FIM MotoGP World Championship Misano, San Marino August 31, 2008 Race Results: 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Bridgestone, 28 laps, 44:41.884 2. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), Michelin, -3.163 3. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), Bridgestone, -11.705 4. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, -17.470 5. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -23.409 6. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), Michelin, -26.208 7. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -26.824 8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), Michelin, -27.591 9. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -33.169 10. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, -36.529 11. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -42.081 12. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Bridgestone, -43.808 13. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -54.874 14. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -55.154 15. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, -21 laps, DNF, crash 16. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), Bridgestone, -27 laps, DNF, crash 17. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), Michelin, -28 laps, DNF, crash 18. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, did not start MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 18 races): 1. Rossi, 262 points 2. Stoner, 187 3. Pedrosa, 185 4. Lorenzo, 140 5. Dovizioso, 118 6. Vermeulen, 110 7. Edwards, 108 8. Nakano, 87 9. Capirossi, 86 10. Toseland, 85 11. Hayden, 84 12. Elias, 82 13. De Angelis, 49 14. Melandri, 48 15. Guintoli, 47 16. De Puniet, 40 17. Hopkins, 39 18. West, 36 19. Ben Spies, 10 20. Jamie Hacking, 5 21. Tadayuki Okada, 2 More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen survived an early race scare at the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano today, to fight his way back through the field to score a well-earned fifth place. Starting from seventh on the grid, Vermeulen made a good start and was up with the leading pack, but a huge high-side spat the Australian out of the seat of his Suzuki GSV-R on the second corner. Fortunately Vermeulen landed back on his bike damaging the fairing in the process but he had lost several places and was back in 13th position at the end of lap one. He set about chasing down the riders in front of him and, although the Misano circuit is a difficult place to pass on, Vermeulen stormed through the field to bring his machine home for 11 hard-earned points that promoted him to sixth in the World Championship table. Loris Capirossi marked his 277th Grand Prix race with a typical battling performance as he finished an impressive seventh after starting from 11th on the grid. Capirossi was involved in several encounters with other riders during the 28-lap race and a daring overtaking manoeuvre on the last-lap nearly saw him take sixth, but he just couldn’t make the pass stick and had to settle for seventh at the line. Today’s race was watched by over 51,000 colourful fans as they bathed in the glorious sunshine and clear blue skies that have accompanied this weekend’s event. The vastly partisan home crowd were treated to a victory by local hero and current championship leader Valentino Rossi. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now packs up and heads over the Atlantic to Indianapolis in America, for the first-ever MotoGP at the famous Speedway circuit, to be held on Sunday 14th September. Chris Vermeulen: “I got a good start and, although I got pushed a bit wide in the first turn, I still thought I’d hold on to my position but as I entered turn two the rear tyre was just not warm enough and I had a big slide. I thought it was all over then, but luckily I landed back on the bike and although I smashed the fairing with my leg no harm was done! I didn’t quite have the pace that I have had this weekend which was probably due to the higher temperatures, and we certainly slid around a bit more today! This is the first time we have raced with the new chassis and with the new construction front tyre that Bridgestone brought here for us, so with all things considered – and from where I ended the first lap – I think we had a good race. The tyres worked especially well and I did my fastest time on lap 25 out of the 28 it was just a shame I wasn’t with the front group from the beginning or things might have been very different!” Loris Capirossi: “It has been quite a hard weekend for me as we have been working a lot on the new chassis and getting it right. I really want to thank my team as they have all worked so hard to get it the best it can be. I think maybe we changed too many things on the bike and lost our way a bit, but at the end the bike seemed to work ok. This morning during warm-up we went back a bit and then on the grid I had to change my front tyre and had to start with a new one that didn’t have the right feeling to start with. The tyre soon got better and in the end I didn’t go too badly! I made a big fight on the last lap and tried to overtake, but I made a little mistake and couldn’t quite hold it, but for my 277th Grand Prix it was not too bad!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “These were not the results we were hoping for today, but it was a fantastic effort by both riders nonetheless. Misano is a very difficult circuit to pass on and for Chris to come from so far back – after a huge high-side on the first lap and fight his way through to fifth was a great performance. He had the pace to challenge for the podium, but there was no way it was going to happen from that far back! Loris’s pace was very similar to Chris’s and he too enjoyed some fantastic battles to get through the field. It could easily have been fifth and sixth, but Loris’s manoeuvre didn’t quite work on the last lap. Seventh isn’t where Loris wants to be, but the spirit and determination he showed in the race indicates that he is as enthusiastic in his 277th GP as he was in his first! “This was the Team’s first race with the prototype chassis that we tested in Brno, and we always gather much better data from a full race distance than we do from a test, so we hope the work we have done this weekend is going to put us in good stead for Indianapolis and the final run-in to the end of the season.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI MATCHES AGOSTINI’S RECORD WITH WIN NUMBER SIXTY-EIGHT Valentino Rossi reached another milestone in his outstanding career today by matching the all-time premier-class win record. His 68th premier-class victory brings him level with his great countryman Giacomo Agostini and the fact that he was able to do it at his home track of Misano made it all the more special for the flamboyant Italian. