FIM MotoGP World Championship Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California July 5, 2009 Provisional Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 32 laps, 44:01.580 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), -0.344 second 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), -1.926 seconds 4. Casey Stoner (Ducati), -12.432 5. Nicky Hayden (Ducati), -21.663 6. Toni Elias (Honda), -22.041 7. Colin Edwards (Yamaha), -30.201 8. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), -32.857 9. Randy De Puniet (Honda), -40.325 10. Marco Melandri (Kawasaki), -48.028 11. Alex De Angelis (Honda), -48.810 12. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati), -78.531 13. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda), -26 laps, DNF, crash 14. Sete Gibernau (Ducati), -26 laps, DNF, crash 15. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki), -28 laps, DNF, mechanical 16. Gabor Talmasci (Honda), -29 laps, DNF, crash 17. James Toseland (Yamaha), DQ, jump start/failed to serve ride-through penalty Provisional World Championship Point Standings (after 8 of 17 races): 1. Rossi, 151 points 2. Lorenzo, 142 3. Stoner, 135 4. Pedrosa, 92 5. Edwards, 76 6. Dovizioso, 69 7. TIE, Melandri/Vermeulen, 61 9. De Puniet, 58 10. Capirossi, 56 11. Toseland, 39 12. Hayden, 38 13. Elias, 37 14. De Angelis, 36 15. Mika Kallio, 26 16. Canepa, 16 17. Gibernau, 12 18. Takahashi, 9 More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: SIXTH DOUBLE PODIUM FOR FIAT YAMAHA TEAM AFTER TENSE LAGUNA FINALE The Fiat Yamaha pairing of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo shared the MotoGP podium for the sixth time this season at the US Grand Prix today, finishing second and third at Laguna Seca. Rossi closed down a gap of over three seconds to eventual winner Dani Pedrosa but fell just short of making another final-corner pass, whilst a brave Lorenzo battled through the pain of his injured shoulder to rally after a poor start and finish a strong third. Rossi dropped one place to third at the start but Lorenzo, starting from pole, slipped right back through the field to eighth after the first corner. Both riders quickly began to make up ground however, the Italian passing Casey Stoner into the corkscrew and the Spaniard overtaking three riders to cross the line in fifth first time around. It was a short lived stint in second for Rossi as Stoner passed him back into turn one on the third lap while Pedrosa began to open up a big gap at the front of the field. There was no change for several laps until Andrea Dovizioso crashed on lap seven, elevating Lorenzo to fourth and giving the youngster clear air in front just as he began to find his rhythm. On lap twelve Rossi made his decisive pass on Casey Stoner and re-took second place and he immediately set about trying to close a gap of nearly three seconds to Pedrosa. Over the next few laps however it was Lorenzo who was the man on the move and the brave Mallorcan gradually began to move closer to Stoner until he was able to make a brilliant pass on the brakes into the final corner to move into third. With Rossi unable to make much headway into Pedrosa’s lead at that point, another Fiat Yamaha showdown began to brew as lap-by-lap Lorenzo edged closer to his team-mate. With four laps to go the 22-year-old saw his chance and tried to pass the World Champion at the final corner, but he suffered a big slide in the process and ran wide, letting Rossi back through and dropping back over a second. The drama wasn’t over yet however as on the final lap Rossi suddenly found himself within striking distance of Pedrosa and a final-corner overtake looked to be on the cards, but in the end he was just a couple of tenths too far off and crossed the line 0.344 seconds adrift, with Lorenzo 1.926 seconds behind him. Rossi extends his lead at the top of the championship to nine points over Lorenzo, who in turn stretches the gap from Stoner to seven points. There is a now a two week break before the MotoGP paddock returns to Europe for another double-header at the Sachsenring in Germany followed by Donington in the UK. Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: +0.344 “The first half of the race was quite difficult because we weren’t at 100% today. I didn’t expect Dani to be so fast but he was very strong and there wasn’t much I could do to go with him! The last ten laps were very exciting because Lorenzo was pushing me so hard that I had to really make another step and then Dani slowed down and suddenly he was right in front of me! I thought there was a chance to pass on the final corner but unfortunately I was just too far off and it was too much of a risk. Second is good today because we were not in perfect shape here, we missed something in the setting and this is always a hard track anyway, so we have to be happy with these twenty points. We have extended the championship lead so it’s a good result for us and we have shown that we are still strong this year even when things are not perfect. This consistency is the most important thing for the championship. Now I am happy that we have some time to rest because these have been a hard two weeks and the next two races are very important because we are all so close!” Jorge Lorenzo Position: 3rd Time: +1.926 “I always try to do my best and I think that is what I have done today, considering my physical condition. I am really proud and I think that this was one of my best races. My foot was okay but I had a lot of pain in my right shoulder, which meant I wasn’t strong in my right hand and I had to over-compensate with my left; I am really tired now! I want to thank the Clinica Mobile because they made it possible for me to finish the race. After a while I started to forget about the pain a bit and I just wanted to do my best and I knew that it was possible to pass Valentino. Unfortunately I hit some bumps when I braked deep and my rear tyre moved a lot and I was lucky not to crash maybe without this mistake, if I had been able to pass him, it would have been possible to win but anyway third is good in the circumstances and we have taken good points. Now we have some time to recover; I am fit and strong so I hope that by Sachsenring I will be back to my best.