top-six. It looks like everything was working well until he inexplicably lost the front. We’ve gone in a new direction with the bike this weekend and the potential seems better, but unfortunately we didn’t get a full race distance to understand where we are at hopefully we can achieve that in the test tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Lorenzo grabs fantastic victory on last lap; Pedrosa sets lap record Round 2: Spain GP Race Circuito de Jerez, Sunday 2 May 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo mounted a thrilling ride after slipping to fifth position to chase down fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa and snatch a fantastic victory on the last lap of the Spanish Grand Prix. Using the harder option Bridgestone slicks, in his charge Lorenzo set a new fastest total race time at Jerez. Leader for all bar the last lap, Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa couldn’t quite hold on to the lead he built early on as he made a break from the field, setting a new lap record in the process, but put up a strong fight against Lorenzo. In close pursuit was Valentino Rossi, finishing just 0.34seconds adrift on the final step of the podium. Rossi also lapped faster than his own previous lap record. Whilst the action at the front intensified, a great race-long battle was fought for seventh position as Mika Kallio, Marco Melandri, Randy de Puniet, Marco Simoncelli and Colin Edwards traded positions throughout. Loris Capirossi was in the thick of the action until his third lap crash, as was Ben Spies until his retirement on lap eight. Álvaro Bautista joined the fight in the latter stages with a strong ride to tenth position. With the high track temperature, as expected every rider used the hard compound front slicks for the race, and only Aleix Espargaro of the Pramac Racing team opted for the soft compound rear, the rest favouring the harder option. Hiroshi Yamada Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “I’d like to congratulate Jorge for his determination in fighting for this win in front of his home fans, and to Dani for his part in what was a very exciting climax in front of 122,000 fans. With Valentino in third, it was one of the closest podium finishes in the 800cc era. All in all, 2010 has got off to a great start and both races have provided a great show for the fans so I think we can look forward to a thrilling rest of the season.” Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “I can say that our slick tyres performed well today, with a new lap record indicating improved grip and a new fastest total race time showing good consistency and durability over race distance. Tyre performance is normally a trade-off between outright grip and durability, yet we can see from today that we have been able to improve both so I am happy. Dani set his new lap record on the second lap of the race but Jorge’s personal best came just three laps from the finish and was less than 0.3seconds slower than Dani’s so this is also a good sign of durability.” Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team Race Winner “For me today was the most beautiful race of my life. I made a bad start and struggled a lot the biggest problem we have is that for the first ten laps we are slow. But in the middle of the race I started to catch Vale as we had a good pace. Today I just wanted to win so I rode at my maximum. I rode at the limit but had fun on the bike and this effort delivered me this present.” 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 45m17.538s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 2 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 45m18.081s +0.543s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 3 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 45m18.428s +0.890s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 4 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 45m26.553s +9.015s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 5 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 45m27.572s +10.034s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 6 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 45m40.682s +23.144s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 7 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing Team 45m52.027s +34.489s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 8 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 45m52.225s +34.687s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 9 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 45m53.698s +36.160s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 10 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 45m54.329s +36.791s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick Weather: Dry. Ambient 25°C; Track 45-39°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Tough Spanish MotoGP race for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team was left to contemplate what might have been after a difficult and disappointing Spanish MotoGP race at the Jerez circuit this afternoon. Colin Edwards fought a determined battle at the rear of a frenetic battle for seventh position in front of a sun-drenched crowd of 122,048 passionate Spanish fans. The Texan eventually had to settle for 12th position after he encountered small rear grip issues in the crucial final stages that left him unable to mount a sustained offensive on the exciting mid-pack dice. It was also a frustrating first Jerez MotoGP experience for 25-year-old Ben Spi es, who had started the race with high expectations after a brilliant performance in practice and qualifying. The reigning World Superbike champion made a blistering start and gained two places on the opening lap to sit menacingly behind former world champion Casey Stoner in sixth position. But just as Spies looked to consolidate his place in the leading group, he encountered a front-end issue that saw him unable to maintain his fast pace. Despite his valiant efforts to continue and score valuable points for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team, Spies opted to retire at the end of lap eight after he’d fallen out of the top ten. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team will be hoping for improved fortunes when the MotoGP world championship resumes in France later this month. The Le Mans clash is the all-important home race for the Monster Yamaha Te ch 3 Team, with high hopes of a strong display in the third round of the 2010 campaign. Colin Edwards 12th 12-points “I think I’ve had one good race at Jerez in my entire career and today wasn’t it. This weekend has been a struggle and I’ve never been comfortable on the bike to show the pace I know I am capable of. Right from the start I had issues with the rear grip and I couldn’t hold any load on the tyre at full lean angle. That also created some problems with the front-end, so I just struggled with the balance of the bike. It’s the exact same issue that I had in Qatar even though the set-up I’m running is quite a bit different. I’d just like to be in a race. At the moment I just feel like I’m riding around and suffering. I can only look forward to Le Mans knowing that I go really well at that track and so does the Yamaha.” Ben Spies DNF 11-points “It’s just one of those things that can happen but it’s really unfortunate because after coming here and learning the track really quick I thought we had a really good package for the race. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team had worked really hard but I just had some problem with the front-end. I’m not sure what the problem is but I’ve looked at the data and you can clearly see I had an issue. The bike just wasn’t reacting like it should and it is a big shame. I got a really good start and was right behind Casey but pretty much from the first lap I knew I had a problem. I tried to round around the problem but at the end of the day I wasn’t going to be scoring any points and I’d have risked crashing if I’d continued. The consolation is that I know we had the speed for a good result and there are a lot of positive points to take from the weekend. We can go to Le Mans confident that I’ll be able to show more of my true potential.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “I won’t say it’s a disaster but it certainly is a big disappointment for us. We had high hopes after we saw how quickly Ben mastered the track and it wasn’t unrealistic to hope that he could have been at least in the top five again like in Qatar. He got a good start but after a few laps it was obvious that he couldn’t maintain his pace and he was losing ground. He had to pull into the pits and he said he didn’t have any feeling with the front. We’ll analyse the data and check everything with Bridgestone to see if we can find out exactly what caused the problem. It is a shame for Ben but we have to accept it. Colin was never really comfortable with the bike all weekend. He had an interesting fight but it wasn’t the result he wanted, so we’ll work hard to understand some of his issues. Hopefully Le Mans will be better because that is a hugely important race for Tech 3 and Monster.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Jorge Lorenzo branded today’s Gran Premio bwin de España at Jerez “a beautiful race” after edging out his compatriot Dani Pedrosa to take the win in front of an enthusiastic Spanish crowd. Pedrosa brought his Repsol Honda home in second place, to make it a Spanish one-two, with reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi rounding out the podium in third. The 25 points secured today move Lorenzo to the top of the championship standings. His traditional lightning start to the race saw pole holder Pedrosa lead into the first turn, with Rossi making up two places from the grid to move into second place. Nicky Hayden also got a good start from the second row of the grid to slot into third place as the field headed towards turn two. Loris Capirossi’s race ended at the last turn on lap three, as the veteran Italian pushed just a little too hard, lost the front and crashed uninjured. Aleix Espargaro also crashed shortly after, but was able to return to the race following running repairs in pit lane. Ben Spies was the next casualty, pitting and retiring from the race after struggling with a front tyre problem on his Yamaha M1 while running in the top ten. As the midway point of the race approached Pedrosa was leading well at a second-and-a-half ahead of Rossi, with Lorenzo a further two seconds back. The fight for seventh place was a close one, with San Carlo Honda Gresini team-mates Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli battling one another amongst a group of five riders. At the same time Lorenzo was closing the gap on Rossi and on lap 21 passed his teammate before turning his focus to fellow countryman, Pedrosa. From there a superb duel developed between the two Spaniards. With two laps to go Lorenzo caught up with the factory Honda rider and made his move to pass, but Pedrosa held his line and the two almost touched as the excitement continued to increase. In the end it came down to the last lap and as Pedrosa drifted wide at the Dry Sack corner while trying to defend his line Lorenzo swept through to assume the lead, which he held to the chequered flag. Crossing the line the Fiat Yamaha rider was 0.543s ahead of Pedrosa, with Rossi placing third to complete the podium. Lorenzo promptly celebrated his win by jumping fully clothed into the lake in the centre of the Jerez circuit”¦ “I saw the lake on Thursday and thought it would be funny to jump in. I think the fans liked it, but I didn’t really think about how heavy I’d be with wet leathers and for a minute I thought I wasn’t going to get out,” declared Lorenzo. “The dream nearly turned into a nightmare.” The Fiat Yamaha rider was eventually rescued by marshals and returned to pit lane to continue the victory celebrations. “After a bad start I rode like a demon to get the front and I had a great fight with Dani when I eventually caught him. When I tried to pass him the