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo put the icing on the cake for Yamaha with an impressive return to the podium to make it the second one-two finish for the team this season. Rossi had a good start but Dani Pedrosa had an even better one and the seven-time world champion was forced to ride at his maximum to pass the Spaniard back, which he did on the second lap. Casey Stoner was by then some three seconds clear but Rossi’s M1 was working well and he was gradually able to start making up some ground, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap six. One lap eight of 28 Stoner sensationally slid out into the gravel in a carbon copy of the last race in Brno and Rossi was left in the lead. There was no opportunity to rest however as the twisty nature of the circuit was a very different task to face alone than the flowing curves of Brno and Lorenzo, another three seconds behind, was giving Rossi no chance of a let-up. The local hero was able to bring his M1 home safely however to the rapturous cheers of his home fans, who flooded onto the track in typical Italian fashion. The sixth win of the season for Rossi and another non-finish for Stoner means he is now 75 points clear at the top of the championship, with a maximum of 125 points remaining from five races. Lorenzo stays in fourth and Yamaha remain on course for a treble of Teams’ and Manufacturers’ championships as well. Valentino Rossi Position: 1 Time: 44’41.884 “Today is a truly fantastic day and I can’t believe that I have matched Agostini’s record! He was one of my heroes so it’s quite incredible to have made it to 68 wins. This was quite a difficult weekend for us from the start and there has been the added pressure of a home race, which makes it harder to concentrate because there is so much distraction! Mugello has always been ‘my’ track, even though it’s further away from Tavullia, but here, after the bad time last year, we haven’t found it so easy. Once again today however my team gave me a very competitive bike and I felt very confident. I got a good start but then Dani came past me very fast and I then lost a lot of time getting past him and had to take some big risks I had a big slide! Once I was past him I could see Casey, although I have to admit that today I wasn’t as confident as I was in Brno that I could win. Anyway I kept pushing because it’s not in my nature to ride for second place and I think it still could have been a battle; I was very fast once I found my rhythm. Then I saw Casey slide out. I’m sorry for him once again but this is very good for our championship so I am happy for our team. We have 75 points, which is a lot, but there are still five races and I will ride to win at every one, as I always have done throughout my career. Thanks to my fantastic Yamaha team, to Bridgestone and of course congratulations to Jorge as well, he kept pushing me today and I wasn’t able to relax even for one minute! It is a great day for us all.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “What a day! It’s very positive for our championship and to come out with 75 points after three wins in a row is amazing. Once again the team and engineers did an excellent job to fix some problems in time for the race to give Valentino a competitive bike, so well done to them. Despite losing a bit of time at the start Valentino was able to come back and set the fastest lap and keep pushing. Of course the championship isn’t done but our advantage is very big and all the team are concentrated and motivated for the final five races. It’s great to see Jorge back on the podium as well a great race and a great team!” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO RETURNS TO PODIUM WITH STUNNING SECOND IN MISANO Jorge Lorenzo made it a fantastic home-race double podium for the Fiat Yamaha Team today, finishing second behind his team-mate Valentino Rossi at Misano. It was the rookie’s first podium since the team’s last one-two finish in Le Mans and it was a deserved one following the injuries that have plagued him since. Lorenzo lost some time at the start when Dani Pedrosa passed him and then had to wait for Rossi to pass his Spanish compatriot before he could make his move, which he did on lap five. When Casey Stoner crashed out of the lead on lap eight, leaving Rossi in front, Lorenzo was elevated to second and he rode a strong race from then on, exerting constant pressure on his team-mate, who was unable to relax and had to keep pushing to keep the gap at about three seconds. Lorenzo was followed home by another Spaniard, Toni Elias, who crossed the line 8.54 seconds off in third. The 21-year-old Mallorcan’s fifth podium of the season sees him consolidate his fourth place in the championship and his leading rookie status, whilst Rossi is now 75 points clear of Stoner at the top. There are five rounds remaining with the next one coming at Indianapolis in the USA in two week’s time. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 2 Time: +3.163 “Seeing the party Valentino’s fans were making for him around the track today reminded me how much I want to start winning again, but as a start this second place is fantastic for us! I lost some ground at the early on but then I took my rhythm, passed Dani and started to push, and then I kept pushing until the end. To be one and two on the podium again, like in Le Mans, is wonderful and after four months of problems I am enjoying this moment very much it’s perfect. Since the Brno test and with the improvements that Michelin have made here my confidence has being going up all the time and my riding style has improved as well, so I want to say thank you to them. I hope the situation is the same at the next races, then we can continue to be strong like this. Thanks to all of my team and congratulations to Valentino and Toni.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “It’s really great to be back on the podium after a long time and we are very happy for Jorge. We never lost confidence that he would come back to this level even though it has been very hard for him at times, but everyone has kept focused and here we are, so well done to all involved. Our Michelin tyres have worked much better here and this has made everything easier to achieve, it seems that the Brno test was a turning point and the improvement in the tyres has helped us to find a new set-up. Now we’re looking forward with confidence to the next races. Congratulations to Valentino and the other side of the garage for a great victory.