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “In the end I think we can be happy with the overall balance of this weekend because we have kept our championship lead and even gained points. Bearing in mind that we weren’t at 100% of our potential, finishing second is a very good result and this is the important thing to do well even when we can’t attack as we would like to. Congratulations to Pedrosa, it’s good to see him back but especially to Jorge because he made a great race in difficult conditions for him. The championship is very tight and exciting now so we’re looking forward to the next races.” Ramon Forcada Crew Chief “Our rider did a very good job today in his poor physical condition. He showed that he never gives up even when things are tough and that his mind is very strong, which is very important for a rider. At the end, when he caught Valentino, he made his attack very soon and maybe if he had waited a little bit things might have been different, but anyway third is a very good result in the circumstances and we have got some important championship points.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Vermeulen salvages good points from tough weekend at Laguna Rizla Suzuki racer Chris Vermeulen recovered from an early race set-back and managed to fight his way through the field to finish eighth at the U.S. GP today. Vermeulen started from ninth on the grid and was edged out as the pack went into the first turn, finding himself down in eleventh place. He then got boxed out on lap two by team-mate Loris Capirossi and Colin Edwards and was relegated down to 14th place. Vermeulen battled back – and although he also benefitted from a couple of riders crashing in front of him – Vermeulen also managed to put in passes to get inside the top 10. His race pace was good enough for a top five position today and but for the tough start he encountered, things could have been considerably different for the Australian. Capirossi had a race today that summed up his difficult weekend. He got a good start and was up to eighth position and still in touch with the front group after the first three laps, but on the fourth lap disaster struck for the Italian star. As he pushed hard to keep in touch with the leaders he lost the front end of his Suzuki GSV-R on the fast turn six and ended in the gravel. Capirossi was able to remount his machine after suffering no injuries, but the damage to his bike was too substantial and all he could do was ride back to the pits and retire. Today’s race was watched by over 46,000 fans at trackside, and they were treated to a great battle at the front with Dani Pedrosa on his factory Honda taking a flag-to-flag win, despite coming under intense pressure at the end of the race from Valentino Rossi, who himself was pushed all the way to the finish by Jorge Lorenzo. Rizla Suzuki now heads back across the Atlantic as it returns to Europe for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship at Sachsenring in Germany on Sunday 19th July. Chris Vermeulen: “It was a difficult race and we didn’t end up where we wanted to be. I got quite a good start but then got boxed in on turn one and lost a few positions. I was battling with Loris and Colin and got caught up with them and came out of it the worse, and ended up in about 14th place. We also struggled a bit with tyre performance today and didn’t get the ultimate performance out of the bike. From about lap 15 and right to the end my times were quite quick and when everybody’s tyre dropped down – including mine – it was a lot easier to ride the bike. We just didn’t really have the performance with the new tyres and it’s something that has affected us before this year and is certainly something we will have to look at. The plus is that I stayed upright all day today – which was good – and although we didn’t have the best package out there we still managed to score some decent points and now we need to move forward in Germany.” Loris Capirossi: “I am really upset about today, because we have worked so hard this weekend to find the best solution and we thought we would be ok with the setting today. I started quite well and was really aggressive in the first couple of laps, but in turn six I lost the front on the second lap and then on the next lap I did the same in the same place, but this time I crashed. I am really sorry for the whole team because they have worked so hard this week. The truth is this has been a terrible weekend for me as we never really found a good solution. Fortunately we have another nine races in front of us and we will keep working really hard to get some good results.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “The result today was not at all what we were looking for from the Laguna GP. Chris really struggled to get enough heat into the tyres in the early laps and it was always going to be an uphill struggle for him to come back from 14th. He pushed hard to get back to eighth and he had the speed and the lap-times to be in the fifth position group, but it was impossible for him to achieve that from so far back. “Loris suffered from the same grip problems as Chris at the start of the race, but was pushing really hard and the good news is that he is completely unhurt after losing the front in turn six – one of the scariest and fastest turns here at Laguna. It was a 32-lap race and we were 32 seconds off the win. One second a lap doesn’t sound much, but it is a big gap to bridge and we need to do everything we can to get closer to the front guys as soon as possible!” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Pedrosa clinches his first win on Bridgestone tyres Round 8: United States GP Race report Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Sunday 5 July Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard Dani Pedrosa triumphed in a nail-biting climax to round eight of the MotoGP season to take his first victory of the year, and his and the Repsol Honda Team’s first victory on Bridgestone tyres. Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi finished a close second followed by teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who battled back from fifth to finish third. The top four riders, including Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner, all opted for the hard compound front and rear Bridgestone slicks as the temperature at the Californian track reached 51 degrees Celsius. In another race in which the leaders were in a flat out battle until the last corner of the last lap, Bridgestone’s slick tyres demonstrated good consistency and durability as Pedrosa’s winning time was almost three seconds faster than Valentino’s winning time last year, and the top nine riders all recorded faster total race times than did the top nine finishers last season. Pedrosa’s fastest lap of the race came as he pushed hard to establish a comfortable lead that was 3.3 seconds at its peak. As the race unfolded the fight for the lead intensified as Rossi chased the Spaniard relentlessly, fighting his way from third position on lap eleven to finish just 0.344 seconds adrift of what would have been a consecutive hat-trick of wins for the Italian. Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden was the top rider to use a medium compound front Bridgestone slick, securing his best result of the season with fifth position. Toni Elias was the highest placed rider to use Bridgestone’s softer option fronts and rears, also securing his best finish of the season with sixth for San Carlo Honda Gresini, just 0.378 seconds behind Hayden. Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager Motorcycle Sport Unit “I want to congratulate Dani and the Repsol Honda Team for a great victory today, their first of the season and their first on Bridgestone tyres. Again we have seen a race that has only been decided on the last corner of the last lap, and Dani is the fourth rider to have won this season, so this is great for the competitive spectacle of the sport.” Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “I am pleased with the durability of our hard compound slicks today as this track is very demanding of them but they showed good consistency and the top three riders were all able to set a faster race time than last year’s winning time of 44m04.311s. This clearly demonstrates the steps forward in overall tyre performance we have made since then, and that the tyre options we brought this weekend work well at this circuit.” Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team Race Winner “It’s been a long tough year for me since last year here when I couldn’t race, but finally we have had a good race and a good result. I was able to find a better rhythm than in practice so I think this is what let me go away. I think maybe the only mistake was a too slow last lap as I thought I had more advantage. It’s been tough but I am happy to be back and win a race.” Top ten classification (Sunday 14:00 GMT-7) Pos. Rider Team Race time Gap Front tyre Rear tyre Tyres 1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 44m01.580s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 2 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 44m01.924s +0.344s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 3 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 44m03.506s +1.926ss Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 4 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 44m14.012s +12.432s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 5 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 44m23.243s +21.663s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 6 Toni Elias San Carlo Honda Gresini 44m23.621s +22.041s Medium Medium Bridgestone slick 7 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 44m31.781s +30.201s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 8 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 44m34.437s +32.857s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick 9 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 44m41.905s +40.325s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 10 Marco Melandri Hayate Racing Team 44m49.608s +48.028s Hard Hard Bridgestone slick Weather: Dry. Ambient 18°C; Track 51°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA TAKES VICTORY FOR REPSOL HONDA IN LAGUNA SECA Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa stormed to victory in the U.S. Grand Prix today, leading from start to finish and banishing to history his injury-ravaged start to the season. It was the 23-year-old Spaniard’s 30th Grand Prix win of his career in all classes (7 in MotoGP, 15 in 250cc, 8 in 125cc) and his first since his victory at the 2008 Grand Prix of Catalunya over a year ago. From fourth on the grid, Pedrosa made yet another demon start, powering his RC212V around the outside of the front row riders and into an early lead. It was a scenario that has been seen several times this season, but this time Pedrosa had the speed to stretch away at the front and soon opened up a gap over Casey Stoner. During the first half of the race the Spaniard relentlessly upped the pace, on lap 15 setting a time of 1m 21.928s which was the fastest lap of the race and improved on his best qualifying lap from yesterday. By the race’s half-way point he was 3.5 seconds clear and from then on Pedrosa controlled the gap to his pursuers. Although Valentino Rossi closed him down in the final few laps as Pedrosa eased up, he crossed the line for an emotional victory. The performance was all the more remarkable considering the physical nature of this track and the fact that Pedrosa has been unable to train properly for nearly a year. For Andrea Dovizioso, Pedrosa’ team-mate, the race started in promising fashion, the Italian was riding strongly in fourth place and looked capable of staying with the lead bunch. But he suffered an unfortunate incident when he clipped the poles separating the pit lane exit from the fast Turn 1 and bent his clutch lever. From this moment on his machine control was hindered and, although he managed to keep pace with the leaders, he fell at the uphill left-hand Turn 5 on lap 7 and was forced to retire from the race, luckily unhurt. It was a shame for the 23-year-old from Forli who had displayed consistent pace all weekend on only his second visit to Laguna Seca after finishing fourth here last year. The MotoGP paddock now travels back to Europe for the Grand Prix of Germany at the Sachsenring, which takes place in two weeks’ time. DANI PEDROSA 1st World Championship position: 4th, 92 points “This is a fantastic win for us and it’s a great feeling after such a long time without a victory. The start to the season has been really difficult and actually it’s been tough since Sachsenring last year because I’ve had a lot of injuries and I haven’t been able to ride at 100 per cent for a long time, or train properly. But my team and Honda never gave up and I’d like to thank everyone who’s been working really hard to help me get back to this position. I’d also like to thank the doctors who have treated me because there have been quite a few of them! I got a good start, I was able to get into a good rhythm straight away and my pace was a little better than in practice. Perhaps my only mistake here was to slow down too much on the last lap because I didn’t realize how close Valentino was. Anyway, it was a great race, a great day and it’s a great feeling. Now I just want to focus on each race and get the best results possible. There’s a long way to go in the championship but there’s also a big gap to the leaders so I’m just going to take it one race at a time.