first time we nearly crashed, but I knew I had to try again on the final lap. I know it’s better to win races calmly from the front; today I had to fight on every lap,” concluded the new Championship leader. Completing the top five were Ducati Marlboro riders Nicky Hayden, who repeated his fourth spot from Qatar, and Casey Stoner, with Andrea Dovizioso taking sixth place. Mika Kallio completed an impressive rise from last place on the grid to take seventh, with Melandri, Randy de Puniet and Álvaro Bautista also placing inside the top ten. Moto2 An eventful Moto2 race saw Toni Elías take his first Grand Prix victory since his win in Estoril back in 2006 after a shortened 17-lap contest following a pile-up on the second lap of the original race. A coming together between Simone Corsi and Shoya Tomizawa at the Dry Sack corner saw the Japanese rider slide out and deposit fuel on the track surface, which brought down a number of following riders. The race was red flagged and then restarted 30 minutes later, after some frantic work in pit lane to repair the bikes that had been involved in the crash. With 42 riders fighting for position and all lapping within one second of each other more crashes were inevitable, with Karel Abraham, Andrea Iannone and Joan Olivè all early fallers. Kenny Noyes was the first rider to get to the front and then try to gap the pursuing pack but, try as he might, the American simply couldn’t escape from the clutches of Toni Elias, Thomas Lüthi and championship leader, Tomizawa. With six laps to go, nine riders were still in with a chance of victory. Overtaking moves were not in short supply as the frontrunners constantly pushed one another, and as the final laps approached Elias, Tomizawa, Lüthi and Takahashi weree nose to tail. To the delight of the Spanish crowd it was Elías who pulled off a double overtake to take the chequered flag, 0.190s ahead of Tomizawa who maintains his Championship lead with his podium finish. Lüthi, at a further seven-thousandths behind completed the top three in a fantastic grandstand finish, as he moved into third place in the overall standings. Takahashi and Corsi both finished inside the top five. Sergio Gadea followed Corsi home, meaning the top six riders were all former Grand Prix winners. Noyes, Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar), Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up), and Yonny Hernández (Blusens-STX) completing the top ten. 125cc Pol Espargaró kicked off the Spanish domination of all three classes at today’s Gran Premio bwin de España by taking a hard fought win and led an all-Spanish 125cc podium at Jerez, ahead of Nico Terol and Esteve Rabat. There was immediate drama before the opening lap had been completed, as pole position holder and one of the strong favourites for victory on home soil Marc Márquez crashed out, sustaining a dislocation in his right arm in the process. The early stages of the race saw a group of five riders establish themselves as the main competitors for the podium, and by the midway point it was still Terol , Espargaró, Efrén Vázquez, Sandro Cortese and Tito Rabat who were challenging one another at the front of the race. Cortese’s chances of securing a podium finish ended around lap 16 when the suspension linkage on the rear of his bike broke and he eventually finished in a very creditable 11th place with no rear suspension. Shortly after Cortese dropped back Vázquez crashed out, leaving Espargaró, Terol and Rabat to sort out the final podium positions between them. Coming into the final lap Espargaró pulled a gap on his pursuers to take the win ahead of Championship leader Terol, who maintains his lead in the overall standings, with Rabat a further 13 seconds back. Bradley Smith took fourth place at the track at which he won last season, with Tomoyoshi Koyama completing the top five. Alberto Moncayo (Andalucia Cajasol) was sixth as he added another Spanish name to the top ten, with Johann Zarco (WTR San Marino Team), Randy Krummenacher (Stipa-Molenaar Racing), Alexis Masbou (Team Ongetta) and Jasper Iwema (CBC Corse) also securing top-ten finishes. More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: GREAT COMEBACK FOR KALLIO. HE RECOVERED 10 POSITIONS AND CONCLUDED THE RACE IN SEVENTH POSITION. FIFTEENTH POSITION FOR ALEIX ESPARGARO’. Excellent seventh place for Mika Kallio in the second round of the MotoGP World Championship despite all the struggling of yesterdays’ qualifying session which put him in today’s starting grid in seventeenth position. An amazing comeback: from the first turn he has been the protagonist of a magnificent race that allowed him to prevail upon his direct rivals and finishing in seventh. In particular was very exciting and full of overtaking the fight for seventh position with Simoncelli, De Puniet and Melandri. Aleix Espargarò, who was unable to get a good start, immediately tried to recover positions. Unfortunately his race was already compromised on the fourth lap when, after a fall that damaged his brake pedal, he has returned in to the pits to check the damage. He returned back on track after a while, but the gap with the riders ahead of him was too large to be recovered. Aleix has still completed the race running on good pace with the twelfth fastest lap of the race. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “We were aware that it was going to be an aggressive race for us. During the warm- up, we solved some balance issues that we had yesterday in qualifying, trying new set-up and getting good feedback already from the morning. Then we made some other modification just before the race. It was a wonderful race for us, the seventh position for Mika, after a great comeback, give us good feeling for the next races. Unfortunately Aleix slipped while he was coming back from a bad start. He has demonstrated that he has an enormous talent and he is very consistent regarding to lap times. I hope that his experience may be more increased after this race.