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Rossi takes home win, Elias on the podium Round 13: San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Race Misano World Circuit Sunday 31 August 2008 Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi has taken his third consecutive victory in this afternoon’s San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix, his sixth of the season, to extend his lead of the world championship to 75 points. The win marks Bridgestone’s 30th victory in the premier class since its entry back in 2002. Toni Elias made it two Bridgestone-shod riders on the podium with an excellent ride to third place, scoring his second podium result in a row after another impressive performance. Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took second place. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP duo Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi were embroiled in close battles throughout the race and eventually crossed the line in fifth and seventh positions respectively. Vermeulen’s 11 points elevate him into sixth in the championship while Capirossi, participating in his record-breaking 277th Grand Prix event, also sees himself jump up a place in the classification to ninth. Ducati’s Marco Melandri was the other Bridgestone rider in the top ten in ninth, having made strong progress through the field from his 15th-placed starting position. In keeping with the competitive state of the free practice and qualifying sessions, the race result showed a good mix of teams, manufacturers and tyre makers. However there was disappointment for some Bridgestone riders with Casey Stoner and Alex De Angelis not finishing the race. Stoner still retains his second place in the championship with five rounds of the season remaining. Hiroshi Yamada Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Sport Unit “Congratulations to Valentino and the Yamaha team for their win today. We are very sorry for Casey, crashing at the beginning of the race even though he had a big advantage over the second position. All our teams have worked very hard all weekend and there were some great results once again, particularly with Toni getting his second podium finish in a row and Suzuki showing another good performance. It was a very competitive race so I am pleased we have been able to get five riders finishing in the top 10, which is a very good balance among the tyre manufacturers. Next time we go to Indianapolis which is the first time for everyone so we will try our best to get a good result even though it will be a new challenge.” Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “We have had a reasonable weekend from the tyre performance point of view, in spite of the very hot track conditions on all three days. Many riders were able to demonstrate a good pace with the race tyres. Casey had been very strong all weekend and was quick from the start of the race so it was especially unfortunate that he crashed out. He mentioned that his feeling with the front tyre was not as good as it was with the same specification tyre in practice, so we will naturally look into this. Basically, though, our tyre performance and consistency was good. However, our competitors were very strong so our rate of development must not stop for the final five races of the season.” Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team Race Winner and Championship Leader “Today is a truly fantastic day and I can’t believe that I have matched Agostini’s record! He was one of my heroes so it’s quite incredible to have made it to 68 wins. This was quite a difficult weekend for us from the start and there has been the added pressure of a home race, which makes it harder to concentrate because there is so much distraction! Once again today however my team gave me a very competitive bike and I felt very confident. We have a 75 point lead in the championship, which is a lot, but there are still five races and I will ride to win at every one, as I always have done throughout my career. Thanks to my fantastic Yamaha team, to Bridgestone and of course congratulations to Jorge as well, he kept pushing me today and I wasn’t able to relax even for one minute! It is a great day for us all.” Bridgestone-shod Riders’ Race Results and Tyre Choices Pos. Rider Team Race Time Gap Front Tyre (all 16.5”) Rear Tyre (all 16.5”) P1 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 44m41.884s Winner Slick-Hard Slick-Hard P3 Toni Elias Alice Team 44m53.589s +11.705s Slick-Hard Slick-Medium P5 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 45m05.293s +23.409s Slick-Hard Slick-Medium P7 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 45m08.708s +26.824s Slick-Medium Slick-Hard P9 Marco Melandri Ducati Corse 45m15.053s +36.453s Slick-Hard Slick-Soft P11 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 45m23.965s +42.081s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P12 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 45m25.692s +43.808s Slick-Medium Slick-Hard P13 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 45m36.758s +54.874s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P14 John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 45m37.038s +55.154s Slick-Hard Slick-Medium DNF Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 11m11.968s +21 laps Slick-Hard Slick-Hard DNF Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m46.395s +27 laps Slick-Hard Slick-Hard More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: DE PUNIET CRASHED OUT IN THE FIRST LAP OF MISANO GP Misano, 31 August 2008: Under sunny skies the Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini was run at a very hot pace today but LCR Honda MotoGP Team rider Randy De Puniet did not finish the race crashing out on lap one. After yesterday’s good qualifying when De Puniet got the 4th quickest time of the day aboard the Michelin-shod Honda RC212V, the 27-year-old made a good start from the second row and was fifth when he went out in the gravel. Luckily Randy escaped unhurt from the accident suffering just a small injury on his right arm. The French racer and his crew will be back on track tomorrow for one testing day and will fly to US for Indianopolis GP on the 14 of September. Rossi won his home race followed by his team mate Lorenzo and Elias. De Puniet – crashed: “I am very disappointed for me and the Team. The whole week end has been very positive and the 4th position on the grid was a good occasion for me. I made a good start from the second row and knew that I could get a positive result as my pace was consistently fast throughout the week end. I was fifth when I went wide in the last corner loosing the rear control. My right arm aches a bit but will be fine for tomorrow’s test. The Team made an excellent job this week end and I want to thank them for their efforts”. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: A home victory and the retirement of rival Casey Stoner at Misano left Valentino Rossi one step closer to a sixth MotoGP World Championship, and his fans in celebratory mood amidst the yellow grandstands. The Fiat Yamaha rider was able to avenge his 2007 Misano disappointment and add the circuit to his list of successful tracks, with only the next circuit on the calendar, Indianapolis, missing from his impressive resume. Rossi was, for the third race in succession, starting from second on the grid for the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. He could do nothing to stop title rival Stoner from taking the holeshot early, however, as the reigning World Champion established a large gap even before the first time that the riders crossed the start/finish line. Rossi was making up ground by the seventh lap, but the fans were denied a fascinating direct battle between the two when Stoner lost control of his Ducati Desmosedici GP8 and, as he did at Brno two weeks ago, saw his race come to an early conclusion. From then on, Rossi completed the race in relatively untroubled fashion, bringing his Yamaha M1 home safely and taking his 68th premier class victory, in doing so equalling the record of MotoGP Legend Giacomo Agostini. Four consecutive race victories, a 75 point advantage in the standings and just five events remaining in 2008 mean that `The Doctor´ can now breathe a little easier after this latest triumph. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo made his podium return at Misano with the runner-up spot, his first rostrum finish since the visit to Le Mans back in May. The MotoGP rookie was unable to catch up with his fellow Fiat Yamaha rider, but nonetheless had a comfortable advantage of his own over third place finisher Toni Elias. Alice Team rider Elias followed his second place at Brno with another rostrum, the first time that he has taken consecutive podiums in the premier class. He held off another Spaniard in Repsol Honda´s Dani Pedrosa, whose teammate Nicky Hayden decided to miss both the warmup and race due to his persistent foot injury. Pedrosa closed the gap between himself and second placed Stoner to just two points. Chris Vermeulen rounded off the top six for Rizla Suzuki, ahead of James Toseland, Loris Capirossi, Andrea Dovizioso, Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards. San Marino´s MotoGP representative Alex de Angelis lasted just over a lap of his home race, and his disappointment was shared by LCR Honda´s Randy de Puniet, who also hit the ground early on. Valentino Rossi Race Winner “I´m very excited and tired. I felt some pressure before the race, with a lot of family and friends here; it´s only my dog that didn´t come here. I felt nervous, and struggled in practice with the setting. We fixed the bike for the race, and the race pace was a little slower because of the high heat. I rode round in 1´34 early, which was the target, but I lost some time with Dani (Pedrosa). Casey (Stoner) pushed a lot but didn´t get too far away from me. It´s a long race, so I don´t know if it is possible to have caught him. When he slid away I thought that it was very good for my championship chances. I still had to push, because Lorenzo doesn’t give up. I won at my home race, so it feels like Mugello!´” 250cc Alvaro Bautista picked up a third victory of 2008 and 25 points for his 250cc title fightback in an edge-of-seat showdown in Misano. The Spaniard had a dream race, winning from the third row of the grid and seeing some of the big names in the category fall by the wayside. Despite having to fight past some tough riders, Bautista perhaps had the most reserved race of those in the leading pack. The Mapfre Aspar rider somehow managed to avoid some big crashes and hard overtaking moves that caught out some of the expected challengers for the win, moving himself up to third in the overall classification and just a point behind Mika Kallio. Yuki Takahashi was another rider who managed to steer clear of trouble, and got off to a fantastic start from the front row. JiR Team Scot´s Japanese star took his best result of the year with the runner-up spot behind Bautista. One man never far away from the action in Misano was final podium finisher Hector Barbera, who was involved in some of the key incidents of the race. He twice ran wide with rival Marco Simoncelli as they engaged in a 250cc game of `chicken´, and also did little to endear himself to the San Marino faithful as his fight with Mattia Pasini ended with the home rider taking a huge crash on turn twelve of lap eleven. The Italian escaped unhurt, but obviously upset with Barbera. Roberto Locatelli was the highest placing Italian rider in an impressive showing for the Metis Gilera man, coming home fourth ahead of Repsol KTM´s Julian Simon. Series leader Simoncelli emerged unscathed from his battle with Barbera, but crashed of his own accord on lap 21 to rule himself out of the podium fight. He eventually came home in sixth. Thomas Luthi, Ratthapark Wilairot, Lukas Pesek and Karel Abraham were the other four riders in the top ten, which did not include Red Bull KTM riders Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama. They collided on the second lap, leading to some heated discussion in the garage in the aftermath of a race without points for either rider. 125cc Reigning 125cc World Champion Gabor Talmacsi further aided his quest to retain the title with a masterful victory at Misano. The Hungarian clearly set the fastest race pace over the 23-lap contest, with the kind of consistency that permitted him to make a mid-race slip-up and still take the chequered flag ahead of his rivals. Having taken off from pole position for the third race in succession, Talmacsi had aside from losing the first corner holeshot- been leading the way comfortably until lap eleven. The Bancaja Aspar rider saw his advantage overcome when he wobbled on a corner which later claimed series leader Mike di Meglio, Talmacsi´s trouble letting Bradley Smith pass him. The title holder had to start from scratch, but reeled in Smith and extended a lead over the Briton to win by more than 2.5 seconds. Smith equaled his best ever Grand Prix result with second place, riding a solitary race after Talmacsi had broken free. Behind him, the fight for the final podium spot became the battle of the race, with a heartbreaking conclusion for Joan Olive. The Spaniard crashed on the final corner under pressure from Simone Corsi, who held his nerve for a rostrum return. World Championship rookie Marc Marquez came home fourth, with Nico Terol and Andrea Iannone also in the top six. Sandro Cortese, Dominique Aegerter, Esteve Rabat and Sergio Gadea completed the first ten past the line. Di Meglio continues to lead the overall classification, with his advantage over Corsi reduced to 28 points. Talmacsi moves up a place to third, a further eleven points down. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: TOUGH WEEKEND AT MISANO ENDS WITH POINTS Kawasaki’s Anthony West and John Hopkins brought their Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machines home in the points during this afternoon’s Grand Prix of Cinzano Di San Marino E Riviera Di Rimini. But, despite the points haul, both riders were frustrated not to have finished further up the field, especially after such a promising performance with the evolution version of Kawasaki’s MotoGP racer last time out in Brno. Both riders made a determined start to the race from the back row of the grid, as West fought his way through to 12th position and Hopkins moved up to 14th by the end of the first lap of the Misano circuit. The Kawasaki duo exchanged places numerous times with fellow competitors in the opening stages, before settling into a rhythm with West in 13th position and Hopkins a place behind. West concentrated on lapping consistently around the 4.20km circuit, despite still battling with a lack of confidence, a problem that has plagued him throughout practice and qualifying. The 27-year-old Australian set his fastest time of the weekend on lap 20 of 28 and managed to hold off teammate Hopkins to take 13th place at the chequered flag. A recovering Hopkins, who was sidelined from the two hour-long practice sessions on Friday through injury complications, made the best of the setting he had after a reduced amount of time on circuit. Having sat out the post-race test in Brno, the 25-year-old has been severely disadvantaged with little track time to find a more usable set-up for Kawasaki’s upgraded Ninja ZX-RR. Hopkins is confident that, given time to refine his setup during tomorrow’s test, he will head into the next round of the MotoGP World Championship, at Indianapolis, with a much better feeling for Kawasaki’s upgraded Ninja ZX-RR. Anthony West #13 – 13th Position “I just didn’t have the confidence to push the front all weekend, and I couldn’t found a solution to this, which was obviously reflected in our result today. On a positive note we did manage to set the fastest lap time of the weekend in the race, and had we been further up the grid, I am sure we could have been battling for stronger positions. John and I were locked together for most of the race and although I had to push quite hard, I managed to hold him off to the flag. At the post-race test in Brno we tried a revised specification front tyre from Bridgestone, which definitely was an improvement, but we couldn’t get it to work comfortably with the bike here, so this is an area we need to concentrate on as I believe this can help us achieve better results.” John Hopkins #21 14th Position “This weekend has been frustratingly tough for us. Having aggravated the injury to my rib we missed two sessions and basically ran out of time to set the bike up. We got a good start to the race, but I was suffering with quite a lot of discomfort from the injury and I just couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to. We’re struggling with a few problems with the front-end feeling, but again, that’s simply down to a lack of track time. All of the other Bridgestone riders are on a different specification tyre, and this is something we need time to test as I think it will make a big difference for us. I’m having some intense treatment overnight and hopefully we can get plenty of laps under our belt tomorrow to put us in better stead for my home race in Indianapolis.” Michael Bartholemy Kawasaki Competition Manager “Today has been difficult for us, and this result is not what we had expected after Brno. Anthony has struggled with a lack of confidence all weekend and, although he set his fastest lap of all of the sessions during the race, it wasn’t enough to bridge the gap to the other riders. John lost out on a lot of track time this weekend, so he was always going to be at a disadvantage today. After suffering with so many challenges lately, he is quite down. It’s always tough coming back from an injury, but he knows that he needs to put that behind him, get his head down and get on with securing the results we know he’s capable of. I hope he can take advantage of tomorrow’s test to catch up on the set-up time he’s lost through injury, because a successful test will be just the thing to motivate him for the next race in Indianapolis.” More, from a press release issued by Tech 3 Yamaha: James Toseland storms to top six, tough day for Colin Edwards A fantastic performance by British rider James Toseland saw him claim his fifth top six finish of the season at red-hot Misano this afternoon. The Tech3 Yamaha rider was always in contention for his first top six finish since the Catalunya GP after a solid start from ninth on the grid. At one stage though he looked on course for his best ever MotoGP finish as he held a terrific fifth having got the better of a tough battle with Andrea Dovizoso and Shinya Nakano. He slipped to sixth place on lap 22 but then produced a heroic display to hold off intense pressure from Loris Capirossi and Dovizioso in an enthralling finale to the 28-lap encounter, which was run in punishing 35-degree heat. Today’s result moved Toseland back into the top ten in the world championship standings. American team-mate Colin Edwards had a difficult afternoon, as any hopes he had of mounting an assault on the top six were dashed in the early stages. He struggled with rear grip, but was able to run a consistent pace in the second half of the race to fight his way back into a hard fought tenth. James Toseland 6th 85 points “I got a decent start off the line and held my grid position in ninth, so I wasn’t too disappointed and got into the groove quite quickly. I was battling with Dovizioso and Nakano for the first half of the race. I passed Shinya and then started chasing Dovizioso but just as I caught him I started having some troubles. But he was too and I managed to pass him and make it stick. Then Chris Vermeulen came past and pulled away which was a bit frustrating because I was hoping for fifth to get my best result. Coming from where I’d been in the last few races and to produce a ride like that was brilliant. That is what I’m here for and I really enjoyed it. I was about ten feet wide on those last few laps and probably the widest Yamaha in history. I knew Loris and Dovizioso were behind me in those last few laps and they wanted my place in front of their home fans. Loris passed me on the penultimate lap but I’d blocked the line so he had to go really deep and he just went slightly wide and he left half a door open and