FIM MotoGP World Championship Catalunya, Spain June 14, 2009 Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), 25 laps, 43:11.897 2. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), -0.095 second 3. Casey STONER (Ducati), -8.884 seconds 4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), -8.936 5. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), -19.831 6. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), -22.182 7. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), -23.547 8. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), -25.265 9. Mika KALLIO (Ducati), -31.797 10. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati), -33.593 11. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), -36.683 12. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), -36.874 13. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), -39.433 14. Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki), -44.788 15. Sete GIBERNAU (Ducati), -46.754 16. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati), -55.873 17. Gabor TALMACSI (Honda), -87.640 18. Toni ELIAS (Honda), -16 laps, DNF, crash 19. Yuki TAKAHASHI (Honda), -25 laps, DNF, crash MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 6 of 17 races): 1. TIE, Rossi/Lorenzo/Stoner, 106 points 4. Dovizioso, 69 5. Pedrosa, 67 6. Edwards, 54 7. Melandri, 50 8. Capirossi, 49 9. TIE, De Puniet/Vermeulen, 42 11. Toseland, 29 12. Kallio, 26 13. De Angelis, 25 14. Elias, 23 15. Hayden, 19 16. Canepa, 10 17. Gibernau, 9 18. Takahashi, 8 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Harder Bridgestones take Rossi to the closest victory of the season Round 6: Catalunya Race report Circuit de Catalunya, Sunday 14 June Tyre compounds used: Front: Hard. Rear: Extra Hard (asymmetric) With the highest track temperature of the season so far, the 25 lap Catalunya Grand Prix was always going to be tough on tyres but a spectacular fight to the flag between the Fiat Yamaha duo of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo provided the most demanding test of durability and consistency of the Bridgestone slicks yet. Although all riders’ fastest laps came within the first five of the race, Rossi and Lorenzo were able to ride with such consistency that apart from lap 21, when they were slowed by one of their many battles for the lead, every one of their laps was within one second. As the track temperature soared to 52 degrees Celsius, the Fiat Yamaha riders were locked in a nail-biting flat-out battle to the finish using Bridgestone’s hard compound front and extra hard compound asymmetric rear slicks, as used by all riders today. Rossi and Lorenzo repeatedly traded the lead throughout the closing laps and it looked to be Lorenzo’s victory until Rossi used all the available grip from his Bridgestone tyres to outbrake his teammate into the final corner, crossing the line just 0.095seconds ahead of the Spaniard. Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso was also pushing incredibly hard until the chequered flag, chasing Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner for third position. A fiercely determined performance from an ailing Stoner enabled him to hold onto third and climb the final step of the podium by just 0.052seconds. The result means that the order of the championship top three is reversed with Rossi leading from Lorenzo and Stoner, but remarkably they have exactly the same number of points; 106. Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director Bridgestone Corporation “I’d like to congratulate Valentino and the Fiat Yamaha Team for a fantastic victory today, and also to Jorge for his part in what was a very exciting finish to such a close race. I’d also like to applaud Casey for his great performance when he wasn’t feeling at his peak. It is great that the championship is so tight at the top with the top three riders on equal points after six races.” Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “We saw very tough conditions during the race today with the very high ambient and track temperatures and the very close battles at the front that saw riders pushing flat-out until the finish. Twenty five laps of constant pressure in these conditions is very challenging for tyres, and this is one of the most demanding races of the year, so I am pleased with the level of durability, consistency and grip they delivered. I can say that the first grand prix using our asymmetric rear slick tyres has been successful.” Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team Race Winner “In Italian we say mamma mia! In the first races I had not enough feeling to do what I want but I came here feeling strong. It was a very difficult race, and I didn’t expect it to be last breath, last corner! The tyres started to slide like normal in Barcelona and I didn’t know whether is possible to overtake in the last corner but I try and it was ok! It was a great race!” Top ten classification (Sunday 14:00 GMT+2) Pos. Rider Team Race time Gap Front tyre Rear tyre 1 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 43m11.897s Hard Extra hard asymmetric 2 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 43m11.992s +0.095s Hard Extra hard asymmetric 3 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 43m20.781s +8.884s Hard Extra hard asymmetric 4 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol HondaTeam 43m20.833s +8.936s Hard Extra hard asymmetric 5 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43m31.728s +19.831s Hard Extra hard asymmetric 6 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 43m34.079s +22.182s Hard Extra hard asymmetric 7 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 43m35.444s +23.547s Hard Extra hard asymmetric 8 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 43m37.162s +25.265s Hard Extra hard asymmetric 9 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing 43m43.694s +31.797s Hard Extra hard asymmetric 10 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 43m45.490s +33.593s Hard Extra hard asymmetric Weather: Dry. Ambient 32°C; Track 46-52°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Edwards seventh, Toseland 13th in Spanish sauna Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards moved into the top six in the MotoGP world championship standings today after finishing seventh in physically demanding Catalunya GP. Starting the 25-lap race from the second row of the grid, the American lost four places in a typically frenetic opening lap before settling into a consistently fast rhythm as temperatures again soared close to 40 degrees. Holding eighth until the 13th lap as he again battled to overcome a lack