FIM MotoGP World Championship Donington Park, England July 26, 2009 Race Results (wet conditions): 1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), 30 laps, 48:26.267 2. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), -1.360 seconds 3. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), -1.600 4. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), -8.958 5. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), -21.622, crash 6. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), -22.465 7. Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki), -35.284, pitted 8. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati), -38.769 9. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), -42.112 10. Mika KALLIO (Ducati), -45.845, pitted 11. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), -53.190, pitted 12. Gabor TALMACSI (Honda), -72.315 13. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), -80.398, pitted 14. Casey STONER (Ducati), -1 lap 15. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati), -1 lap 16. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), -22 laps, DNF, crash 17. Toni ELIAS (Honda), -23 laps, DNF, crash MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 17 races): 1. Rossi, 187 points 2. Lorenzo, 162 3. Stoner, 150 4. Pedrosa, 115 5. Edwards, 103 6. Dovizioso, 94 7. Melandri, 79 8. De Puniet, 74 9. Vermeulen, 67 10. Capirossi, 66 11. De Angelis, 60 12. Toseland, 55 13. TIE, Hayden/Elias, 47 15. Kallio, 34 16. Canepa, 28 17. Sete Gibernau, 12 18. Yuki Takahashi, 9 19. Talmacsi, 5 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Andrea Dovizioso closed a MotoGP chapter at Donington Park with his first ever premier class victory. The Repsol Honda rider made sense of the madness in wet-dry conditions to earn 25 points and the honour of being the last premier class winner at the Midlands circuit. The race was one of the most unpredictable of recent years, with twists and turns every step of the way. Besides the maiden triumph there were falls for the top two in the World Championship, a disastrous pre-race decision from a title contender and riders holding on instead of coming in for a bike change. Dovizioso had been in the chasing group on the opening laps, but was thrust up to the front courtesy of his superior pace and mistakes from his rivals. After battling with World Championship leader Valentino Rossi at the head of the field, the young Italian found himself alone out in front as the more experienced Rossi fell at the Fogarty Esses with eleven laps remaining. Also benefitting from consistency were podium finishers Colin Edwards and Randy de Puniet, who engaged in an entertaining battle as the chequered flag came closer to being waved. Monster Tech 3 Yamaha man Edwards took second from the LCR Honda rider on the final hairpin, ending the race just under 1.5 seconds behind Dovizioso. For both riders the top three result was their first podium of the 2009 season. The early going saw uncertainty and instability as rain fell upon the lights going off. Early leader Jorge Lorenzo had been talked out of running wet tyres and took the lead after just a handful of laps, but took a fall when he clipped a slippery rumble strip and was unable to restart his Yamaha M1. The crash had been foreshadowed by a tumble for Toni Elías, the leader of lap one and a faller at the same spot on lap seven. The Ducati Marlboro team of Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden were the only riders to go with full wet tyres on the grid, although a lack of heavy rainfall and the durability of Bridgestone’s dry tyre meant that they were immediately off the pace. The duo were lapped by the leaders two laps before the halfway point of the race, their gamble definitively failing to pay off. With eight laps remaining the first riders came in to change machines, but it was too late for the switch to make an impact. Alex de Angelis placed fourth, ahead of the remounted Rossi and home rider James Toseland with whom he dueled on the last lap. Rossi now leads the World Championship by 25 points from Lorenzo. 250cc Hiroshi Aoyama came out on top in the 250cc race, as Donington Park dried out and gave a headache for the title contenders. Aoyama had a pair of near-misses, but managed the degradation of his Dunlops to perfection as none of the big guns elected to make a switch. Backmarkers and riders attempting to unlap themselves came into play, but Aoyama remained cool to add to his win total and World Championship lead. Álvaro Bautista and Mattia Pasini finished second and third, respectively. 125cc Julián Simón emerged victorious in a five-lap sprint for glory in the final 125cc contest. Rainfall eleven laps from the scheduled end of the twenty-five lap showdown closed back up the field and created a thrilling finale, won by the series leader. Second place went to Fontana Racing’s Simone Corsi, taking his first rostrum since the final round of the 2008 season at Valencia. He had led the race on the final lap, but was taken by Simón and unable to regain the place. Last year’s victor at Donington Park, Scott Redding made an unlikely push for the podium from twelfth on the grid. The Blusens Aprilia rider had a great first section of the race to move up to the second row of the revised grid, and held his nerve in the rain for third place and a home top three finish. The ‘second race’ began with a mercurial start for Bradley Smith, who took the lead before taking a crash on the wet track when battling with Marc Márquez. He rejoined to take his bow in front of the home fans, whilst the battle at the front raged on. Two laps on, when leading the race, Márquez fell to the same fate. MotoGP takes a brief break before returning in the Czech Republic on August 16th. More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD DESPITE DISAPPOINTING DAY FOR FIAT YAMAHA TEAM A damp British Grand Prix at Donington Park saw both Fiat Yamaha riders crash out of the lead in slippery conditions, although Valentino Rossi was able to remount and finished a brilliant fifth, extending his championship lead in the process. Jorge Lorenzo was less lucky and was unable to continue, meaning he had to watch the rest of the race from the pits after sliding out on lap nine. Yamaha kept up its 100% podium record for the season however as a superb ride from Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards sealed second place behind winner Andrea Dovizioso. Rossi held onto the lead from pole into turn one but a frenetic first lap saw a shake-up between several riders and it was Toni Elias who led across the line for the first time, followed by Lorenzo and Rossi. There were more changes of position between the top five over the next few laps before Lorenzo took the lead at the start of lap five, with Rossi passing Dani Pedrosa and eventual race-winner Dovizioso next time around to move into second behind his team-mate. At that point the race looked like it was developing into another Fiat Yamaha duel but unfortunately on lap nine Lorenzo touched the