I moved back through. I didn’t touch him so it was all fair and square. On the last lap I blocked into the last two corners and I knew I’d got sixth with it being a short drag to the line so it was a great feeling. Michelin has had a lot of stick recently but they have knuckled down and so have I. We have kept working hard and today we showed what we can achieve together with Tech 3 and Yamaha.” Colin Edwards 10th 108 points “It was a very tough race and not what I’d expected. I thought it was going to be tough, but not that tough and obviously I wanted to do better for my guys at Tech 3 who tried everything to solve some of our issues here. Unfortunately some of the issues we can’t control, and I was struggling for grip in the early stages. I just couldn’t get any temperature in the rear tyre and I didn’t have the confidence to push like I wanted to. Those first three laps just dictated my result because once I got into my pace my lap times were pretty decent and good enough to be fighting much further up. But I lost too much in the early part of the race. The problem is on a short track when everybody is doing pretty much the same lap time; it is impossible to make up a lot of time. I got through to tenth and I’ve got a chance to put things right on home soil in Indianapolis next time out.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “It was a fantastic race from James and I am really pleased to see him back up there fighting as we know he can do. When he suffers the whole team suffers and it is not been an easy period for him, but he has never let his head drop and he always kept his motivation and given Tech 3, Yamaha and Michelin 100 per cent. This result will give him a big boost for the remainder of the season, and maybe a podium is not impossible before the end. He came under a lot of pressure but he kept concentrated and showed the James we saw at the start of the season. I am sorry for Colin. His lap times showed at the end of the race he had the speed, but for some reason in the early part of the race he was not able to run the pace we had hoped. But it was a strong weekend for Tech 3 and for Yamaha. I’d like to congratulate Valentino and Jorge and I think we saw that Michelin and Bridgestone are really close together. I’d like to thank Michelin for the way they have responded to the last few races.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER SLIDES OUT OF SAN MARINO GP, MELANDRI PICKS UP POINTS IN 9TH Casey Stoner today slid out of the lead in the San Marino Grand Prix – an event he had dominated throughout practice and qualifying. Battling bravely through the pain of a scaphoid injury, the Australian lost the front end of his bike six laps into the 28 lap contest at Misano. Marco Melandri heads to the US in high spirits after a confidence boosting performance today, making up six places on his starting position to finish ninth – his second top ten finish in as many races – despite being forced off track by another rider in the early stages. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) DNF “It is very disappointing for the weekend to end like this after showing such a high level of performance in practice. Basically we took the decision to put one lap on the race tyre in warm-up this morning to get it scrubbed in: we’ve done it before and not had a problem but today I could feel from the first lap that the grip wasn’t right. After a few laps it started to feel better and I was gaining confidence but it let go. It’s a real shame but, anyway, we tried hard here and once again I think we’ve shown we are very fast, we have a great bike and tyres that work fantastically. This gives me confidence for next year and I’m looking forward to it already. As for the injury, it’s huge disappointment this problem came out but I’ll have to wait until the end of the season for an operation.” MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 9th “I got a good start but lost a lot of ground in the second corner because Vermuelen almost crashed in front of me and I nearly hit him. But I have to say that the feeling with the bike was good from the first lap. I got past De Angelis but I guess he was keen to get back at me and he tried a pass in a corner where it was too difficult to pass. We touched and I ran wide, losing a lot more ground again. Slowly but surely I recovered and passed a few riders but the group ahead was too far away, otherwise I could have fought for an even better result. In general, even though the result is not as good as Brno.” FILIPPO PREZIOSI (General Director, Ducati Corse) “I’m really disappointed for Casey but it is important that we stay together as a team at a moment like this. We leave here knowing that we have a competitive bike, a good team and a truly great rider. I am proud to be able to work with Casey Stoner. In the early stages of the race Marco was held up by De Angelis and lost a lot of ground but it was great to see him at the end of the race setting lap times that would have been good enough for the podium. It is another step forward and we hope that he and Toni Elias – who had another splendid race and I want to congratulate him and his team for that – can consolidate their progress.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Team Scot Honda: Dovizioso proud to provide action and entertainment at San Marino Andrea Dovizioso ended today’s Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini in eighth position, after riding an aggressive race while avoiding any incidents despite coming from 14th on the grid. Dovi was able to reach as high as fifth place at one stage in the race thanks to an excellent start. Dovizioso used the most out of his JiR Team Scot Honda RC212V and moved up steadily lap after lap until he was able to fight with Capirossi and Toseland for sixth. The eighth position capped two days of intense work for the team, although the team’s position in the championship remains unchanged with the Romagna rider in fifth position overall. Gianluca Montiron – Director JiR Team Scot “We have completed our race, making the most of our technical package, the final outcome was also influenced by our start position, which was quite low despite two days of intense work from the Team and Andrea. We maintain fifth position in the championship standings, but we must commit ourselves to stay in this position and we will fight hard to do so. Congratulations also to our 250cc GP Team for the excellent work as they reached the podium.” Andrea Dovizioso – Pilot JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V 8th position, 10th-best time: 1’35 “911 “I did everything possible with the material at my disposal today. In the race I had to overtake many riders and recover positions that I lost from my starting position of 14th. My aim today was for fifth position, but I felt my front tyre wasn’t so good on the entrance to the corners, while the rear tyre was very good. In order to not lose contact with the other riders I had to maintain high corner speed, while other riders were able to be slower through the corners but then accelerate away. Despite this, today we again proved we can be competitive and we have to keep on this level.” Cirano Mularoni – Team Manager JiR Team Scot “Today was the race that we expected in light of the evidence of two days of practice. We know that Andrea gave the very maximum as always and did a very good race for us, making a good start and catching up many positions and battling hard until the last corner without yielding. We dreamed of a fifth place position and it was almost ours, but eighth is a good result considering qualifying.