of front-end feel from his Monster Yamaha Tech YZR-M1, Edwards passed Randy de Puniet on lap 14 to claim seventh position. That put him just over three seconds off a battle for fifth place involving Italian veteran Loris Capirossi and Dani Pedrosa. Edwards produced a determined effort to put pressure on Pedrosa and he was only 1.4s away from the Spaniard and a third top six finish of the season at the chequered flag. Today’s result lifted Edwards into sixth in the overall points and he’s now the leading non-factory rider in the series. A poor start ruined James Toseland’s hopes of capitalising on his best grid position of the season as he slipped back from ninth to 16th on the first lap in front of 88,502 sun-kissed fans at the Montmelo circuit. Despite the early setback, the British rider went into full attack mode and became locked in an exciting duel with home favourite Sete Gibernau. Toseland passed Gibernau on lap 16, though by that stage he’d lost contact with a five-rider battle ahead. He eventually recovered to 13th after a pass on Marco Melandri on lap 22. Colin Edwards 7th 54 points “It was a hard race physically because it was so hot out there but I felt I couldn’t ride how I want because of the front-end issue again. But I lost a few places off the line and I’m struggling to get this year’s bike to start. I’m good on the clutch but with the wheelbase shorter on the Yamaha this year I struggle to keep the front-end down as I’m accelerating. I felt good this morning in the warm-up when I was third. It was a bit cooler and I could get the bike to turn, but as soon as it gets hot and slippy I can’t get the bike to turn at all. If I tried to push it would just push the front wide and lose time. I want to push and I could see (Loris) Capirossi and (Dani) Pedrosa in front of me, but the more I push the more mistakes I’d make. As many problems as I’ve had this weekend with the crash yesterday and the lack of feel with the front, I can’t really be upset with seventh. I’m not happy with it, but it was a bit of damage limitation this weekend. My guys at Mon ster Yamaha Tech 3 have worked really hard and we’re going to sort this out and be back fighting closer to the front in Assen, which is a circuit I love.” James Toseland 13th 29 points “I’m really disappointed because I went into the race with high expectations after my best qualifying of the year. But I made a bad mistake off the line and gave myself a mountain to climb. The engine just bogged and I lost a load of time and had no chance of getting it back because everybody is doing similar times ahead of me. I also had a few set-up issues in the race and I’m not happy with that. I didn’t have a lot of rear grip and we’ve got to work on the setting to find some rear grip when the tyre is starting to wear. After about eight or ten laps I was having a few issues with rear grip, but the bad start was what really cost me and that was my fault. It’s frustrating because we’ve been going in the right direction and it had looked like we might have had a decent weekend. But I’ll pick myself up and be ready to give it my all again for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in Assen.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “That was an incredible show and an incredible result for Yamaha. I congratulate them because it was unforgettable and anybody who says MotoGP is boring should watch that race. For Monster Yamaha Tech 3 it was a decent result but I think Colin and James will acknowledge they could have been a bit higher up. Colin had a bad start and by the time he recovered, Pedrosa and Capirossi were a bit too far in front of him. He never gave up and he was rewarded by moving back into the top six in the world championship and he’s the best non-factory rider at the moment, so credit to him. It was disappointing for James because all weekend he has been very strong. He is making progress and I know he can bounce back from this and be back challenging for the top ten in Assen.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: An amazing head-to-head battle between Yamaha teammates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo saw the Italian take his 99th Grand Prix victory by a 0.095s margin at Barcelona. In front of nearly 90,000 fans the reigning World Champion battled with the young pretender to his crown throughout the 25-lap MotoGP race, securing the win on the last corner. Despite some slight cloud cover close to the Mediterranean coast, air temperatures of 40°C meant that it was a draining experience for the premier class riders. Rossi and Lorenzo threw everything into their duel, with ‘The Doctor’ executing a superb move right at the death to take maximum points. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) was on the podium again, to maintain his World Championship challenge, with the result leaving Rossi, Lorenzo and the Australian all tied on 106 points at the head of the standings the Italian on top as the possessor of the most recent victory. Stoner was absolutely exhausted after the race having worked extremely hard to fend off a strong challenge from Andrea Dovizioso. The Repsol Honda rider produced another consistent display to finish in fourth place for the third round in succession, having started in fourth on the grid -this time missing the podium by 0.052s. Meanwhile, an excellent battle between Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) for fifth place eventually saw an Italian emerge in front of a Spaniard again, Capirossi crossing the line just over two seconds ahead. With two-way fights for positions going on throughout the order, Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) used all his experience to overcome Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) for seventh. New MotoGP arrival Gabor Talmacsi finished his very first premier class race, whilst Scot Racing teammate Yuki Takahashi crashed out on the first lap. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Toni Elías meanwhile was also unable to finish as his miserable home record continued. Mapfre Aspar’s Álvaro Bautista extended his lead at the top of the 250cc standings to 12 points with a highly polished performance earlier in the afternoon, crossing the finish line seven seconds ahead of his nearest rival Hiroshi Aoyama. The victory was made all the more sweet by the fact that World Champion Marco Simoncelli (Metis Gilera) retired with a mechanical problem after crashing on the second lap, meaning that the Italian -who clashed with Bautista in Mugello two weeks ago- dropped to fifth in the standings and now trails the Spaniard by 47 points after six races. As Bautista took his second victory and fourth podium of the year, Barcelona resident Aoyama (Scot Racing Team) brought his Honda home in second place at his ‘second home race’, beating poleman Héctor Barberá (Pepe World Team) on the last lap the Japanese rider fighting back after looking like he had technical issues in the middle of the race. Aoyama consolidated his second place in the championship with his third podium of the season. Mattia Pasini (Team Toth Aprilia) dropped in the final laps when looking like he would be on the rostrum again, ultimately finishing in fourth, 3.5s behind Barberá. Another fight between ‘best of enemies’ Thomas Luthi (Emmi – Caffe Latte) and Alex Debon (Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens) saw the Swiss rider make a late mistake to hand fifth place to the Spaniard. Andrea Iannone’s rollercoaster season continued on Sunday in Barcelona as he took a bizarre victory over Julián Simón in the 125cc contest. The two riders did battle for top spot throughout the race only for Simón to celebrate prematurely as he crossed the line in first place with one lap to go, allowing Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. man Iannone to fly past and take his third win of the year following three difficult races for the Italian in recent weeks. Behind second placed finisher Nico Terol (Jack & Jones Team), Simón eventually reached the finishing line neck and neck with his Bancaja Aspar team-mate Sergio Gadea the pair being recorded as having finished with the same time and a photo finish giving Gadea third spot to complete Simón’s heartbreak. Great performances from youngsters Marc Márquez (Red Bull KTM) and Jonas Folger (Ongetta Team I.S.P.A.) saw them also fighting for the podium, ultimately finishing fifth and sixth respectively both within fractions of a second of reaching the rostrum. With Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) coming home in seventh place, Simón’s only consolation is that he takes over the championship lead from colleague Bradley Smith (also Bancaja Aspar) who was eighth. The next round of the 2009 MotoGP World Championship is the Alice Dutch TT at Assen on 25th-27th June. More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI AND LORENZO PUT ON BREATHTAKING DISPLAY TO DOMINATE FOR YAMAHA AT MONTMELÓ Yamaha superstars Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo dominated an incredible Catalan Grand Prix today, delivering a show-stopping performance from start to finish at Montmeló in front of a packed house. It was the reigning World Champion Rossi who finally emerged the winner, taking a memorable 99th career victory after a stunning last-corner pass on his 22-year-old team-mate, but the Fiat Yamaha pair were separated by under one hundredth of a second after 25 thrilling laps. After running at a near identical pace all weekend it always looked like being a head-to-head between them and they set off in grid order with Lorenzo leading from Rossi and Casey Stoner. The Italian made his first move at the end of the straight on lap four and passed the Mallorcan into turn one, but all three remained within half a second of each other until four laps later, when the Yamaha duo on their YZR-M1s began to pull away from Stoner, quickly opening out a second’s gap and leaving the rest of the field trailing in their wake. With just a couple of tenths between them there was no margin for error but at the end of the back straight on lap thirteen Lorenzo saw a way through and passed his team-mate to take the lead. They continued wheel to wheel until Rossi made another move ten laps later, but the race still wasn’t over and there were several more nail biting changes of lead between them before Lorenzo looked to have it sewn-up half way round the final lap. The nine-time champion had one more card to play on the youngster however and edged his machine through in an inch-perfect last corner challenge to take his ninth win in all classes at this track. With Stoner finishing third, the three incredibly now have 106 points apiece after six races, meaning something of a championship restart for them at the Dutch TT in Assen in two week’s time, a favourite track for both Rossi and Lorenzo. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 43’11.897 “As we say in Italy, “Mamma Mia!” I think I can honestly say that this was one of the best and hardest wins of my career. Maybe Laguna last year was more important but this was a great, great victory because it went to the very last corner and it’s a long time since that has happened. I have dreamed about that move for the last two weeks and today it worked and I am so happy to have this 99th win. We did a perfect job all weekend and my M1 and Bridgestone tyres were brilliant, but we knew that Lorenzo was in the same situation and for sure he was very strong today. I had to be very brave and take it right to the limit in order to beat him. This victory today is more important than the 25 points and anyway now we all have the same, what a championship this is! As well as thanking my team, I especially want to dedicate this win to my Crew Chief Jeremy Burgess because his mother sadly died yesterday. I have to say thank you to her and to him because without him, for sure, I would never have arrived at 99 wins. Now I am going to go to sleep for quite a long time because I need to recover from this excitement!” Jorge Lorenzo Position: 2nd Time: +0.095 “This was an incredible battle today and a brilliant show for everyone, I am happy to have been a part of it. Of course I am sad to have lost because I put my heart on my bike and in my career I am more used to winning these last-lap fights, but today Valentino was maybe a little bit cleverer or a little bit braver than me at the very end and he was able to beat me. In fact during that last lap, after I passed him, I expected him to pass me back on the brakes much earlier but he didn’t come, and then I just didn’t close the line enough on the final corner and that was it. I am proud however because I am young and I still have a lot to learn in this class. My team have worked so well all weekend so thanks to them, if we can continue as strongly as this all season then who knows what can happen?” Davide Brivio Team Manager “This race deserves one of the top places in the gallery of Valentino’s career. First of all, it was great day for Yamaha because we dominated a great race, with clean fighting and a great show. Everyone has been talking about the fact that there hasn’t been a last-lap overtake in 43 races but I think we answered that today! For Valentino it is a very important victory and a win like that is great motivation, but the best thing for us is that it confirms what a good job we have done on the set-up. On Friday morning we made some significant modifications to the bike so thanks to all the technicians, engineers and the team because they are the ones that have developed these solutions and this victory is the best reward. To win a great race like this you must have a rider like Valentino and a bike and team like ours. The other riders are young and they will soon learn how to do the same, but for the time being Valentino is the only one who can do it. Tomorrow we will do some testing. We were looking forward to it, but in fact a lot of the things that we would have tested we have already tried out this weekend! Anyway, we will be here again working hard to make our rider’s life even better for the remainder of the championship.