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO DNF World Championship position: 6th, 69 points “We were in good shape, I’d got into a fast rhythm and I’m sure we could have had good result today, so I’m very disappointed. Unfortunately I made a mistake and I have spoiled this opportunity. During the first laps, I was behind Valentino, I wanted to overtake him and I was very close at the end of the straight. It’s a blind point and I was so close that I didn’t see the plastic poles that separate the track from the pit lane. I hit a few of them and in the impact the clutch lever bent, and from that moment on I couldn’t control the engine braking. It was my mistake as my line was too far to the left but after that it was tough to ride and change gear properly. Nevertheless, I tried to stay up with the leaders. Then I lost the front and crashed after having had a couple of warnings. I’m really disappointed because we are getting closer to front-running pace at every race and here we could have done well. Still, I believe in myself, in the machine and in my team, and I really hope to get a good result soon.” KAZUHIKO YAMANO – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “Dani did a fantastic job today. It has been 382 days since Honda last won a MotoGP race, and this result shows that the factory Repsol Honda Team can still be a force to be reckoned with. Dani has had a very difficult start to 2009, with injury interfering with the winter testing programme and then with more bad luck and injuries in the early races. But now we can put that behind us and use this victory to move forward. Though Andrea is obviously disappointed with today, he was also strong this weekend and I’m sure the results will come for him soon. Far from relaxing now, the Repsol Honda Team is going to work even harder to repeat this kind of success. There is still a gap to some of our rivals and there are many strong riders in MotoGP, but Honda will never give up and I’m determined that today is just the start.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Edwards claims 100th point-scoring finish in Laguna Seca Colin Edwards’ determined ride in his home race at Laguna Seca today achieved a personal milestone for the popular Texan, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider scoring his 100th point-scoring Grand Prix finish. Edwards started and finished the 32-lap in seventh to become only the 14th rider in the 61-year history of world championship racing to score points in 100 races. Slipping to ninth on the opening lap, Edwards fought his way back into seventh on lap seven and began a pursuit of a battle for fifth place involving Spaniard Toni Elias and compatriot Nicky Hayden. Edwards, who has only failed to score points in 10 of his premier class appearances, closed to within two seconds of Elias on lap 12. But his hopes of a fourth top six finish in 2009 were ended when he ran into front-end issues during the second half of the race, staged in front of a home crowd of 46,679 fans. Edwards is now fifth in the individual standings and his latest result ensured the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team remains firmly in contention for fourth place in the Team World Championship, the French-based team trailing Suzuki’s factory squad by just two-points after eight races. It was a disappointing day for British rider James Toseland. Having been adjudged to have jumped the start from 15th on the grid, Toseland failed to stop for a ride through penalty within the allotted time and was subsequently black flagged and excluded from the results on lap 11. Colin Edwards 7th 76 points “It’s great to score my 100th points finish in front of my home fans and doing it for Monster, Yamaha and Tech 3 who have given me great support. But I expect more than finishing seventh. I’m pretty tired now and it was a really physical race because I couldn’t get the bike to turn. Each time I threw it on its side it just went straight out to the kerb. I was using a lot of effort to get the bike to turn and it felt like the front forks were sitting between my legs. When I braked the front didn’t feel like it was coming back up. It felt like the front was buried in the ground and just pushed me out to the edge of the track. I ride over the front a lot but today it felt like I was crawling all over it, almost like I was sitting on top of the tank. It wasn’t super special and we’ve got to go back to the drawing board I think for Germany. My pace was consistent and I was doing between 22.9 or 23.1 the whole race, but that just wasn’t fast enough.” James Toseland DNF 39 points “There’s not much I can say really other than it was a tough weekend. I feel like the jump start was pretty harsh. I knew it was close but I didn’t think I’d jumped the start and that early in a 32-lap race I’m not looking at my pitboard. I was just concentrating on catching the guy in front and the first thing I realised that I’d been penalised was when I saw the black flag and my number. Obviously if I’d known I’d jumped the start then I would have come in but I’ve watched the TV replay and you can’t see anything. I didn’t gain any places either so in my opinion it’s pretty harsh. It’s a setback but I’ve just got to get on with it and bounce back in Germany.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “It was a tough weekend but Colin still had a good race. He had a good pace and while it wasn’t fast enough to be on the podium he got some good points and now he’s fifth in the championship and still the top independent team rider. It was also his 100th point-scoring finish in MotoGP and I’m pleased that he has achieved that with the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha Team. Colin has done a fantastic job for our team and it shows what a consistent performer he has been for Yamaha. For James it was a big disappointment because although it was a difficult weekend I think a top ten finish could have been possible. It was a marginal jump start but that’s the rule, it is the same for everybody. Unfortunately he didn’t see the signal to ride through the pits, so he learned a lesson today.