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing – 7th position “It’s been one of my best races since I’m a MotoGP rider. I had a great start which made me not lose the posting by the group of the best riders: I have recovered the gap since the first lap and I was able to take four places. Lap after lap I saw that the changes made on my bike were good and they made me registered very good lap times. I enjoyed very much to fight with Simoncelli, Melandri and De Puniet. I then conquered the position in front of the riders that were fighting with me for seventh position and I made it to keep it in the last four laps. I am very happy with the result for the team and the technicians who have always supported me throughout this weekend. ” Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing – 15th position “Unfortunately was not the race that I hoped, I really wanted to get a good result on this circuit, as it was the first Spanish round of the year. I had little grip problem at the start and I found myself in last place after the first corner, then when I was recovering some positions I felt during the fourth lap and damaged the brake pedal. I made it to keep my bike running and I went to the box to check the situation. Even if I had lost some minutes to change the pedal I decided to go back on track again to demonstrate my value on this track. I later had to return again to the pit box to make further changes on the bike. I now have my first point of this season, I know is not so much, but I hope to get a better result in the next Grand Prix.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA SECOND IN JEREZ THRILLER, DOVIZIOSO TAKES SIXTH Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa took second place in a gripping Grand Prix of Spain at Jerez today, crossing the line just half a second behind the winner and setting the fastest lap of the race along the way. Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso also delivered a strong performance today and recorded his best MotoGP result at Jerez with sixth place at the chequered flag. From pole position, an inspired Pedrosa led the race right until the final few corners of the last lap, when fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo slipped by to deny Pedrosa the victory that looked deservedly his. It provoked mixed emotions for the 24-year-old in front of his home crowd, with the Barcelona rider pleased to have maintained front-running pace for so long and to have kick-started his season with a strong result, but also disappointed to have come so very close only to be denied on the final lap. The second round of the MotoGP World Championship was a nail-biting affair with Pedrosa’s lead never growing to more than two seconds as Valentino Rossi slotted in behind the fast-starting Spaniard. Pedrosa would edge the gap open only for Rossi to pull back a few tenths, while all the time Lorenzo was creeping his way towards the leading pair. As Lorenzo mounted his challenge on the penultimate lap, Pedrosa held him off as best he could and the pair touched fairings as they battled for the lead. Pedrosa’s second place – which was his 80th Grand Prix podium in all classes – means he has stood on the podium at Jerez for the last six years. Dovizioso made a good start from ninth on the grid and lay in eighth place through the first few corners. The Italian then reeled off a committed first few laps to quickly dispatch Marco Melandri and Ben Spies and set off in pursuit of the raging battle for fifth place. Riding at a strong pace on his RC212V, Dovizioso eased away from the riders behind, but wasn’t abl e to close in any further and chose to bring his RC212V home in sixth to collect ten valuable World Championship points. After today’s drama, the Repsol Honda Team will draw breath and then return to Jerez tomorrow for a day of official MotoGP testing – one of only two such days in the 2010 season. DANI PEDROSA 2nd World Championship position 3rd 29 points “Well this result is a little bit surprising for me and, even though I came so close to winning, I’m pleased to be on the podium and so close to the top step. I didn’t think I was going to be able to lead the race for this long and I was nervous at the start because I knew that to maintain a front-running rhythm was going to be very difficult for us. So I was pleased to be out in front of the race, but then I saw on the pit board that Lorenzo was closing at a pace that was half a second faster than me and Rossi and I thought, “Mmm, maybe this is going to be difficult!” I tried to hold him off for as long as possible but in the end I couldn’t. Second place after leading for all but half a lap is disappointing obviously, but after the first race at Qatar this is a good result for us. I’d like to thank all the fans who came here and supported us today, and all the people around me in the Repsol Honda Team. We must keep working really hard – starting with the test tomorrow – so that we can improve for Le Mans.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 6th World Championship position 4th 26 points “I made a quick start and my first few laps were good and I was able to get past a few riders and climb to sixth place. In the central part of the race we had a good rhythm and my pace compared to the front riders wasn’t too bad. I maintained this until the final five laps when it was clear that I couldn’t catch the riders ahead and so I eased off. The grip levels here were quite low and it was important to get the electronic controls working well, but in this area we didn’t get things right today. So, even though I’m pleased my rhythm has improved from last year here, I am disappointed with the race result. We will keep on working and I’m very happy that tomorrow we have the opportunity to test the new material – the new chassis and the new engine – so we have the chance to continue the progress we’ve been making through winter testing and at the fi rst race. Dani was very fast today and I’d like to give my compliments to him because he did a very good race and has shown what the machine can be capable of. I’m confident that we can be competitive at the next race at Le Mans.