white line in the last corner and went down. He was unhurt and ran to his bike to remount but it was damaged and lodged under the air fence and the Spaniard was forced to return to the garage. The race was now between Rossi and Dovizioso, who were over ten seconds clear of the chasing pack by this time. The pair were pushing hard but light rain meant the track was becoming slippery in places and on lap 20 Rossi, too, made a rare mistake and slid out. The Italian was more fortunate than his team-mate however and was able to rejoin the race in 11th place. As the rain became heavier a few riders pitted to change bikes but Rossi decided to take a chance and stay out, making up several places before a last-lap move on James Toseland landed him a creditable fifth. With Rossi’s other close rivals Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner also having less than perfect days, the reigning World Champion leaves the UK having stretched his lead to 25 points from his team-mate, with Stoner a further 12 points back. The MotoGP paddock now has a three-week summer break before Round 11 at Brno on 16th August. Valentino Rossi Position: 5th Time: +21.622 “Once Jorge had crashed I was riding to win, as is always my style. In hindsight maybe I should have let Dovizioso pass me for a while but it was difficult to judge in such strange conditions. Riding in the rain with slick tyres is always a risk and it was quite slippery, the turns on the left were all wet which made the left side of the tyre cold and that’s why I crashed. Luckily it was a slow fall and my bike wasn’t hurt much. In fact, my bike was ‘bravissima’ today, both before and after the crash! After that we made a great recovery, I chose to remain with slick tyres despite the rain and the result was eleven points, which are like gold dust for us because we have extended the lead despite what happened here and we’re going on holiday with a good advantage over our rivals. Finally I want to say well done to Dovi but especially to Colin, who rode like a devil today!” Jorge Lorenzo Position: DNF Time: Lap 9 “I got a good start and the first few laps went well, I was feeling quite comfortable in the lead. Unfortunately on the final corner of the ninth lap I made a small mistake, got my line wrong and touched the white line and there was nothing I could do; it was very slippery. I was okay and wanted to carry on but my bike was too badly damaged. Of course I’m sad and disappointed but this is racing and these feelings don’t help, you just have to learn from a mistake like this and look forwards. Valentino was lucky that he could continue after his crash, but it wasn’t our day. I am going to enjoy the break now despite this and take the chance to do plenty of training so we can come back at full strength in Brno.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “We missed an opportunity today but we’ve come out of it well so we have to be thankful! They were very difficult conditions and it was easy to make a mistake but at the end of the day we have to look at the championship and consider that in those terms today was more positive than negative for us. We now have a one-race lead which is an important barrier and we’ve got a bit of a holiday now before we come back and resume the fight.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “What a crazy day! We missed a great chance to get some points and a good result but unfortunately Jorge just touched the line and he had no chance to save it. It was also unlucky that the bike was stuck under the fence because there was no chance for him to continue. It’s a pity of course because the team did a great job this weekend and we were competitive in the wet and the dry, but Jorge will learn from this and will be stronger next time. We’ve got a small break, not really enough for a holiday but enough to recharge the batteries a bit after a busy two months.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Double Donington delight for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team Colin Edwards produced one of his greatest MotoGP performances to bid farewell to the British Grand Prix at Donington Park with a stunning second place this afternoon. And making it double delight for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team, James Toseland fought superbly in treacherous conditions to equal his best MotoGP result with sixth position. A dramatic race started slowly for Edwards as the American rode tentatively in the opening stages while he assessed tricky track conditions and soft compound front tyre he was using for the first time this weekend. With light rain falling on sections of the Leicestershire track throughout, Edwards dropped back to 15th and at the end of lap seven he was only in 13th. The 35-year-old then commenced a breathtaking charge through the field to move into fifth position on lap 20, with Edwards producing an exhibition of riding in mixed conditions. He was comfortably the fastest rider on the track when he moved into third on lap 23 with a pass on Dani Pedrosa to set up a thrilling finale to the 30-lap race. Having trailed Randy de Puniet by over ten seconds at the halfway point, Edwards exchanged overtakes with the French rider in the closing stages before securing his fifth MotoGP second place on the last lap. He was just 1.360s away from race winner Andrea Dovizioso at the chequered flag to secure his 11th MotoGP rostrum. Toseland gave the huge 89,977-strong home crowd plenty to cheer about too, the British rider constantly posing a threat for the top six as he was locked in an exciting fight with Loris Capirossi, Marco Melandri and Mika Kallio for much of the race. The 28-year-old looked on course for a career best fifth place on the last lap until he came under a late attack from reigning world champion Valentino Rossi, the Italian pushing Toseland back to sixth with an overtake at the penultimate corner. Colin Edwards 2nd “That was a pretty intense 48 minutes but at the start there was no way I thought I was going to be on the podium. I’m not sure what happened at the start but I just had guys coming by everywhere. I was using a front tyre I’d not used all weekend and it took me a while to get a feel for it. Once I got some momentum going and I started to understand how the front tyre was feeling I started pushing my way through. But with about seven or eight laps to go I started having some big moments because it was hard to know where it was raining and where it wasn’t. And all the time you’re trying to figure out where there’s grip and where there isn’t. It was easy to mistake and the left side of the rear tyre was pretty cold and that just helped make it even more mentally draining because you need to concentrate so hard. I could see I was catching Randy really quick and we got into a good battle. He was faster than me in some parts and I was better in others but luckily I passed him on the last lap and made it stick. By that time though Andrea was too far ahead to think about pushing on for that first win, but second