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: TOP TEN FINISH FOR DE PUNIET AT US GP Monterey, 5 July: On a near perfect summer’s day LCR Honda MotoGP Team racer Randy De Puniet gained another top ten finish riding the Honda RC212V no. 14 in today’s U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. After rear grip problems which affected his position on the grid in yesterday’s qualifying (14th) the Frenchman put in a maximum effort over the 32-lap race and got the 9th place overall at the Californian track which hosted the eight round of the season. Randy took his start from the fourth row ending the first lap in 13th position and started to lap consistently fast on this demanding track though his overall package was not as good as he expected. The race was won by Pedrosa ahead 46.000 spectators followed by Rossi and Lorenzo. Now Randy and the LCR squad will move back to Europe for German GP on the 19th of July. De Puniet 9th De Puniet 9th: “I am quite satisfied as it was hard to expect a better result starting from the fourth row on this “up-and-down” track. I struggled with grip problems since Friday and we tried to adjust our issues but at the end the bike was not at 100%. My start was not brilliant and found some traffic in the first laps but after that my rhythm was good enough to pass a few riders. We decided to go for a softer rear tyre which was a good choice for the beginning of the race but grip from the rear tyre dropped at ten laps to go. This is another productive result for me and the Team as I am holding the 9th place in the championship” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: FOUR POINTS IN THE AMERICAN GRAND PRIX FOR CANEPA Not an easy start for the Pramac Racing rider in the Grand Prix of America, in fact, Niccolò Canepa found him self in last position in the first turns. The Italian rider have tried to push more to recover some positions, but the missing of grip in the front of the bike and seeing some riders crash in front of him, made him take the decision to don’t risk and take home four world championship points. Niccolò, together with his Technical staff, will have to find a solution for the next race to find a better feeling straight away in the firsts laps to remain with the other riders and fight for better positions. Therefore appointment in two weeks time at the Sachsenring circuit for the Gran Prix of Germany. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “It has been a hard weekend for us since the first practice session. It seems that yesterday we have found some good solutions but today things didn’t go in the right direction. Niccolò, as it happened in other races, doesn’t have the confidence with the front part of the bike at the beginning and loses too much time from the other riders. Than it’s not easy to ride by your self. We hope to be able to improve in the next race and obtain a better final result.” Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 12th in the race – 16th in MotoGP Classification “Hard race for us today. In the first laps I couldn’t push more because I didn’t have enough grip with the front part of the bike, in addition I saw other riders fall in front of me and I thought the track wasn’t in the best condition in that moment. Once the front tyre was warmer it was too late because I found my self practically alone. I maintained yesterday’s afternoon rhythm, but it wasn’t enough to reach the riders in front of me. We will try to do better in two weeks at the Sachsenring.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: After more than a year without a victory for Honda, since his own win at Catalunya last season, Dani Pedrosa triumphed in the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca on Sunday, taking the holeshot from fourth on the grid and not looking back – to cross the finishing line ahead of his closest rival Valentino Rossi. Following a string of crashes and injury problems, Pedrosa was finally back to his very best, lapping at a pace which none of his opponents could match. At one stage he had built up a significant gap at the front and although series leader Valentino Rossi chased him down on the final lap there were no mishaps this time. Pedrosa still has some way to go if he is to challenge at the head of the standings however, as current leader Rossi picked up further points in second place, whilst fellow contenders Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner were third and fourth, respectively. Riding with an injured shoulder and foot, Lorenzo had a chance to overtake Rossi for second with four laps to go but got his move wrong and had to settle for the final podium place. Stoner ran with the frontrunners for most of the race but tired in the final stages, although he stayed within touching distance of Fiat Yamaha pair Rossi and Lorenzo at the top of the standings courtesy of his fourth place. A good ride from home favourite Nicky Hayden at his favourite track saw him register his first top five result since joining Ducati, the American rider finishing just ahead of a similarly revitalised Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini). Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki), Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing) completed the top ten. There was disappointment for Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) who lost ground in the championship when he crashed out for the second race in succession on lap seven. Only twelve riders completed the race, as the likes of Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Racing), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki), Sete Gibernau (Grupo Francisco Hernando) and James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) went home with DNFs to their names. Toseland was black flagged for failing to come in for a ride-through penalty after jump starting. The MotoGP riders return to action at Sachsenring after a weekend’s break, with the 250cc and 125cc fields joining them at the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland on 17th-19th July. More, from a press release issued by Honda: PEDROSA STORMS TO VICTORY Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa stormed to a flag-to-flag victory in the U.S. Grand Prix before a sun-drenched crowd of nearly of over 46,000 on the challenging Laguna Seca circuit within sight of the Pacific Ocean in Monterey, California. Starting fourth on the grid, the Spaniard jetted into the lead over the turn one crest and into the turn two left hand hairpin. Then he was gone. Pedrosa set one fast lap after another to pull away to what seemed a certain victory. But on the final