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “What a race! It’s a great day for Jorge, for the team and also a great day for Yamaha. It was a fantastic battle, which I think everyone enjoyed watching and seeing Jorge fight to the end with Valentino was very special for our side of the garage. It’s a very important result because 20 points means we have the same points as Valentino and Casey and now we can go to the next race in a strong position. Hopefully we can continue in this shape and maybe next time we can reverse the podium position!” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki racer Loris Capirossi rode a terrific race at Montmelo in Catalunya today, to score a superb fifth position after an exciting 25-lap race. Capirossi got a great start from 11th on the grid and was up into seventh by the end of the first lap. He set his fastest lap of the race on lap five as he also moved up to sixth place. Capirossi was then involved in a long battle with Dani Pedrosa before finally getting the better of the Spaniard on lap 17. The duel had cost him valuable time and Capirossi was unable to make up any more places as he brought his Suzuki GSV-R home for his second successive fifth place. Chris Vermeulen had a tough race as he was boxed in early on in and relegated down to 16th from 12th on the grid. Vermeulen again showed his true racer spirit – and although he felt he never really got into a good rhythm – he gradually picked off riders one-by-one to get up to 11th when the chequered flag dropped. The bright sunshine of this weekend gave way to cloud cover for most of this afternoon’s race, but air temperatures still stayed in the mid-30s and the crowd of over 88,000 at trackside were treated to a great battle at the front between World Champion Valentino Rossi and local hero Jorge Lorenzo, with Rossi getting the better of his Yamaha team-mate on the final corner to secure victory. Rizla Suzuki will now stay at Montmelo for an exhaustive day of testing that is planned for tomorrow, before heading to Assen in the Netherlands for the Dutch TT to be held on Saturday 27th June. Loris Capirossi: “This was the same position as Mugello, but this is a different one because we have worked so hard to get this and it is a great result. All the team – especially Stuart – have worked so hard to get us where we are today. After qualifying I didn’t feel that the bike was quite right and Stuart worked with the guys until late to find a solution. He told me that he was going to make big changes for the race and we tried it during this morning’s warm-up and the bike felt really good. During the race I kept my rhythm after a good start and when I got close to Pedrosa I lost some time off the front guys because his bike was so fast in some places I couldn’t get past, and he held me up a bit. If I hadn’t got stuck for a few laps I think I could have stayed with the next group and got a better result. I want to say a big thank-you to Suzuki because they have brought a new engine here and it was an improvement on the old one – I think if I’d had that engine in Mugello I’d have been on the podium! Most of all I want to thank all my guys individually Stuart, Ian, Gary, Jeff, George, Tex and Jez all did a great job and without them I wouldn’t have got that result today!” Chris Vermeulen: “It was a difficult race and although I got a good start I got a bit boxed in and found myself at the wrong end of the field. We made a change to the front-end of the bike for the race and that was a bit better and it gave me the confidence to push a bit harder. We did score some points today, but it is not where we want to be. We now to some tracks that have been good for us in recent seasons so I hope we get a bit of luck there and put together some good results.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “Fifth place can be either very disappointing – as it was in Mugello – or very encouraging and positive – as it was today. We left ourselves a bit of a mountain to climb after qualifying, but Stuart and the boys turned the bike upside down for warm-up this morning and we gave Loris a much stronger motorcycle, and he was able to use its full potential as he rode a fantastic race. I think if we’d started with that bike on Friday we could have pushed for a better result. The new engine specification definitely helped, and although the difference isn’t big, it’s enough to have a significant bearing on the end result. So I’d like to say thanks to the Factory for speeding up the development and delivering it to Catalunya this weekend. “On Chris’s side he’s been up against it all weekend and has struggled to get the same feeling or performance level that he achieved last year. The effort from him was 100% – as always – and rather than sling the bike at the fence he kept fighting to the end and brought it home in the best position possible. He’s now coming up to a couple of tracks that he’s really confident at and we’re certain he will achieve much better results.” More, from a press release issued by Playboy LCR Honda: DE PUNIET AMAZING 8th BEHIND FACTORY BIKES AT CATALUNYA GP Montmeló, 14 June: the LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet made another positive performance at Montmeló circuit today closing the sixth round of the calendar in 8th position. The Catalunya Grand Prix was run at a very hot pace today (36°°C air temperature) ahead 88.500 fans with 800cc riders struggling with the extreme heat. De Puniet started from the from the third row after yesterday’s qualifying when the he missed the second row by less than 0.007s (7th) but took a very good start ending the first lap in 4th place. After that De Puniet set impressive lap times fighting with the factory bikes till the last lap. Rossi took the victory followed by Lorenzo and Stoner. LCR crew will remain at Montmeló tomorrow for one day of testing before moving to Netherlands for the Dutch GP on the 27th of June. De Puniet 8th De Puniet 8th: “I am very happy because I think we had a great week end. It has been a hard race for everybody but I took a perfect start from the third row ending the first lap in 4th place. After that I set my rhythm but some guys (Pedrosa, Dovizioso and Capirossi) overtook me on the straight in the following laps. I am not surprised about that and we have to accept it. Edwards was a bit faster than me but I push to keep his slipstream for the last 10 laps. I could not do better than this and we deserve this 8th place behind the Factory bikes. We are 9th in the provisional world standing and we need to continue in this way for the future races. I want to thank my squad for their efforts”. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: DOVIZIOSO INCHES FROM THE PODIUM AND PEDROSA TAKES A HEROIC SIXTH The Grand Prix of Catalunya produced a nail-biting race for the Repsol Honda Team riders, with Andrea Dovizioso once again finishing amazingly close to the podium and Dani Pedrosa defying the odds to take a valiant sixth place. In the last three races Dovizioso has edged ever-closer to the podium: at Le Mans he was fourth by 0.560s, in Mugello the gap was a mere 0.053s and this time he crossed the line just 0.052s from Casey Stoner in third, after hunting down the Australian rider for much of the race. The result is the fourth time Dovizioso has finished fourth from the six races this season and, as the Italian continues to gel ever-better with his factory RC212V, a top-three finish can’t be too far away. Pedrosa drew on all his reserves of resilience today to ignore the pain from his right hip and fight to a brave sixth place in gruelingly hot conditions. The Spanish rider – a hero for so many fans here in Barcelona – went from eighth on the grid to fourth on the first lap, and for a while it looked like he too might be able to fight for the podium. The 23-year-old however couldn’t maintain the pace of the front three and slipped to sixth to score 10 valuable points. Considering his doubtful condition coming in to this race, Pedrosa’s performance in the 36 degree temperatures at the Montmelo circuit this afternoon was all the more impressive. To give him the maximum opportunity to recovery before the next race, the Team decided that an understandably exhausted Pedrosa will not take part in the MotoGP test here tomorrow. Dovizioso however will return with the rest of the Repsol Honda Team to the circuit near Barcelona to carry out testing on the RC212V before preparing for the Dutch TT at Assen, which takes place on Saturday 27 June. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 4th World Championship position 4th: 69 points “We had a great race today and we finished only nine seconds behind the winner – this is a very important point and we are getting closer every time. We only missed the podium by 52 thousandths of a second, which is a pity because I really like this racetrack and we were fast for the whole weekend, so the podium was the target and it was within the reach. I didn’t have a good start and it took me some time to overtake Randy and then Dani which meant I had a gap to close before I could reach Stoner. Maybe I should have tried to attack Casey with six laps to go, when he slowed down, because later I didn’t have any other chance. The race conditions were really demanding because it was really hot today, but the result was promising and we can move on from here.” DANI PEDROSA 6th World Championship position 5th: 67 points “It’s been a very hard weekend and I finished the race exhausted and in a lot of pain, but I don’t regret being here this weekend trying to do my best. I didn’t want to miss my home race and even though sixth position is not the best result in front of my fans, I’m happy with it. I could feel their enormous support during the whole weekend and it helped me a lot to race. It also wouldn’t have been possible without the doctors’ help: they kept me in the best possible condition to bear the pain. The injections I’ve had on each day worked, but obviously to do 25 laps it’s been very hard. The doctors told me that this fracture needs time to heal so I’m going to rest as much as possible and see what the progress is for Assen. The Team asked me not test tomorrow to give me the best chance to recover and it’s a sensible decision. I didn’t have a great start today, but I could manage to stay in the second group in the race. I tried to stay with Capirossi, but I couldn’t, so I choose to maintain the sixth position. I’m really tired now, but it was a worthwhile race.” KAZUHIKO YAMANO – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “Again both riders put up a fighting display in exhausting conditions today. Andrea fought very hard to close the gap to third place and was very close to taking the position. His pace was very impressive today and with this kind of form he should get the podium finish he deserves soon. Of course Dani wanted to repeat his win from last year but today it wasn’t possible and he did an excellent job to take the points he did. It’s best now that he rests before Assen. The team has again worked very hard this weekend and we will continue to do so until we are achieving the winning results we need.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER HANGS ON FOR HEROIC PODIUM AS HAYDEN BREAKS TOP TEN With 106 points and two victories each from six races so far this season, the three gladiators that stand together at the top of the MotoGP World Championship stood side by side on the podium at Catalunya today, each having written their own page in another thrilling chapter of motorcycling history. Whilst Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo fought a fantastic battle for victory to the final corner, Casey Stoner had to fight his own battle against illness to secure a priceless third place. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider was so debilitated by stomach cramps that he was barely able to sleep last night and at the halfway stage of the race today he considered something that for him is unthinkable giving up. However, after a weekend of hard work from Stoner and his crew, which continued until after this morning’s warm-up, the Australian knew that the perfect set-up of his GP9 could help him and he steeled himself for a final push. That he set the fastest lap of the race is testament to the fact that he would otherwise have been involved in that epic fight for victory. Tenth place for his team-mate Nicky Hayden, added to ninth for Mika Kallio, made it three Ducatis in the top ten today, demonstrating the improving performance of the machine. Hayden had every reason to be satisfied with the result and he is now looking forward to returning to the track tomorrow for the first of two of post-GP tests this season, the second of which will follow the Czech round at Brno in August. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd “I haven’t felt in great shape all weekend I wasn’t ill but I wasn’t quite myself. Then last night I couldn’t sleep, I probably got a couple of hours at the most, and after just a couple of laps this morning I was destroyed. I decided to race myself, basically, and bring home as many points as I could manage but my bike was fantastic and that is why I was able to ride it to a really valuable podium. The team did a perfect job after the warm-up and if I wasn’t so ill, I think I could have stayed with Valentino and Jorge until the end, although I’m not saying I could have beaten them. I started to suffer from really strong cramps and I could barely ride I was falling over the front of the bike in the hard-braking areas and I was struggling to keep my concentration. I thought about stopping but decided to just back off for a while and try to hang on for a top ten. The bike was so good that I was able to keep up a decent pace and hold off Dovizioso. Tonight I’ll try to get plenty of rest and recover my strength for the test tomorrow because this is an important period in the championship and we need to test. After that it’s Assen and I’m already looking forward to it.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) 10th “I was hoping for a little more than this but realistically at the moment it was the best I could manage. I started from near the back but kept passing people and made progress throughout the race. I got close to Kallio and tried my best to pass him but made a couple of mistakes and he beat me. All in all it’s not a spectacular result but it is definitely a step forward. I’ve been close to the front guys all weekend, we’ve worked well and we’ve learnt a lot about the bike. I’m already looking forward to getting back on the bike for the test tomorrow and continuing to work down this path, which we think is the right one.” LIVIO SUPPO Ducati MotoGP Project Director “Casey was outstanding today he certainly wasn’t in top physical condition but once again he gave it absolutely everything. He set the fastest lap of the race and for as long as he was physically able he was right there with Valentino and Jorge, who have otherwise been one step ahead of us all weekend. The team also did a great job to make some changes after the warm-up and get the bike in the right shape. So today is a third place that actually means more than that, like Jerez. As far as Nicky is concerned we’re starting to reap the fruit of a lot of hard work. It was a much more positive weekend than Mugello, from his sixth fastest time on Friday right through to a top ten finish today. We just need to shave a few tenths more off his lap time and that will be the objective for us in the test tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Weather: Sunny, hot Temperature: Ambient 36 degrees, ground 46 degrees Humidity: 12 per cent Crowd: 88,502 DOVIZIOSO NEARLY ON THE PODIUM AT CATALUNYA GP Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) came within the length of his Honda RC212V of finishing on the podium in the greatest race of the 800cc era. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) won the instant classic with a brave pass of teammate Jorge Lorenzo in the final corner of the Catalunya Grand Prix before a sun-drenched crowd of 88,502 on the Montmelo circuit north of Barcelona. Almost as exciting was Dovi’s late charge on Casey Stoner (Ducati), who held him off by a scant .052s. Held in 36 degree heat, the race was not only the hottest of the season atmospherically, but on the track as well. There was the battle for the front, mostly waged between Rossi and Lorenzo, and the race just behind, with Dovizioso making a late charge. The heat ruined the tires after five or six laps leaving the riders slipping and sliding on a race course where much time is spent at maximum lean angle and the right side of the tires is increasingly subject to abuse. Sixth ending lap one, Dovizioso passed fellow Honda rider Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda) on the fourth of 25 laps only to find teammate Dani Pedrosa just ahead. Two laps on Dovi passed Pedrosa and settled into fourth, but at a distance of 2.5s to Stoner. For the rest of the race, Dovizioso inched ever forward, making huge inroads in the final six laps. The interval continued to shrink on every lap, but on the crucial run from turn 13 to the stripe Stoner was just able to hold him off. Still, Dovizioso took solace in knowing the gap to the winner was only nine seconds. Pedrosa was riding hurt and in pain from incidents two weeks ago in Mugello, but you wouldn’t know it from his performance. With the help of a pain-killing injection, Pedrosa was racing better than expected given the seriousness of his right leg and hip injuries. Once passed by Dovizioso, he came under attack from Loris Capirossi (Suzuki). But it would take the Italian ten laps to slip past the gritty Spaniard, who was hoping for better in front of the home crowd. Pedrosa, who grew up not half an hour from the track, gave way on lap 17, but finished a valiant sixth, exhausted and in pain. De Puniet got little rest once he was passed by Dovizioso. Pedrosa and Capirossi also passed him, as did Colin Edwards on lap 14. But the Frenchman was close enough to re-take the position until the final few laps when the Texan edged ahead. He finished eighth, 1.7s behind Edwards. Alex De Angelis was the final Honda finish in a deceptive 12th place. The San Marinese was in the thick of a six-way battle that spread out over the final several laps. The Montmelo circuit is configured with a number of long, sweeping turns where riders are at maximum lean angle for up to 15 seconds. It’s at full lean that De Angelis said he’s currently struggling with rear tire grip. And today’s ground temperature of 46 degrees was stressful on the dual compound tires. Not as lucky were his teammate Toni Elias and Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda). Takahashi crashed on the first lap while Elias lost the front end in the La Caixa left-hander at the end of the back straight on the tenth lap. Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi finished his first MotoGP race in 17th place for the Scot Honda team. Talmacsi had only ridden the Honda RC212V for the first time on Friday afternoon and was suffering from a slight virus. Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) finished strongly in the second half of the 250cc race to recover strongly for a second place finish. The Japanese rider was a fighting fifth when the engine on his Honda RS250W overheated and suddenly began to misfire, dropping him to sixth and costing him three seconds. But the resolute Aoyama never gave up, finding clean air to cool the engine, and began taking back positions three laps later. A series of very fast laps put him into a podium position with two laps to go and he improved to a sterling second place with a late pass of Hector Barbera (Aprilia) on the final lap. Aoyama’s third podium in a row kept him second in the 250cc World Championship to race winner Alvaro Bautista. After six of 16 races, Aoyama trails 108 to 96. Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG) finished seventh in a mostly solitary race. Wilairot was in a battle for the first eight laps before he found himself mostly alone. For the final 14 laps he was never challenged, but picked up two positions. Both upward moves came on the 15th lap when Roberto Locatelli retired and Mike Di Meglio ran off the track. Unlike Wilairot, Raffaele de Rosa (Scot Honda) was part of a multi-rider battle to the flag. Five and six riders ran as a ribbon for almost the duration of the 23-lap race, with de Rosa in the thick of it throughout. The Italian battled to the end to pick up ninth place on the penultimate lap. Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG) finished tenth and less than a tenth of a second behind de Rosa, who passed him on the final lap. The Spaniard had been eighth on the opening lap, but early gearbox issues dropped him out of the top ten before he was able to stabilize his position. GP rookie Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) had a number of small engine problems during the weekend and one large one that took him out while lying 12th halfway through Sunday’s race. GP rookie Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda) finished out of the points in 18th place, the same finish as he’d recorded two weeks ago in Mugello. The MotoGP World Championship now makes its first northern European stop for the Dutch TT on the venerable Circuit van Drenthe, the Cathedral of Racing, on June 25/26/27. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), fourth finisher, said: “We had a great race today and we finished only nine seconds behind the winner – this is a very important point and we are getting closer every time. We only missed the podium by 52 thousandths of a second, which is a pity because I really like this racetrack and we were fast for the whole weekend, so the podium was the target and it was within the reach. I didn’t have a good start and it took me some time to overtake Randy and then Dani which meant I had a gap to close before I could reach Stoner. Maybe I should have tried to attack Casey with six laps to go, when he slowed down, because later I didn’t have any other chance. The race conditions were really demanding because it was really hot today, but the result was promising and we can move on from here.” Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), sixth finisher, said: “It’s been a very hard weekend and I finished the race exhausted and in a lot of pain, but I don’t regret being here this weekend trying to do my best. I didn’t want to miss my home race and even though sixth position is not the best result in front of my fans, I’m happy with it. I could feel their enormous support during the whole weekend and it helped me a lot to race. It also wouldn’t have been possible without the doctors’ help: They kept me in the best possible condition to bear the pain. The injections I’ve had on each day worked, but obviously to do 25 laps it’s been very hard. The doctors told me that this fracture needs time to heal so I’m going to rest as much as possible and see what the progress is for Assen. The team asked me not test tomorrow to give me the best chance to recover and it’s a sensible decision. I didn’t have a great start today, but I could manage to stay in the second group in the race. I tried to stay with Capirossi, but I couldn’t, so I choose to maintain the sixth position. I’m really tired now, but it was a worthwhile race.” Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), eighth finisher, said: “I am very happy because I think we had a great weekend. It has been a hard race for everybody but I took a perfect start from the third row ending the first lap in fourth place. After that I set my rhythm but some guys (Pedrosa, Dovizioso and Capirossi) overtook me on the straight in the following laps. I am not surprised about that and we have to accept it. Edwards was a bit faster than me but I push to keep his slipstream for the last 10 laps. I could not do better than this and we deserve this 8th place behind the factory bikes. We are ninth in the provisional world standing and we need to continue in this way for the future races.” Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), 12th finisher, said: “The position is clearly not what we want and I don’t think it’s a true reflection of my potential, which I showed last season is in the top six. This year we’re having a few more problems and we haven’t managed to resolve them as quickly as we would have liked. The only positive thing is that in the opening race in Qatar I was fifty seconds behind the winner and now we have reduced that gap to thirty seconds so we’re obviously doing something right. What we need now is to find more grip at full lean because when the bike is at a higher angle the traction is good and we get a glimpse of the potential of the bike. When I can improve my corner speed, which is one of my strengths as a rider, we can make bigger steps forward and this is the target for the test tomorrow and the next race at Assen.” Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda), 17th finisher, said: “Not bad. Less tired than after some 125 races. After four laps, in which I tried to keep the pace of the others, I understood that that was not my rhythm, so I decided not to risk. This is learning time for me. I had a lot of fun and I understood a few things, for example, that I want a wider handlebars. The fever? Gone. I feel really well.” Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda), DNF, said: “I had a good start. I overtook De Angelis and Vermeulen was in front of me. My bike was good, and the feeling was excellent. So I said to myself, ‘Let’s go.’ He braked sooner than expected and to avoid him, I went wide. I broke my little finger against his bike.” Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini), DNF, said: “I was riding on the limit today to try and finish tenth and that tells you everything about our situation. I didn’t make any mistakes when I crashed I wasn’t going any faster and I didn’t brake any harder than I had done on the previous laps, the bike just let go and that was it. It’s disappointing but racing can be like this sometimes. We have to keep thinking positive and look ahead to the test tomorrow, when hopefully we can make some progress. We’ve shown we can do a fast lap but we need to improve our race pace so that is the objective for the test, even though we have no new parts to try. Tomorrow is another day!” HONDA 250cc RIDER QUOTES Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda), second finisher, said: “I’m happy and angry at the same time. Second is a great result. At the same time, my pace in the last lap was so good to make me suspect that, without that misfire, I could compete for the first place. I did a good start – from sixth to second in a few turns. I tried to stay with the guys in front, but the problem I suffered obliged me to lose a few positions. There were several friends of mine in the paddock, today as I’ve been living here in Barcelona for a while. And this is another reason by which I absolutely wanted a good result, here in Montmelo.” Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG), seventh finisher, said: “I made not a good start, but anyway I pushed hard but the bike from the beginning had a problem. The bike was so hot-more or less 75 degrees-and the gears didn’t work as well. In consequence the bike don’t reach the rpm necessary to work good. Finally I passed the riders to be at seventh position and I’m so happy for this. In the general clasification I climbed to the 12th position and until the final of the season I must be in the top ten.” Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda), ninth finisher, said: “I had a good start, but with the tank full the feeling was not the best. Lap by lap the situation improved, but in two points we wasted a lot of time. Had we found a solution, the result would have been by far better. I could finish a few places ahead.” Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG), tenth finisher, said: “My start was really good but it was a lap where we had some problems and in the straight it looks like I stopped in the sixth gear. I lost too many positions and after this the bike don’t work as well. The high temperature of the weather made the bike not work at the maximum and I tried to push hard. In the last lap I was ninth, but DeRosa overtook me and I finished tenth. Anyway, I’m happy because I climbed one position in the world classification and I’m eighth.” Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda), 19th finisher, said: “My start wasn’t bad. Today I always did the mistake to upshift too early from second to third or fourth gear. In the first round I already overtook four or five riders. I could go inside a group with (Valentin) Debise, (Balasz) Nemeth and (Imre) Toth. Debise overtook me and Nemeth. Although we went the same speed as Debise in the corners, on the straights we lost a lot of time against him. The motorbike was very good and I recorded my best time in the race, which is a good motivation for the next race.” Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda), DNF, said: “Today, I had a very good feeling. I didn’t get a good start and didn’t have a good position on the first lap. But it was a very, very interesting race and I was able to race with many other riders. Then I had a little bit of a problem with my engine and it was broken. I had engine problems earlier in the weekend, but this was different. This time it stopped suddenly in turn four. More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: Third top ten for Kallio in Barcelona: ninth. Canepa sixteenth in his first race in Catalunya. Almost ninety thousands spectators were present at the Montmelò circuit, in Barcelona, for the Grand Prix of Cataluña. A spectacular race for the firsts positions, but also a positive race for Mika Kallio, Pramac Racing rider, who has conquered a good result also thanks to the work did by the Ducati test Team at Mugello that brought interesting updates. The Finnish rider, who started from tenth position, has stepped in seventh position after the first intermediate. A small mistake put him in eleventh position after the first lap. In the seventh lap, with more confidence with the track and with the fuel tank a bit lighter, and therefore a bike more easy to ride, he made it to overtake Elias and Melandri placing himself in ninth position. From here it has started a race of managing for Mika because Edwards, in eighth position, was to far to try to reach him. His teammate, Niccolò Canepa, has concluded his first Grand Prix in Barcelona in sixteenth position just a position from the point’s zone. Next MotoGP round in two weeks time at Assen for the Dutch Grand Prix. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “This has been for us a positive race. We arrived here from not the luckiest performances and notwithstanding some problems encountered during practices, in the race Mika made it to control the situation obtaining a good result. Mika has started really good, but in the first laps with the full fuel tank the bike was a bit stiff. Lap after lap he has improved accomplishing two great overtakes and conquering the ninth position. From today we can restart the championship also because we had three Ducati in the top ten.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – 9th in the race – 12th in the Championship “It was so hot today, I am really not used to it ! The race went well, I have done a good start but I made a small mistake after a few turns and in the first lap I was eleventh. At the beginning if you make a small error you lose many position. With the full fuel tank I had some difficulties to control the bike, but after a few laps when the bike was lighter I was able to push always more overtaking Elias and Melandri. I have tried to reach Edwards but by pushing so hard I was afraid that the tyres would have kept the same grip until the end. We are happy and we hope to be able to improve in the next races.” Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 16th in the race – 16th in the Championship “With this temperatures it was really difficult for me. Not for my physical conditions, that are good, but because during all racing weekend I couldn’t feel the right grip with the rear tyre. Only Saturday morning, when the temperatures were lower I could manage to maintain a good rhythm. We will try to do better in Assen in two weeks time.”