is a great way to finish at Donington. I’ve got to say a big thanks to my guys at Tech 3 because they always give me great support. Yamaha and Bridgestone too were just awesome today, so I’m really happy.” James Toseland 6th 55 points “I don’t know where to start after a race like that. It was so difficult for the entire race to gauge how much rain was falling and where it was falling and it took incredible concentration. I got my head down and was fifth on the first lap but just after halfway I was back in tenth because I was struggling for temperature in the left side of the tyre. I was wondering whether to pull in or not and change for the rain tyres at one point but I carried on and kept my lap times as consistent as I could because it was so easy to make a mistake. With some of the other guys stopping to switch bikes, I made up a few places and was fifth for the final few laps and thinking I was going to get my best ever MotoGP result. That would have been amazing to do that in front of my home crowd, who were absolutely magnificent with their support today. But at the end Valentino (Rossi) came through so strong on the last lap. He passed me at The Esses but I managed to dive back under him, bu t he was phenomenal on the brakes at the Melbourne Loop. I wasn’t going to try and do anything that might take us both out but it’s another sixth place and it definitely makes amends for the big disappointment of last year. Congratulations to Colin too because he rode a great race and deserved a podium.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “That was an incredibly dramatic race and an unbelievable performance from Colin. It was a really difficult race in those conditions and I think Colin made the right decision not to come into the pits and switch for the rain tyres. He coped brilliantly in tough conditions on the slick tyres and at stages in the race his lap times were very impressive. For several laps he was easily the fastest rider on track and the way he came through the field provided a great spectacle for the British fans. I am so happy for him and everybody at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 for all their hard work this season. Colin might be one of the oldest guys on the grid but he proved again today that you don’t have to be young in MotoGP to be fast. Honestly though it is hard not to have a little bit of regret when you finish so close to the victory but we can only be happy. I also want to say congratulations to James because he also produced a tremendous performance. He was under a lot of pressure in front of his crowd after the disappointment of last year but today we saw he can handle it in really difficult conditions. It would have been great for him to have held off Valentino for his best MotoGP result because he deserved it for the way he rode. But I have nothing but praise for both of them today.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: DUCATI MARLBORO PAIR LOST THEIR DONINGTON GAMBLE Ducati Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden paid the price for a bold gamble that backfired in the British Grand Prix, opting to run wet tyres with the rest of the field on slicks as drizzle fell on the starting grid at Donington Park. The Australian and the American were concerned about the state of the track after the sighting lap and, in the hope that the light rainfall would become heavier as the race progressed, they choose to make the switch from slicks to full wets. However, even though a handful of riders did make the change late in the race, the downpour never came and the pair could only struggled to fourteenth and fifteenth place respectively. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) (14th) “Everybody knows I’ve been struggling for the last few races in the dry so I was praying for the rain to come today. Every single lap we were out there it threatened to pour down and we were very close to having the perfect situation. Unfortunately, even though it got heavier, it didn’t come soon enough and our tyres were destroyed so it ended up being the wrong decision. For us, in our current situation, I still think it was a risk worth taking because it could have worked out fantastically but obviously we’re disappointed it didn’t. I’m sorry for the team because they’ve done a great job to give me a bike capable of winning races at every circuit we’ve been to lately, even though for one reason or another I haven’t been able to get the best out of it. I’m looking forward to a break now and hopefully we come back a little bit stronger at Brno.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) (15th) “We took a big gamble, it backfired and it’s frustrating because we made a big change to the bike for warm-up this morning and I had a great feeling with it in the wet. The track was damp for the sighting lap and it was spitting with rain on the grid and since my pace on slicks hasn’t been great all weekend we took a big gamble. I had nothing to lose so we rolled the dice. The odds were against me but it was so close to paying off. It rained throughout the race but the track was so warm the moisture wasn’t accumulating on the ground and unfortunately that spelt disaster for us. I take full responsibility for the decision. We agreed on it together with the team but it was my shout, I thought ‘let’s try and be a hero here!’ The tyre was pretty much destroyed after seven or eight laps but there was no point coming in to pit and it came apart five laps from the end. To be honest it’s amazing how it held together for that long! I don’t want to say it was a mistake; it was just a gamble that didn’t pay off and we’ll learn from it.” LIVIO SUPPO MotoGP Project Director “We took a big gamble today and it didn’t work. We actually informed both riders that all the other guys were on slicks and that we thought it was the right choice but they were both adamant it was too dangerous and at the end of the day we have to trust their instinct in a tricky situation like that. If it had rained heavier we might be celebrating an amazing success now but we’re not and we have to accept it. Anyway, let’s think positive: the potential is there, the bike is working well and we know our riders have the capability to score top results when we come back.