lap Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) made a robust challenge to Pedrosa, closing onto his rear tire in the final turn. Pedrosa, however, was resolute, and used the power of the Honda RC212V to cross the line with a gap of .344s. Rossi was second and his teammate Jorge Lorenzo was third. The victory, Pedrosa’s seventh in MotoGP and 30th career, was his first since the Catalunya Grand Prix on June 8, 2008. He was also able to solidify fourth in the championship after eight of 17 rounds. What made the victory especially sweet, was that it showed he’d reverted to the form that can take him to victory after a very difficult set of races. Pedrosa injured his right hip in a crash in Mugello and for the following two races he couldn’t ride as he wanted. Today he was under no physical restrictions and showed what a powerful package he and the Honda RC212V can be. Attrition took its toll on the field as they tried to complete 32 laps of the demanding 3.61k track. Only 12 made it to the finish, but four of the top eleven were Honda-mounted. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Toni Elias finished a season best sixth and within .4 secs. of fifth placed Nicky Hayden (Ducati), who he chased to the checkered flag. Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda) finished ninth, two spots in front of Alex De Angelis on the second San Carlo Honda Gresini machine. De Puniet had difficulty with traffic in the early laps before breaking clear. His fastest lap was the 18th of 32, by which time he was securely in ninth. De Angelis also found the early part of the race more difficult than the latter part. His fast lap was also on the 18th. And though he pressured Marco Melandri (Kawasaki), he couldn’t find a way past and was frustrated to miss out on a top ten finish by under a second. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) was among the unlucky. The Italian was in a secure fifth place and on the tail of the lead quartet when his front end slid away in the left hand turn five on the seventh lap. Earlier he’d had problems with engine braking after inadvertently hitting his clutch lever on one of the plastic stanchions separating the pit lane exit from the track. But he took full responsibility for the crash, which happened after repeated warnings. Earlier, Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda) had crashed out on the fourth lap. It was his first race crash in his third MotoGP race, and on his first visit to Laguna Seca. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st, said: “This is a fantastic win for us and it’s a great feeling after such a long time without a victory. The start to the season has been really difficult and actually it’s been tough since Sachsenring last year because I’ve had a lot of injuries and I haven’t been able to ride at 100 per cent for a long time, or train properly. But my team and Honda never gave up and I’d like to thank everyone who’s been working really hard to help me get back to this position. I’d also like to thank the doctors who have treated me because there have been quite a few of them! I got a good start, I was able to get into a good rhythm straight away and my pace was a little better than in practice. Perhaps my only mistake here was to slow down too much on the last lap because I didn’t realize how close Valentino was. Anyway, it was a great race, a great day and it’s a great feeling. Now I just want to focus on each race and get the best results possible. There’s a long way to go in the championship but there’s also a big gap to the leaders so I’m just going to take it one race at a time.” Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 6th, said: “It is not a bad result and we couldn’t have done much more than that because my race pace was exactly the same as in practice. I was able to go quicker for a lap or two in practice but generally we knew this was what we would be capable of today in terms of my own performance. To be honest I was hoping the front guys would be a little slower than that and allow us to challenge them but the pace was very quick so compliments to them. In general this weekend has been much better than previous races and so was the result, but we always want more.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 9th, said: : “I am quite satisfied as it was hard to expect a better result starting from the fourth row on this “up-and-down” track. I struggled with grip problems since Friday and we tried to adjust our issues but at the end the bike was not at 100%. My start was not brilliant and found some traffic in the first laps but after that my rhythm was good enough to pass a few riders. We decided to go for a softer rear tyre which was a good choice for the beginning of the race but grip from the rear tyre dropped at ten laps to go. This is another productive result for me and the Team as I am holding the 9th place in the championship” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 11th, said: “We made some changes to the bike for today but with the conditions being so much cooler for the warm-up this morning than they were for the race in the afternoon, we hadn’t really tested them. I was really struggling over the first few laps and the bike was moving around a lot but the problem eased in the second half of the race and I was able to push harder. I honestly thought I could run with Vermeulen today and that would have been a battle for eighth place so it’s a shame we suffered this setback. Anyway, at least we picked up a few points.” Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: DNF, said: “We were in good shape, I’d got into a fast rhythm and I’m sure we could have had good result today, so I’m very disappointed. Unfortunately I made a mistake and I have spoiled this opportunity. During the first laps, I was behind Valentino, I wanted to overtake him and I was very close at the end of the straight. It’s a blind point and I was so close that I didn’t see the plastic poles that separate the track from the pit lane. I hit a few of them and in the impact the clutch lever bent, and from that moment on I couldn’t control the engine braking. It was my mistake as my line was too far to the left but after that it was tough to ride and change gear properly. Nevertheless, I tried to stay up with the leaders. Then I lost the front and crashed after having had a couple of warnings. I’m really disappointed because we are getting closer to front-running pace at every race and here we could have done well. Still, I believe in myself, in the machine and in my team, and I really hope to get a good result soon.” Gabor Talmacsi, Scot Honda: DNF said: “I had a very good feeling with the bike, and a good start. Then suddenly, when I was 15th, I lost the front. I cannot say why. I’m fine, but it is really a pity because I was in a condition to get a good result. I stay confident for the next race.