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: PEDROSA FIGHTS TO FOURTH AS ROSSI WINS AT HOME In stifling heat on the Adriatic coast of Italy Casey Stoner (Ducati) threw away his last fading hopes of winning the MotoGP title again when he crashed while leading on lap eight of this 28-lap race. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) won from his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo with Toni Elias (Ducati) third. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) finished a gallant fourth after leaving the line in superb style to lie second into turn one behind Stoner. But the Spanish star could not maintain the pace of the eventual podium men, and despite a gutsy bid for third in the closing stages, he finished 17 seconds behind the winner. His team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) did not ride today after struggling throughout qualifying with the injury to his right foot. He should be fit enough, however, to appear at Indianapolis in the USA in two weeks time. Stoner flew in the early laps building a 3.3 second lead after only three tours of the 4.226km circuit and looked untouchable. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) made a good launch too and lay fourth on lap one until he fell, not even completing the opening lap. He crashed here on lap one in 2007 too. Dani was hanging on gamely however and it looked as if the Honda man was back to form after his German crash and the disappointment of missing out on riding at Laguna Seca. But Dani couldn’t quite hang in there and as Rossi passed him early on, then Lorenzo and Elias on lap five, he had to make do with holding onto fourth. Things were not going the way of the Honda men here. After De Puniet’s early departure, San Marino lost it’s main man when Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) crashed on lap two. This left Dani, Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) and Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) as the only men left in the running. Rossi was pressuring Stoner as best he could but the reigning world champion was maintaining the three second cushion he’d established. Until, that is, he slid off his machine on lap eight at the hairpin leading onto the short 565m straight. He did not restart and his 2008 title ambitions are now surely in ruins. Lorenzo was now the man chasing Rossi, but the Italian rider now worked on keeping his Spanish team-mate at bay and this he did, working his lead up to three seconds in the three laps from a 2.7 second base. Lorenzo made a late effort to close this but Rossi’s job was now done. Action downfield consisted of a spirited fight for fifth place between the Suzuki riders Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi, Yamaha man James Toseland, and the stalwart Dovizioso, who never stints in fighting for every inch of track with any rival. His three antagonists overhauled him in the final laps but the trio knew they had a fight on their hands when they eventually moved through. Nakano showed well early on but faded to 12th at the flag, completing a difficult, yet at the same time defiant, day in the premier class. Rossi now has 262 points, Stoner 187, Pedrosa 185 and Lorenzo 140. Rossi’s 75 point lead with five races to run is to all intents and purposes almost unassailable, but so long as mathematical chances remain, his four rivals will ride as fiercely as ever. Dani said: “That was a definitely a very physically tough race for everyone. It was very hot, much hotter than yesterday. Anyway, I can say I’m quite happy with the result. I didn’t expect to finish fourth at the end. We had some trouble during the second half. We had two different rear tyres to choose from and I only made the choice on the grid. I went for the softer of the two tyres, thinking to gain some advantage during the early stages of the race. Obviously it wasn’t the best option. But we had a much better race than we had at Brno and I did my best, so I am quite happy.” Dovi said: “I did everything possible today. I had to overtake and recover positions I lost from starting 14th. My aim today was fifth. But my front tyre wasn’t so good on corner entries, while the rear tyre was good. I had to maintain high corner speed, while other riders were able to be slower through the corners then accelerate away. Despite this, we again proved we can be competitive and we have to keep on this level.” Nakano said: “It was a really difficult race for us today. Despite making a decent start and getting a couple of good laps under my belt, I started to feel a chatter problem in certain corners and couldn’t push hard. By the closing stages of the race my lap times had dropped off by three seconds compared to our pace in practice. It’s obvious that something isn’t working but we’ll have to analyse the data to find out what it is and work out a solution.” Injured Nicky Hayden, who did not race, said: “This wasn’t an easy decision. I love to race and the racer in me wanted to race, but in this kind of situation it’s better to listen to the experts. The heel got worse as the weekend went on. I was sixth on Friday morning but I kept working my way backward after that, the more I rode, the more strength I lost in the foot. I felt I could have salvaged a little something out of today’s race but that was just going to make things worse for Indy and for the rest of the season.” De Puniet, who crashed unhurt on lap one, said: “I am very disappointed for me and the team. The whole weekend has been very positive and the fourth position on the grid was good. I was fifth when I went wide in the last corner loosing the rear end. My right arm aches a bit but will be fine for tomorrow’s test. The Team made an excellent job this week end and I want to thank them for their efforts”. De Angelis, another non-finisher, said: “I’m really disappointed with today’s race because I got a good start and could have had a good race. Unfortunately Melandri came past me down the straight and we touched in the next corner under heavy braking. We both lost a lot of ground on the riders ahead of us and as I pushed hard to try and close the gap I lost the rear of the bike and it threw me into the air. I tried to hang on but I grabbed the front brake and crashed.” 