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE SEASON FOR CANEPA EIGHT. KALLIO TENTH Confused race in Donington for MotoGP riders. The track conditions have changed many times due to some light rain that has fallen on the circuit where there were about ten laps left. Niccolò has managed very well this situation and after a difficult start he has begun his spectacular comeback. The Italian rider has reached and overtaken four riders in the last part of the race concluding in eight position, his best performance until this moment in the MotoGP class. His teammate, Mika Kallio, has started much better but when the first rain dropped he thought to come in the pit to step on the bike with rain tyres and set up. Probably not the right decision as unluckily rain has stopped after only a few laps and the Finnish rider couldn’t make the comeback he expected. Mika has therefore dropped from the sixth to the tenth final position. Anyway a good result for the Pramac Racing Team that brings for the first time in the season both riders in the top ten. MotoGP now takes two weeks of summer break before August 16th when the Grand Prix of Czech Republic will take place in Brno. Marco Rigamonti – Niccolò Canepa Track Engineer “Second top ten for Niccolò and once again with confuse track condition. We have chosen to start the race with dry setting and Niccolò decided to don’t change the bike when it started to rain and I believe this two decisions have revealed the best ones. Niccolò find himself at ease with this kind of track condition. At the beginning, with dry surface, he has taken some laps to warm up the tyres, but once he found a good feeling he made a good comeback. We are really happy for him. He deserves it because he has always given his best and never gave up.” Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 8th in the race – 16th in MotoGP classification “Today has finally gone well. It has been a particular race because the track has remained humid from the first to the last lap. At one point it was very complicated to remain on the bike. The riders with more experience than me in this championship have a small advantage on the dry, but with this condition maybe a bit of madness and sensibility on the bike is needed. Also on the dry track I am improving race after race reducing my distance from the best riders. This result makes me go on vacation a bit more serene and ready to start with even more enthusiasm in Brno.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – 10th in the race – 15th in MotoGP classification “I am not very happy because we expected a lot more from this race. With the dry track we were fighting for sixth position but when it started to rain I thought it would have been better to change bike. After only a couple of laps rain has basically stopped and I couldn’t improve my prior lap times on slick tyres. In these conditions is never easy to make the right decision also because you don’t have much time to think about it. Tuesday I will have surgery to close the cut at the injured finger and after a few days of vacation I will be back at the top for Brno race.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PERFECT DOVIZIOSO RIDES BRILLIANLTY TO TAKE DEBUT MOTOGP VICTORY Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso rode an immaculate race in the hardest possible circumstances at Donington Park today to record his first ever MotoGP victory. The 23-year-old Italian mastered the perilous track conditions to win the British Grand Prix and complete a hat-trick of victories, having won the won the 125cc race in 2004 and the 250cc event in 2007. Dovizioso is one of only two riders to have won in the three Grand Prix classes at Donington, the other being Valentino Rossi, who came fifth today. The race was declared wet before the start, but almost the entire MotoGP field chose to begin on slick Bridgestone tyres because of the largely dry track surface. Dovizioso got away well and was in the mix during an action packed first few laps which saw the order changing frantically right the way down the field. The first laps were fast and furious and Dovizioso was on typically combative form, but then rain began to fall sporadically and conditions became treacherous. Once Lorenzo fell from the lead, Dovizioso cleverly tracked new leader Valentino Rossi until he too fell, leaving the 23-year-old Italian out in front. In the most difficult conditions possible, with rain on his visor and the grip changing from lap to lap, Dovizioso held off a late challenge from Colin Edwards and Randy de Puniet to score a victory of immense skill and maturity. Though fast in the early laps, his team-mate Dani Pedrosa had a difficult race as the wet conditions robbed him of grip and feedback. The Spaniard was fastest in first two of the weekend’s practice sessions, but was forced to bring his RC212V home in ninth place today on the final British Grand Prix to be held at Donington Park. Pedrosa can take comfort that the latest revisions to the RC212V race machine have provided the platform for Repsol Honda’s second victory in the last three races and he will return with confidence when the MotoGP paddock reconvenes at Brno in the Czech Republic for the next race on Sunday 16 August. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 1st World Championship position: 6th 94 points “It’s a fantastic feeling to win my first MotoGP race because this is the top series in the world with the best riders and so to win is a fantastic emotion. I’m very pleased with my performance today as the conditions were so difficult. It was like three different races – riding hard at the start when it was nearly dry, following Valentino as it got wetter, and then judging the pace once I was in front. I rode well in every section and managed the very tricky situation, so it’s really satisfying. This is also important for my confidence after the last three races. In the first three laps I took a lot of risks to maintain my position with the leaders because the tyres need two or three laps to get up to temperature. Once I was following Valentino it was quite easy because it’s not so difficult to follow someone in these conditions since the leader has to judge where it’s wet and where it’s dry. But when he fell it was clear from his crash that the tyres were very cold and this was scary because now I had to set the pace. Colin and Randy closed the gap quickly in the last five laps and at this point I was being careful and wasn’t pushing to the limit, but in the final two laps I pushed as hard as I could and they weren’t able to get close enough to try and pass. I’m so happy with this win, and we’ll use it to move forward. The important thing is to fight with the best riders in normal dry conditions so me and the team will work really hard to repeat this victory in the dry.” DANI PEDROSA 9th World Championship position: 4th 115 points “First I have to congratulate Andrea on his win because he rode a great race from beginning to end in very difficult conditions. For me, the result today is obviously disappointing and the team because I have been fast all weekend and I couldn’t keep that up during the race. At the beginning I was feeling good on the Bridgestone slicks and was able to judge my pace well according to the conditions. As the rain came however, I couldn’t maintain the temperature in the tyres and when this happens the grip really goes away and I wasn’t able to control the bike as I wanted. On the grid I was sure my tyre choice was correct, but with 10 laps to go I thought that maybe I should go into the pits and change to wets, but it wasn’t worth losing 20 seconds for the bike change because the lap times of the riders on the wet tyres were the same as the times on slicks. It was a frustrating race in strange conditions, but we’ll still have confidence going into the next race in Brno because we’ve been making progress recently and I’m feeling strong on the bike.” KAZUHIKO YAMANO – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “This is a great result for Andrea and he did an excellent job in conditions that were extremely difficult, so congratulations to him and the team. We can built on this result and I think it is only the start for Andrea – now he can get stronger and stronger. He’s had a tricky time at the last few races, but his pace and consistency has been improving sol he and his team really deserve this result. For Dani it was a difficult race and he’s disappointed naturally, but if we look on the bright side, he steered clear of trouble and took some points, so he can come back strongly at the next round. The Repsol Honda Team is challenging for wins regularly now, and we’ll continue to work hard to keep this up.