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “That was a very tense race for me! Dani put in a really good performance and was able to stay in front for so long and maintain his lap times throughout the race, which represents significant progress for us. Of course it’s a disappointment that he couldn’t hang on for the win – and I really think he deserved it today – but we can take the positives from this. Andrea worked hard through the weekend and, although he couldn’t catch the front five today, he has made progress which we can build on in the test tomorrow. Today we have glimpsed race winning potential and the Repsol Honda Team is going work tirelessly until we realise that potential. Both riders and the whole team has worked hard this weekend and I’m please with this.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: HAYDEN AND STONER SECURE SOLID POINTS HAUL AT JEREZ Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner took top five finishes in the Grand Prix of Spain today, fourth and fifth place respectively representing satisfactory if not sensational results at Jerez. Both riders had higher hopes as they targeted a podium challenge from fifth and third on the grid but it was a demanding 27-lap affair as they lost touch with eventual top three Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi in the first half of the race. Stoner’s front end troubles forced the Australian to accept 11 important championship points. Meanwhile Hayden made a great start to the race and was lapping in third place over the early laps but didn’t quite have the pace to stick with the leaders. NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) 4th “Fourth place is no disaster but I was hoping to stay closer to the top three towards the end and put up a bit of a fight. I’m not happy to be nine seconds adrift but we’re trying to build something here and we’ve had another solid weekend. The team, the bike, everything has been great this weekend but we just fell a couple of tenths short on race day. To be honest I thought we might find a little extra for the race, like we did in Qatar, but it wasn’t to be. Like I said yesterday my guys worked like dogs to put me in this position today and we’ve got more to do tomorrow so I want to give a big thanks to them. This is the Ducati factory team and we don’t jump up and down at fourth place but we’ll take it. We got some great data to work from that should help us be stronger at Le Mans and hopefully we can keep this upward trend going.” CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 5th “I’m disappointed with today’s performance. We started the weekend strongly but only got worse compared to our rivals as the sessions went by and we were never able to improve on the base set-up that we started out with. I think we fell into the trap of making changes to the bike that were too radical and it only served to confuse us because we never went in the right direction. I made an okay start to the race and felt comfortable over the opening laps, Jorge was actually slowing my progress at that point and I was eager to get past him and chase Nicky and the others but as soon as I came up to pass Nicky I lost the front and almost crashed. The bike was pretty much on the ground but I managed to pick it up and then tried to push on from there but the front folded two or three more times on that lap alone. That shot my confidence so Jorge was able to pass me easily and from that moment I just wanted to take as many points as I could. As the tyres went off in the second half of the race the bike felt better and I had more contact with the front but it was little too late and I couldn’t catch Nicky. We need to work hard to find some answers in the test tomorrow and move on to Le Mans ready to battle again.” Filippo Preziosi General Director, Ducati Corse “We’re really happy for Nicky because he was really consistent all weekend and today he showed once again that he has the ability to do well. On the other hand I’m disappointed for Casey because I know he’s not happy with this result. We lost our way over the weekend despite making a strong start on Friday and didn’t manage to improve the set-up of the bike. Casey didn’t have a good feeling with the front and with two crashes already this year, one in Qatar and one here in practice, it seems we haven’t solved our problem. Fortunately we have a day of testing here tomorrow and that comes at a good time for us because we can analyse all the data and try to get a better understanding of what happened.” Circuit (New) Record: Daniel Pedrosa (Honda – 2010), 1’39.731 – 159.657 Km/h Best Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha – 2008), 1’38.189 – 162.164 Km/h More, from a press release issued by Honda: PEDROSA TAKES SECOND PLACE FOR HONDA AT JEREZ Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) dominated much of today’s Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, eventually finishing a close second to score his first podium result of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship. The Spaniard brought the 122,000 fans to their feet when he grabbed the holeshot into turn one and then set about establishing a convincing lead over reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha). After 20 laps Pedrosa had stretched his lead to 1.9 seconds, but the man on the move was fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), who passed Rossi with five laps remaining and then closed the gap on Pedrosa to line up his attack during the final few laps. On the penultimate lap the pair were inches apart at the Dry Sack hairpin and then they tangled at the final hairpin. Throughout all this Pedrosa managed to stay ahead, but he finally lost the lead as the pair dived into Dry Sack for the final time. Pedrosa crossed the line second, just 0.543 seconds down on Lorenzo and 0.347 seconds ahead of Rossi. Today’s result continues Pedrosa’s impressive run at Jerez where he has finished inside the top two in each of his five MotoGP rides at the track. Winner here in 2008, the former 125 and 250 World Champion was runner-up in 2006, 2007, 2009 and again today. Team-mate Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V), who started his 2010 campaign so brilliantly in Qatar with a rousing ride to third place, had a tougher race at Jerez this afternoon, finishing sixth. Dovizioso made a good start and got past several riders in the first lap, slotting into sixth on lap two, where he stayed for the rest of the race, not quite able to catch the man just ahead of him, Casey Stoner (Ducati) Both Pedrosa and Dovizioso stay here tomorrow to undertake a day’s testing in preparation for the upcoming races. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V), Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) supplied plenty of entertainment as they played their part in a thrilling six-man contest for seventh place with Mika Kallio (Ducati), Colin Edwards (Yamaha) and Alvaro Bautista (Suzuki). Melandri, de Puniet, Simoncelli and the others swapped positions throughout the race, the more experienced Melandri finally getting the better of them to finish eighth, just a fraction of a second behind Kallio. It was a great result for the Italian who had struggled at the season-opening Qatar GP three weeks ago, but the former 250 World Champion still wants much, much more. De Puniet had been hoping for better than ninth after another impressive qualifying display had put him sixth on the grid. However, the Frenchman got a bad start and then found it impossible to reproduce his Saturday pace. Simoncelli certainly enjoyed his second MotoGP race, putting up an excellent fight with his rivals. In the final laps, however, he started sliding around and was unable to maintain his pace, finishing 11th, between Bautista and Edwards. Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V) had a lonely race, after he had run off the track on the very first lap. The reigning 250 World Champion made a mistake braking into turn eight and had to take drastic action to avoid colliding with a rival. He rejoined the circuit in last place and continued circulating to pick up two points for 14th place; not what the Japanese ace had been hoping for after qualifying in a promising 12th place. The second race of the new Moto2 World Championship was an edge-of-the-seat thriller, with a group of eight riders battling for the win, the lead changing several times on most laps. The race was restarted after a second lap pile-up which claimed seven riders after Qatar winner Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter) fell at the Dry Sack hairpin, dropping oil on the circuit. All the fallers were able to take the restart. Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) won the shortened, 17 lap restart after a breathtaking race-long battle with the leading group. At the flag there were just 2.5 seconds covering the first eight men home, with less than half a second covering the podium finishers. During the final laps the pace heated up considerably, Elias fighting back and forth with runner-up Tomizawa and third-place finisher Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki). Luthi had led the previous two laps but Elias grabbed the lead as the pack charged into Turn One for the final time, only to run wide at the Dry Sack hairpin, almost gifting the lead to Tomizawa. Elias held on for the win, despite still suffering from the nasty left-hand injury he sustained at Jerez during preseason tests. Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3) finished three tenths behind Luthi, with Simone Corsi (Jar Moto2, Motobi), Sergio Gadea (Pons Racing, Kalex), Kenny Noyes (Jack & Jones by A.Banderas, PromoHarris) and Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, RSV) following right behind. Of this group, GP rookie Noyes had played the biggest role in the early race contest, muscling his way into the lead on several occasions, only to slip back a few places as the race moved towards its climax. In 125 GP, the first race of the day, 17-year-old Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125) recorded a very respectable 12th place, finishing the race less than five seconds outside of the top ten. The race was won by Pol Espargaro (Derbi) who topped an all-Spanish podium along with Nicolas Terol (Aprilia) and Esteve Rabat (Aprilia). MotoGP now travels north west from Jerez to reconvene in the Sarthe area of France at Le Mans, for the French GP on May 21/22/23. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V), second-place finisher at 45m 18.081s, said: “Well, this result is a little bit surprising for me and, even though I came so close to winning, I’m pleased to be on the podium and so close to the top step. I didn’t think I was going to be able to lead the race for this long and I was nervous at the start because I knew that to maintain a front-running rhythm was going to be very difficult for us. So I was pleased to be out in front of the race, but then I saw on the pit board that Lorenzo was closing at a pace that was half a second faster than me and Rossi and I thought, “Mmm, maybe this is going to be difficult!”. I tried to hold him off for as long as possible but in the end I couldn’t. Second place after leading for all but half a lap is disappointing obviously, but after the first race at Qatar this is a good result for us. I’d like to thank all the fans who came here and supported us today, and all the people around me in the Repsol Honda Team. We must keep working really hard starting with the test tomorrow so that we can improve for Le Mans.” Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V), sixth-place finisher at 45m 40.682s said: “I made a quick start and my first few laps were good and I was able to get past a few riders and climb to sixth place. In the central part of the race we had a good rhythm and my pace compared to the front riders wasn’t too bad. I maintained this until the final five laps when it was clear that I couldn’t catch the riders ahead and so I eased off. The grip levels here were quite low and it was important to get the electronic controls working well, but in this area we didn’t get things right today. So, even though I’m pleased my rhythm has improved from last year here, I am disappointed with the race result. We will keep on working and I’m very happy that tomorrow we have the opportunity to test the new material the new chassis and the new engine so we have the chance to continue the progress we’ve been making through winter testing and at the first race. Dani was very fast today and I’d like to give my compliments to him because he did a very good race and has shown what the machine can be capable of. I’m confident that we can be competitive at the next race at Le Mans.” Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) , eighth-place finisher at 45m 52.225s, said: “That was definitely better than Qatar, but I’m not very happy with the first part of the race. It was hard to ride. I made a good start but I didn’t feel comfortable riding, when I hit the brakes the bike was very unstable. It got better as the race went on, but my engine mapping lost me some power. In any case, I had a good fight with Kallio and tried to get past him for seventh at the end, but he had more acceleration and I couldn’t make it up on the brakes. I feel that we have made a step forward, and we will continue working in order to get in even better shape.” Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) , ninth-place finisher at 45m 53.698s, said: “Doubtless we are a bit disappointed because we aimed to get a different result today. After a very positive qualification I got a bad start from the second row and ended the first lap in 12th position. From there it was a very hard race for me! The race was very close with many riders doing almost the same lap time and after a few laps I started to have some issues with the front tyre. In those conditions I could not keep the pace I had yesterday because I lost the front several times. However, I am still holding sixth in the points standings and our bike is working well enough, so we must continue working in this direction.” Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V), 11th-place finisher at 45m 54.693s, said: “Let’s say that this seventh place leaves a completely different taste in the mouth to Qatar. I had a good start and moved up places, fighting with Melandri, Kallio, Edwards, Spies, De Puniet and Bautista. Unfortunately in the end I was only able to finish ahead of one of those riders. But it was a good race and I was still very fast at the end; I even felt that at seven laps from the flag I was a bit stronger than the rest of the group. But when my bike started to slide the other riders upped their pace. It’s another eleventh place, but a more positive one.” Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V) , 14th-place finisher at 46m 19.590s, said: “I didn’t make a good start and then I made a mistake. After braking too hard I had to avoid crashing into another rider and had to go wide. After that I lost contact with the other riders. This was not an easy race for me. I am so sorry for my team to have destroyed all their work of the weekend with this mistake. I really hope the next race will be better.” MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki), winner at 29m 58.726s, said: “I am not disappointed not to be in MotoGP. I took the decision to move down to Moto2. Maybe it was a risk, but so far everything is good. We have come through a difficult few weeks, since I got hurt here in preseason testing. I am still not 100 per cent, my left hand is still a problem. I got fourth in Qatar and I won today but I suffered a lot during the race because my physical condition isn’t 100 per cent. The setup of my machine is also not perfect, so we must work on that. I fought a lot in the race, it was very tough, but in the end I could win. I am very, very happy and I cannot wait for Le Mans because my physical condition will be much better there, so I can be more relaxed.” Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter), second-place finisher at 29m 58.916s, said: “I am so, so sorry for the crash because many other riders crashed on the oil that came from my machine when I crashed. I made a mistake when Corsi tried to pass me. We both tried to release our brakes to make more room, but my bike shook, he closed my line and I couldn’t avoid him. It was my mistake. Before the restart my mechanics had to work very, very hard in the pit box. They repair my machine 100 per cent, so I could go again. I trust their work, so I could give full gas. I tried but Toni is so fast. We had a good three days here good Friday, good Saturday, good Sunday so now we hope we can find a good solution when we get to Le Mans. Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki), third-place finisher at 29m 58.987s, said: “After the first start there were some very strong overtakes and I was thinking this race was going to be crazy, because riders were hitting each other very hard in the first laps. The restart seemed to be better. I got a better start and I had a better first lap, so I could ride with the lead group. My bike felt really good, so then I was able to take the lead. I thought maybe I could go faster, but the others held my slipstream and I couldn’t get away. Anyway, a podium finish is great, especially for our team which is completely new. My thanks to them all they are a great team.” HONDA 125 RIDER QUOTE Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125 Team), 12th place finisher at 42m 40.868s, said: “Before the race it didn’t look like I would get some points here. The whole weekend was going wrong somehow. But then I had a quite good start and was able to regain some positions. In front of me there were some riders that kept me back a little and I lost the connection to the group, therefore I am quite happy with 12th place and I hope the trend keeps going up.