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: FIVE STAR TEAM RESULT FOR DUCATI AT LAGUNA SECA Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden crossed the line in fourth and fifth place today to secure a top team result for Ducati that confirms the forward steps taken with the Desmosedici GP9 in recent weeks. A top five finish for Hayden is the result of relentless hard work and dedication from rider and team since the start of the season and his best qualifying and race performances of the campaign so far represented a source of huge satisfaction. The American delighted his home crowd not only with his performance but also with a special ‘stars and stripes’ livery, that will also be available on the new Ducati 848, launched in the USA two days ago. However, a fourth place finish for Stoner was another case of damage limitation following another physically demanding weekend. The Australian has been combating physical exhaustion and to have two races in successive weekends certainly didn’t help his cause here. Stoner will now stay on in the United States for extensive tests at the Fremont Surgery Center with Dr. Arthur Ting and Dr. Tuan, to try and understand the source of the problem. CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) (4th) “It has been a weekend to forget. I can’t be happy with fourth place even if it has limited the damage to my championship chances. Today I didn’t feel as bad at the end of the race as I have done in the last two but I’m still not right. I found it really difficult to keep my concentration over the last few laps and I was in a bit of a daze by the end. My left arm was feeling really tired by the end because of the fact there are so many left-handers here and my left wrist still doesn’t have the full range of movement after my operation in the winter. I’m really disappointed because without all of these problems we could have done so much better. I want to thank the team for giving me a great bike and also Doctor Claudio Macchiagodena and our physiotherapist Freddie (Dente) for all their help. Now we’ll focus on trying to find out the root of the problem because racing in this condition is not much fun.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati MotoGP Team) (5th) “I have won here twice and to say that fifth place feels just as good might sound strange but man, so much hard work has gone into getting us to this point and I want to savour this feeling. To be racing at home, to score a solid result and to have had fun out there is nice. I just want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to my whole team, to Ducati and to everybody who has continued to believe in me during some difficult times this season. We have made progress over the last two races, we have kept the faith and it has paid off with this fifth place. Hopefully we can keep it going and score even better results as the season progresses.” More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: MotoGP RACE REPORT: RED BULL U.S. GRAND PRIX Pedrosa holds off Rossi for first Honda victory of season; Hayden strong fifth INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, July 5, 2009 In an event that featured a bit of everything, it was only fitting that Dani Pedrosa broke into the winner’s circle for the first time in 13 months. Pedrosa edged 2008 Red Bull Indianapolis GP winner Valentino Rossi by .344 of a second to win the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on July 5 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, his first victory since the Grand Prix of Catalunya in June 2008. It also was Honda’s first win since that race, ending Yamaha and Ducati’s duopoly on the top spot of the podium this season. “This is a fantastic win for us, and it’s a great feeling after such a long time without a victory,” Pedrosa said. “The start to the season has been really difficult, and actually it’s been tough since Sachsenring last year because I’ve had a lot of injuries and I haven’t been able to ride at 100 percent for a long time or train properly.” Jorge Lorenzo finished third on a Fiat Yamaha, while 2007 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner finished fourth. Stoner’s Ducati teammate, 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, placed fifth for his best finish of the season. Fellow American Colin Edwards finished seventh on a Yamaha Tech 3 machine. The unpredictable nature of the event started during practice Friday, as Chris Vermeulen crashed hard. Riders continued to hit the asphalt and gravel during practice and qualifying Saturday, as Edwards, Stoner and Lorenzo crashed. Lorenzo’s high-side crash came just after he turned a lap quick enough for pole, and it was uncertain whether he could race after suffering a dislocated right shoulder and a severely bruised right foot. But Lorenzo endured the pain in a brave ride to his seventh podium finish of the season. Pedrosa led all 32 laps of the race, but he nearly threw the race away on the final lap. Pedrosa slowed on his Repsol Honda Team machine, letting Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha Team machine pull up to his rear wheel approaching the final corner. But Pedrosa hung on. Hayden, from Owensboro, Ky., started eighth and climbed steadily through the field and benefited from a crash by Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso. He climbed to 12th in the standings. “I have won here twice and to say that fifth place feels just as good might sound strange, but, man, so much hard work has gone into getting us to this point, and I want to savor this feeling,” Hayden said. Edwards, from Houston, became just the 14th rider in the 61-year history of Grand Prix racing to amass 100 point-scoring finishes in the premier class with his seventh-place finish. He has scored points in all eight races this year and climbed to fifth in the standings. The next race is the Grand Prix of Germany on Sunday, July 19 at Sachsenring. The second annual Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Sunday, Aug. 30 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. *** RESULTS MONTEREY, Calif. Results of the 32-lap Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle, time