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Wet tyre gamble doesn’t pay off for Rizla Suzuki at Donington Rizla Suzuki racers Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen both took a gamble to pit for wet weather tyres at a damp Donington Park in England today, but unfortunately the expected rain never fully materialised. Capirossi started from 14th on the grid and made his way through the field as gentle, but persistent, drizzle fell over the 4.023m British Circuit. He made his way up to sixth place by lap 10 and as the rain started to fall more strongly he took the risk to pit and change to his Suzuki GSV-R prepared with wet weather tyres. Unluckily for Capirossi the rain stopped almost immediately and he was unable to make use of the different set-up, eventually bringing his bike home in 11th place. Vermeulen had a tough weekend at Donington and was also caught out by the changeable English weather. He too pitted to change his bike in readiness for the expected downpour, but when it didn’t happen he was left to think of what might have been as he rode to a 13th place finish. Almost 90,000 fans braved the awful conditions today to witness the last Donington GP of the present era. They were certainly treated to plenty of excitement throughout the 30-lap race, before Andrea Dovizioso on a factory Honda took his first MotoGP victory. Rizla Suzuki will next see track action during the Rizla Racing Day at Assen in the Netherlands on Sunday 9th August, when Capirossi and Vermeulen will be doing some demonstration laps on their Suzuki GSV-Rs. That will be followed by the next round of the MotoGP World Championship the following weekend, when the MotoGP circus moves to Brno in the Czech Republic for round 11 on Sunday 16th August. Loris Capirossi: “Today was a big gamble on many things with the way the weather was behaving. We started with slicks but just couldn’t get enough heat in the tyres, especially in the left-hand-side. I was in group battling for sixth place and when it started to rain heavily I thought it was a good time to come in and change to the wet bike and try to take advantage. Then it stopped raining and within two laps I had destroyed the tyre. It is sometimes so difficult to guess what the weather will do at Donington and really it was unfortunate because in those kinds of conditions we need some luck, but we just didn’t get any today.” Chris Vermeulen: “It was very tough out there today and the conditions seemed to change on every corner, making it very hard to keep heat and grip in the tyres. Everything was difficult and then I had a big slide and went off the track, causing me to lose a lot of time. Towards the end of the race it started to rain harder and it was difficult to ride out there. I came in and changed my bike thinking it would rain heavier, but it stopped and it proved to be the wrong decision. It was a difficult Grand Prix for all concerned so congratulations to everyone that stayed up because it was hard work out there.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “It has been a difficult British Grand Prix for us and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. Today’s crazy conditions gave us an opportunity to level the playing field. In the early laps it looked like Loris and his bike were working well and he managed to force his way up to sixth. His gamble to follow Melandri in and pit for tyres could have easily have paid off if it had rained hard, but the rain eased off almost immediately and he wasn’t able to capitalise on the wet tyres. “Chris had an extremely challenging GP and struggled to generate any feeling or confidence the whole weekend. We now have some significant work to do to improve the bike’s sensitivity to weather and track conditions and allow the riders to get the best out of themselves. “It has not been the best ‘home’ Grand Prix in terms of performance and results, but at the same time I would like to thank all our partners, potential partners and friends of the team who have braved the weather and come to Donington Park this weekend, we will be working flat-out between now and Brno to try and give them the results they deserve.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Dovizioso takes his first win on Bridgestone tyres in thrilling British GP Round 10: Great Britain GP Race Donington Park, Sunday 26 July 2009 Bridgestone compounds available: Front: Wets Soft Slicks Soft, Medium Rear: Wets Soft Slicks Soft, Medium Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso won his first race on Bridgestone tyres in mixed and incredibly challenging conditions at Donington Park. Rain, a cold track temperature and very slippery tarmac all combined to make a treacherous but nail-biting race. The race was declared wet before the start but conditions were unpredictable as light rain started to fall following a morning of intermittent showers. Only the Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden chose to start on Bridgestone’s wet tyres. Dovizioso opted for Bridgestone’s soft front and rear slicks and chased Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi closely in the opening laps. After the latter fell, Dovizioso made the best use of his soft compound rubber to extend what by lap 23 was a 13.5second lead. Second was Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Colin Edwards, also using the soft compound slicks. He mounted a charge to climb from 15th position to fight a fantastic battle with third-placed Randy de Puniet, outbraking the LCR Honda rider on the last corner of the final lap. Edwards scored his first podium finish on Bridgestone tyres, and it was de Puniet’s first podium of the season. De Puniet was one of only four riders to opt for the medium compound front slick, the harder of the Bridgestone options this weekend. In the cold and damp conditions, the soft Bridgestone slick was the favoured choice. As the rain continued to fall for the duration of the race, Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi, Chris Vermeulen and Mika Kallio entered the pits for their wet bikes, but remaining on Bridgestone’s slicks proved the winning tactic. Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “It was an incredibly challenging race for tyres and riders today with rain, cold temperatures and a circuit that is slippery anyway. I am very happy with the fact that our soft compound slick tyres delivered the performance they did in these conditions, and that they coped well with the rain. Towards the end of the race after the four riders had changed to wet tyres, the times show that our slick tyres and wet tyres could run at the same pace. “Even though there was small rain throughout the race, our slick tyres performed well from start to finish. Tyre temperatures were low because of the low ambient temperature, the rain and the wind, but even so warm-up performance was reasonable; better than expected in these conditions. It was another fantastic race for spectators and one in which we saw four different leaders and some great battles throughout the field. I’d like to congratulate Andrea for his first MotoGP win, and Colin and Randy as it is great to see satellite teams on the podium.” Andrea Dovizioso – Repsol Honda Team Race Winner “The race was very difficult because the temperature was very low and it was raining all race so was difficult to get the temperature in the tyre. It was very difficult for the first few laps, and especially in the last three laps I took a lot of risks. I had a light visor so was not easy to understand which parts were wet and dry. I saw Randy and Colin catching me and I pushed 100 per cent for the last few laps and managed the situation which is very important to me. I’m really happy to get a podium and especially the win here, the emotion is incredible!” Top ten classification (Sunday 15:30 GMT+1) Pos. Rider Team Race time Gap Front tyre Rear tyre Tyres 1 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 48m26.267s Soft Soft Bridgestone slick 2 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 48m27.627s +1.360s Soft Soft Bridgestone slick 3 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 48m27.867s +1.600s Medium Soft Bridgestone slick 4 Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 48m35.225s +8.958s Soft Soft Bridgestone slick 5 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 48m47.889s +21.622s Soft Soft Bridgestone slick 6 James Toseland Monster Yamaha Tech3 48m48.732s +22.465s Soft Soft Bridgestone slick 7 Marco Melandri Hayate Racing Team 49m01.551s +35.284s Soft Soft Bridgestone slick 8 Niccolo Canepa Pramac Racing 49m05.036s +38.769s Medium Soft Bridgestone slick 9 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 49m08.379s +42.112s Medium Soft Bridgestone slick 10 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing 49m12.112s +45.845s Soft Soft Bridgestone slick Weather: Damp. Ambient 18-17°C; Track 22-19°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Honda: Weather: rain and drizzle Crowd: 89,977 DOVIZIOSO TAKES FIRST MotoGP VICTORY, AOYAMA EXTENDS 250 LEAD Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) scored a double success for Honda in today’s British Grand Prix. It was a fitting achievement for the Japanese manufacturer which made its World Championship debut in Britain 50 years ago this summer. This was Dovizioso’s first victory in the elite class, while Aoyama’s third win of the season extended his lead in the 250 World Championship. Dovizioso won in treacherous conditions, with drizzle falling on and off throughout the 30 laps. The former 125 World Champion, who has previously ridden Hondas to 250 and 125 successes at Donington Park, exhibited enormous courage and inch-perfect riding to take a 1.3 second victory from Colin Edwards (Yamaha). His maiden MotoGP win was Repsol Honda’s second success in three races, following the US GP win of Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) earlier this month. Honda satellite team riders Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) completed a great day for Honda in third and fourth, making it three RC212Vs in the top four. De Puniet’s third-place result, just two tenths of a second behind Edwards, was his first podium with Honda. Dovizioso led for two laps early on, the slippery conditions claiming Toni Elias (San Carlo Gresini Honda) and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) by one-third distance. When Lorenzo crashed out of the lead on lap nine, series leader Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) took over, chased by Dovizioso. The two Italians were inches apart as they felt their way in the risky conditions, their lap times slowing down and speeding up as rain showers hit various parts of the circuit. On lap 20 Rossi slid off at the Foggy Esses, handing an eight second lead to Dovizioso. But the last third of the race was anything but easy for the new leader. The intermittent rainfall caused the left side of his tyres to cool down too much, leaving him with very little grip at certain points of the track. And all the while de Puniet and Edwards were inching closer. Dovi kept his head and just enough of a lead to prevent the pair getting close enough to launch an attack. Today’s result, which followed three no-scores for Dovi, moves him to sixth in the World Championship. Of course, de Puniet and Edwards were suffering the exact same problems as Dovizioso. The Frenchman and the American swapped positions several times in the closing laps, Edwards finally taking second place into the final turn. Nevertheless, de Puniet was delighted to give the Monaco-based LCR Honda team (run by former GP winner Lucio Cecchinello) its first MotoGP podium. De Angelis was delighted to equal his best MotoGP result with a storming ride to fourth place, the same as he managed in last year’s Italian and German Grands Prix. Tenth at the end of the first lap, the San Marino rider moved steadily forward, taking fourth place from Pedrosa on lap 23. For a while it looked like he might make the podium, but like everyone he was struggling to ride the knife edge between going fast and going too fast. Pedrosa ran with the leaders during the early stages of the race but the Spaniard’s tyres cooled down too much, leaving him without the grip he needed to maintain his pace. At one point he considered entering the pits to change to his second bike equipped with rain tyres (as did several rivals) but decided that would cost him too much time. At the end of the race he had netted seven valuable points, while two of his title rivals (Lorenzo and Rossi) crashed and Casey Stoner (Ducati) gambled on starting the race with rain tyres, finishing 14th. Former 125 World Champion Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda), who only graduated to the premier category last month, came home in 12th place for his second and best MotoGP points haul. Elias led the first two laps and was still with the leading group when he ran wide out of Schwantz Curve, touched a damp kerb and crashed in spectacular fashion. The Spaniard was unhurt in the high-speed fall. Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) proved his talent and intelligence with a brilliant 250 win in tricky conditions. The race started on a drying track, all but one of the 26 starters using rain tyres. Aoyama took the lead on the first lap at the chicane and from there he steadily established a 6.7 second lead. But as the track dried, the rain tyres started to deteriorate, with some riders choosing to pit for slicks. Aoyama meanwhile came under pressure from title rival Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia), who closed the gap to 2.3 seconds at one point. The Japanese star handled the pressure brilliantly to take the win by almost six seconds. Aoyama’s third victory of the year extends his series lead to 15 points over Bautista with seven races to go. Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda) rode another great race, scoring his seventh consecutive top-ten finish. The 250 rookie has only finished outside the top ten once this year, in Japan where he was 12th. He is also one of only three 250 riders to have scored points in every race so far. Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG) came very close to crashing on the very first lap and decided then and there that he wanted to make sure he scored some points in the sketchy conditions. He finished the race in tenth place. Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) bounced back from a fall to score the final World Championship point in 15th position. Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda) was one of several riders who swapped to slicks, so he was one of the fastest men on the track in the final stages, passing Bautista to unlap himself and following Aoyama over the line. His final result was 19th place. Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda) also pitted for slicks and finished 22nd. Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG) was not able to capitalise on his second row starting position. Wilairot was running in 14th place when he ran into quick-shift problems eventually deciding to retire from the action with nine laps remaining in the 27 laps race. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), race winner, said: “It’s a fantastic feeling to win my first MotoGP race because this is the top series in the world with the best riders and so to win is a fantastic emotion. I’m very pleased with my performance today as the conditions were so difficult. It was like three different races riding hard at the start when it was nearly dry, following Valentino as it got wetter, and then judging the pace once I was in front. I rode well in every section and managed the very tricky situation, so it’s really satisfying. This is also important for my confidence after the last three races. In the first three laps I took a lot of risks to maintain my position with the leaders because the tyres need two or three laps to get up to temperature. Once I was following Valentino it was quite easy because it’s not so difficult to follow someone in these conditions since the leader has to judge where it’s wet and where it’s dry. But when he fell it was clear from his crash that the tyres were very cold and this was scary because now I had to set the pace. Colin and Randy closed the gap quickly in the last five laps and at this point I was being careful and wasn’t pushing to the limit, but in the final two laps I pushed as hard as I could and they weren’t able to get close enough to try and pass. I’m so happy with this win, and we’ll use it to move forward. The important thing is to fight with the best riders in normal dry conditions, so me and the team will work really hard to repeat this victory in the dry.” Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), third-place finisher, said: “It’s like a dream for me and the team! It was a very stressful race and I was very nervous on the grid as the conditions were pretty bad. I took a good start on slick tyres and was very aggressive in the first laps. I got into sixth place but the gap on the front riders was too wide and I thought to keep my pace without taking any risks. Elias crashed in front of me and Pedrosa did not seem very confident on his machine. When he started to lose time I took my chance to pass him and we battled for several laps. I could overtake him because my machine was working well and I suddenly realised that I was holding third position. After Rossi’s crash I took second place and tried to remain focused because the surface was very slippery. Then Edwards came up quickly, giving me the chance to reduce the gap on Dovizioso, but it was too late and too dangerous, so I kept my position and we battled for the second place until the last corner. I am so happy for this result and want to thank everybody especially Lucio. We are sharing an amazing moment together!” Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), fourth-place finisher, said: “I am absolutely delighted. That was one of the most difficult races in my whole career because when you’re on a bike with so much power in those conditions, on a circuit like Donington, which everybody knows is particularly slippery, it’s tough! The hardest thing was finding a compromise between attacking for a good position and defending it by staying upright. I could see I had a good pace and I was closing the gap to the guys in front of me but the most important thing was to finish and get a good result. I think that shows how much I have matured because it is the kind of mistake I made last year. I hope that is a good sign for the future and I think it proves the way myself and my chief mechanic have kept working and kept trying to improve without losing faith.” Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), ninth-place finisher, said: “First I have to congratulate Andrea on his win because he rode a great race from beginning to end in very difficult conditions. For me, the result today is obviously disappointing because I have been fast all weekend and I couldn’t keep that up during the race. At the beginning I was feeling good on the Bridgestone slicks and was able to judge my pace well according to the conditions. As the rain came, however, I couldn’t maintain the temperature in the tyres and when this happens the grip really goes away and I wasn’t able to control the bike as I wanted. On the grid I was sure my tyre choice was correct, but with 10 laps to go I thought that maybe I should go into the pits and change to wets, but it wasn’t worth losing 20 seconds for the bike change because the lap times of the riders on the wet tyres were the same as the times on slicks. It was a frustrating race in strange conditions, but we’ll still have confidence going into the next race in Brno because we’ve been making progress recently and I’m feeling strong on the bike.” Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda), 12th-place finisher, said: “I’m really happy. I’m happy because of the race, for the result we got and because we chose the best strategy. At the beginning, I was not sure about what tyres to ask for: the weather was changing second by second. We decided for slicks and that was the right choice. A key point in the race was when I decided to stay out and not to come into the pits to change bikes, in spite of the increasing rain. I calculated that it would not gain time, so I decided to continue on rain tyres, and this too was a good move.” Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini), DNF, said: “The crash was a real shame because I felt we were capable of a good result today. I’m really disappointed for everybody in the team. I got a great start and my pace was really strong, but unfortunately my rear wheel ran slightly onto the white line and it was so slippery that I crashed. It was nice to at least run at the front for a while and even lead the race, and when I was behind Rossi I was comfortably able to follow his pace. That’s what makes me so convinced I could have kept it up to the end. I don’t want to think about the negatives or what might have been because the good news today was that we ran with the front guys and we know we can do it. That gives a great confidence boost for the future.” HONDA 250cc RIDER QUOTES Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) race winner, said: “It was difficult because the track quickly dried out, but we had chosen rain tyres. I got a good start, got into the lead and could push hard to find my rhythm. I made a good advantage on the other guys, so I felt good, but by mid-race my tyres were completely finished, so it became difficult. I had to watch my pit board to see the gap to Alvaro and control the gap. I felt comfortable on the bike and I could keep my rhythm, even though the tyres were destroyed” Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG), tenth-place finisher, said: “Today I made a bad start and came very close to crashing at the end of the very first lap. After that I decided to take care and get the maximum points possible so I would not lose my position in the points table. In this morning’s warm-up session we set up the bike for wet conditions, but in the race it didn’t work at its maximum. Anyway, I pushed as hard as I dared and I’m happy because I got five valuable points which keeps me well up in the points.” Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda), seventh-place finisher, said: “That was a strange race. Probably, the winning choice was to use slicks from the beginning, but nobody dared do it, everyone preferred a more conservative choice. At a point my crew showed me the signal ‘box’ to let me know that they were ready to change my tyres, if I wanted. But I preferred to stay out. At the beginning all was okay, then I began to experience some issues with the gearbox. At the end, the bike was sliding a lot and it was fun. But I’m a little bit disappointed it was a good race, but it could have been much better.” Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda), 15th-place finisher, said: “That was a very, very, very difficult race! We all expected more rain, so we started with rain tyres but soon the track was almost dry. The bike was moving around a lot on the rain tyres, so when I overtook Faubel I crashed as I tried to turn the bike into the corner. The left handlebar was badly bent so I had to use a strange riding position. I am very happy to get a point in these conditions!” Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda), 19th-place finisher, said: “The race became very difficult when I was on rain tyres. The bike was moving around all over the place because the tyres were getting so hot. It was easy to crash so I thought it would be a good decision to change to slick tyres. After that things were much better, but of course, we had lost a lot of time by going into the pits. It was difficult being with Bautista and Aoyama at the end, with me on slicks and them on rain tyres.” Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda), 22nd-place finisher, said: “That was a very strange race. I started on rain tyres but for some reason I had no grip whenever I opened the throttle. It was very odd, I don’t know if it was me, the setting or what. I changed tyres but obviously that lost me a lot of time and conditions were still quite difficult. But I suppose I gained a lot of experience today!” Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG), DNF, said: “Today is a day to forget. I made a bad start and I was down in 14th position. The whole race wasn’t good for me because I didn’t feel as smooth with the bike as I usually do. In morning warm-up we set up the bike for wet conditions and it was good, but in the race I didn’t feel the same. One of the little problems I had was that the shifter sensor didn’t work very well and I had to close the throttle to change the gear. Finally I decided to retire from the race because I didn’t feel that I could give my best. Now the holidays are here and I hope that this break may change my luck.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: STUNNING PODIUM FOR DE PUNIET AT DONINGTON Donington, 26 July: the LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet got a storming 3rd place in today’s 30-lap British Grand Prix at Donington Park. The tenth round of the season started today at 15:30 local time and was held in damp conditions with cloudy skies and some poor rain in the last part of the race. De Puniet posted the tenth lap time in yesterday’s sunny qualifying session at the 4.023 Km British track but this morning warm up session was conducted in the wet with De Puniet clocking an impressive 5th lap time. Started from the fourth row he ended the first lap in eight place setting consistent lap times in the front. At 21 laps to go the Frenchman riding the Honda RC212V started a thrilling battle with Pedrosa for the third place (Elias, Lorenzo and Rossi crashed out) and a closest one with Ewdards for the second place until the last corner. Randy is now holding the 8th position in the championship with 74 points. The MotoGP circus will now have a break of two weeks before the next Czech Republic GP on the 16 of August. De Puniet 3rd De Puniet: “It’s like a dream for me and the Team! It has been a very stressful race and I was very nervous on the grid as the conditions were pretty bad. I took a good start on slick tyres and was very aggressive in the first laps. I got the sixth place but the gap on the front riders was too wide and thought to keep my pace without taking any risk. Elias crashed in front of me and Pedrosa did not seem very confident on his machine. When he started to loose time I took my chance to pass him and we battled for several laps. I could overtake him as my machine was a bit faster and suddenly realized that I was holding the third position. After Rossi’s crash I took the second one remaining focused as the surface was very slippery. Then Edwards came up quickly giving me the chance to reduce the gap on Dovizioso but it was too late and too dangerous so I kept my position and we battled for the second place until the last corner. I am so happy for this result and want to thank everybody especially Lucio. We are sharing an amazing moment together!”