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Jorge Lorenzo produced one of the rides of his life to take a superb win in Spain today, the grandeur of a full-to-bursting Jerez providing a fitting amphitheatre for his first MotoGP win on home soil. Valentino Rossi finished third, making it a sixteenth double podium for the Fiat Yamaha pair since 2008. Lorenzo got a bad start and had dropped from second to fifth by the second lap, as he struggled to find a rhythm with a full fuel tank. On lap five he was able to pass Casey Stoner and then, five laps on, Nicky Hayden but he looked destined to stay in third as he languished 1.5 seconds adrift of Rossi, who was in turn the same distance from Pedrosa. With a third of the race to go however the Spaniard picked up pace, suddenly the fastest man on track as he stormed up on his team-mate. On lap 22 he despatched the Italian but with only five laps left and a two second gap a victory still looked unlikely. The tenacious youngster was not giving up however in pursuit of a sixth premier-class win and he rapidly gained on his fellow Spaniard to bring himself within striking distance on his penultimate lap. His first attempt to pass resulted in a dramatic moment as they both momentarily looked like running off track and in the end he had to leave it to the last lap to make the definitive move, passing Pedrosa on the brakes at the end of the back straight and crossing the line 0.543 seconds ahead. Lorenzo, who turns 23 on Tuesday, celebrated in hilarious style by leaping into the lake in the middle of the circuit, much to the rapture of the home fans who were already celebrating Spanish wins in the 125cc and Moto2 classes earlier in the day. Rossi was happy to make the podium, having struggled all weekend to overcome his injured shoulder and set-up problems with his M1. The World Champion got a great start from the second row and was second behind Pedrosa for most of the race. He stayed in touch in the early stages but began to drop back as his bike started to slide, eventually giving best to his charging team-mate and settling for the final podium spot and a valuable 16 points, 0.4 seconds behind Pedrosa. The Championship is now led by Lorenzo with 45 points, while Rossi is four points off him in second. The riders now have a three-week break before the French round at Le Mans on 23rd May. Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 1stTime: 45’17.538 “It has always been one of my dreams to win a MotoGP race in Spain and this was like a movie, everything that could possibly happen did! It was a very hard race because I made such a bad start and then found it very difficult in the first laps – I gave myself a tough job to do. After that I started to feel better and rode like a demon to get to the front. Once I passed Valentino I knew that I couldn’t take it easy, I had to try everything to win and it was all I could think about. I had a great fight with Dani and in one moment we nearly crashed so I had to try again, on the very last lap! I know it’s better to win races calmly, from the front, but lately that hasn’t been the way for us and I have had to fight on every lap. I saw the lake on Thursday and thought it would be funny to jump in and I think the fans liked it, but I didn’t really think about how heavy I’d be with wet leathers and for a minute I thought I wasn’t going to get out! This has been an amazing day, I can’t believe I’ve achieved this dream of mine, in front of all the Spanish fans at this magical place.” Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi – Position: 3rdTime: +0.890 “This just wasn’t our race this year. We have struggled all weekend, first with my shoulder and then with the bike, and in the race today I couldn’t do any more than third. I got a great start and was fast with the new tyre, I tried to go with Dani but then I started to slide a lot and I just had to play it safe. I made no mistakes and I’m happy about my race in the circumstances, these 16 points are very important. At the end I had a front-row seat to the Spanish party and I admit I was sorry not to be involved, Jorge did a great job today and I think it was very exciting for all the fans. I want to say thank you to Dr. Costa and all the staff at the Clinica Mobile, plus everyone back in Italy who has worked on my shoulder to allow me to be able to race this weekend. I will hopefully be back to full strength in Le Mans so I’m looking forward to that.” Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager “It’s fantastic to win this race in this way. The race itself was amazing, especially the last ten laps; a fight on the edge. Before the race started our target was just to be on the podium again and we managed the highest step, so we could not ask for more! Jorge was so fast at the end of the race, really amazing. We have wondered why he seems to get much stronger at the end of races; I think it’s a combination of his riding style and confidence, because from a technical point of view there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. Apart from a less than perfect start, he controlled the bike very well during and kept a very good pace. He was able to keep the pace at the beginning and never gave up; he just got better. The target for the season remains the same, to keep aiming for the podium every weekend. We all know there are a lot of great riders out there and they all want to win, so it won’t be easy. We have always been confident about our potential and now we are even more so. Well done to Jorge and all the team.” Davide Brivio – Team Manager “Considering his recent injury we can see this as a very good result. The shoulder was okay and in fact the setting was the bigger problem, but the team did a great job to improve it as much as they could and we are happy that we made it onto the podium. Valentino got a fantastic start and was fast in the early stages but later on he couldn’t keep pace with Lorenzo and Pedrosa so 16 points is good for us today. We have some work to do for Le Mans, when we hope Valentino will be back to full fitness. Well done to Jorge and all his side of the garage, he did a great race today.”