behind winner. All riders on Bridgestone tires: 1. Dani Pedrosa Spain Honda 2. Valentino Rossi Italy Yamaha +.344 of second 3. Jorge Lorenzo Spain Yamaha +1.926 4. Casey Stoner Australia Ducati +12.432 5. Nicky Hayden United States Ducati +21.663 6. Toni Elias Spain Honda +22.041 7. Colin Edwards United States Yamaha +30.201 8. Chris Vermeulen Australia Suzuki +32.857 9. Randy de Puniet France Honda +40.325 10. Marco Melandri Italy Kawasaki +48.028 11. Alex de Angelis San Marino Honda +48.810 12. Niccolo Canepa Italy Ducati +1:18.531 NC Andrea Dovizioso Italy Honda +26 laps NC Sete Gibernau Spain Ducati +26 laps NC Loris Capirossi Italy Suzuki +29 laps NC Gabor Talmacsi Hungary Honda +29 laps DQ James Toseland Great Britain Yamaha NC Not classified; DQ– Disqualified Fastest lap: Pedrosa, 1:21.928, Lap 15 Pole lap: Lorenzo, 1:21.678 *** POINTS Riders: Rossi 151, Lorenzo 142, Stoner 135, Pedrosa 92, Edwards 76, Dovizioso 69, Melandri 61, Vermeulen 61, de Puniet 58, Capirossi 56, Toseland 39, Hayden 38, Elias 37, de Angelis 36, Mika Kallio 26, Canepa 16, Gibernau 12, Yuki Takahashi 9. Manufacturers: Yamaha 185, Ducati 135, Honda 123, Suzuki 79, Kawasaki 61. *** PODIUM QUOTES DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Bridgestone, winner): “This is a fantastic win for us, and it’s a great feeling after such a long time without a victory. The start to the season has been really difficult, and actually it’s been tough since Sachsenring last year because I’ve had a lot of injuries and I haven’t been able to ride at 100 percent for a long time or train properly. But my team and Honda never gave up, and I’d like to thank everyone who’s been working really hard to help me get back to this position. I’d also like to thank the doctors who have treated me because there have been quite a few of them! I got a good start, I was able to get into a good rhythm straight away. Perhaps my only mistake here was to slow down too much on the last lap because I didn’t realize how close Valentino was.” VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, second): “The first half of the race was quite difficult because we weren’t at 100 percent today. I didn’t expect Dani to be so fast, but he was very strong and there wasn’t much I could do to go with him. The last 10 laps were very exciting because Lorenzo was pushing me so hard that I had to really make another step, and then Dani slowed down and suddenly he was right in front of me! I thought there was a chance to pass on the final corner, but unfortunately I was just too far off and it was too much of a risk. Second is good today because we were not in perfect shape here. We missed something in the setting and this is always a hard track anyway, so we have to be happy with these 20 points. We have extended the championship lead, so it’s a good result for us, and we have shown that we are still strong this year even when things are not perfect. This consistency is the most important thing for the championship. Now I am happy that we have some time to rest because these have been a hard two weeks, and the next two races are very important because we are all so close!” JORGE LORENZO (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, third): “I always try to do my best, and I think that is what I have done today, considering my physical condition. I am really proud, and I think that this was one of my best races. My foot was OK, but I had a lot of pain in my right shoulder, which meant I wasn’t strong in my right hand and I had to over-compensate with my left. I am really tired now! I want to thank the Clinica Mobile because they made it possible for me to finish the race. After a while, I started to forget about the pain a bit, and I just wanted to do my best and I knew that it was possible to pass Valentino. Unfortunately, I hit some bumps when I braked deep and my rear tire moved a lot, and I was lucky not to crash. Maybe without this mistake, if I had been able to pass him, it would have been possible to win. But anyway, third is good in the circumstances, and we have taken good points. Now we have some time to recover. I am fit and strong, so I hope that by Sachsenring I will be back to my best.” *** AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Team Ducati/Bridgestone, fifth): “I have won here twice and to say that fifth place feels just as good might sound strange, but, man, so much hard work has gone into getting us to this point, and I want to savor this feeling. To be racing at home, to score a solid result and to have had fun out there is nice. I just want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to my whole team, to Ducati and to everybody who has continued to believe in me during some difficult times this season. We have made progress over the last two races, we have kept the faith, and it has paid off with this fifth place. Hopefully we can keep it going and score even better results as the season progresses.” COLIN EDWARDS (Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Bridgestone, seventh): “It’s great to score my 100th points finish in front of my home fans. But I expect more than finishing seventh. I’m pretty tired now, and it was a really physical race because I couldn’t get the bike to turn. Each time I threw it on its side it just went straight out to the curb. I was using a lot of effort to get the bike to turn, and it felt like the front forks were sitting between my legs. When I braked, the front didn’t feel like it was coming back up. It felt like the front was buried in the ground and just pushed me out to the edge of the track. I ride over the front a lot, but today it felt like I was crawling all over it, almost like I was sitting on top of the tank. It wasn’t super special, and we’ve got to go back to the drawing board, I think, for Germany. My pace was consistent and I was doing between 22.9 or 23.1 the whole race, but that just wasn’t fast enough.” *** NEXT RACE Grand Prix of Germany, Sachsenring, July 19. Round 9 of 17. *** 2009 IMS tickets: Established in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has long prevailed as an icon of motorsports excellence. Beginning in 2009, the Speedway celebrates its Centennial Era, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the facility in 2009 and the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in 2011. Tickets for the two remaining events in 2009 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and Red Bull Indianapolis GP can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.