250cc Grand Prix A race that showed the quarter-litre class at its cut-throat best. A no-holds-barred contest that saw Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW) ride with controlled aggression to finish a magnificent second behind winner Alvaro Bautista and ahead of third-placed Hector Barbera (both Aprilia). Action-packed from start to finish this race damaged sixth-placed Marco Simoncelli’s World Championship lead. A race-long battle with Barbera with both riders barging each other off-line with some venom ended when Simoncelli crashed (of his own accord) with four laps to go. He remounted unlike Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) who fell mid-race when Barbera squeezed inside him on the series of fast right-handers. World Championship hopeful Mika Kallio (KTM) saw his thin hopes of late-season contention severely dented when he tangled with his team-mate Hiro Aoyama on lap four a bitter blow for a rider who lead the series earlier in the season. The table now is thus: Simoncelli 190 points, Kallio 164, Bautista 163. Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG RS250RW) enjoyed a fine race, finishing eighth to equal his best result of the year so far. But it was Takahashi with a cool head and a burning desire to score a podium who starred here today. Takahashi, after his best result of the year so far, said: “I’m happy, because I feel this is my home race and I have so many fans here. Many of my mechanics live near the circuit and deserve this result. I knew from Friday we could make a good race but it was going to be really difficult. After the start I knew I could not leave the others and I didn’t want to be involved in a big fight for the podium. I was helped by incidents and crashes, but I wanted to wait until the end of the race anyway to push at the very maximum.” Wilairot, after his third top-ten finish of the season so far, said: “First of all I want to thank everyone who supported me because without their help I couldn’t get this excellent result. The start of the race was good, I got 13th position but in one of the first corners I got touched and lost three positions. I finished 8th and I’m two points behind Faubel in the standings so I must continue fighting.” 125cc Grand Prix This somewhat processional yet surprisingly eventful race reshaped the World Championship. Gabor Talmacsi won comfortably from Bradley Smith with Simone Corsi third (all Aprilia). But significantly series points leader Mike Di Meglio (Derbi) fell and failed to score. Smith nailed the holeshot but Talmacsi from pole barged past at turn four on the opening lap and aside from one error that allowed Smith a taste of the lead mid-race, the Hungarian reigning World Champion was never troubled. Talmacsi crossed the line five and a half seconds clear of Smith and is now back in touch in the Championship with 147 points to leader Di Meglio’s 186. Corsi now has 158 points and with five rounds to go Frenchman Di Meglio now has ‘form’ riders breathing down his neck. Louis Rossi (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) finished 23rd and said: “I had an excellent start and overtook two riders in the first lap. But then I made a small mistake and the two riders passed me. Several riders fell in front of me and I ended up last. I kept up as best I could but the bike was sliding a lot on this track with such poor grip. We’d picked the same settings as the previous day, but even then I felt less grip. I am very disappointed.” Honda rider quotes. MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 4th. “That was a definitely a very physically tough race for everyone. It was very hot, much hotter than yesterday. Anyway, I can say I’m quite happy with the result. I didn’t expect to finish fourth at the end. We had some trouble during the second half. We had two different rear tyres to choose from and I only made the choice on the grid. I went for the softer of the two tyres, thinking to gain some advantage during the early stages of the race. Obviously it wasn’t the best option. But we had a much better race than we had at Brno and I did my best, so I am quite happy.” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 8th. “I did everything possible with the material at my disposal today. In the race I had to overtake many riders and recover positions that I lost from my starting position of 14th. My aim today was for fifth position, but I felt my front tyre wasn’t so good on the entrance to the corners, while the rear tyre was very good. In order to not lose contact with the other riders I had to maintain high corner speed, while other riders were able to be slower through the corners but then accelerate away. Despite this, today we again proved we can be competitive and we have to keep on this level.” Shinya Nakano, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 12th. “It was a really difficult race for us today. Despite making a decent start and getting a couple of good laps under my belt, I started to feel a chattering problem in certain corners and couldn’t push hard. By the closing stages of the race my lap times had dropped off by three seconds compared to our pace in practice leading up to this Grand Prix. It is obvious that something isn’t working but we’ll have to analyse the data to find out what it is and work out a solution.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: dnf crash lap 2. “I’m really disappointed with today’s race because I got a good start and could have had a good race. Unfortunately Melandri came past me down the straight and we touched in the next corner under heavy braking. We both lost a lot of ground on the riders ahead of us and as I pushed hard to try and close the gap I lost the rear of the bike and it threw me into the air. I tried to hang on but I grabbed the front brake and crashed.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: dnf crash lap 1. “I am very disappointed for me and the Team. The whole week end has been very positive and the 4th position on the grid was a good occasion for me. I made a good start from the second row and knew that I could get a positive result as my pace was consistently fast throughout the week end. I was fifth when I went wide in the last corner loosing the rear control. My right arm aches a bit but will be fine for tomorrow’s test. The Team made an excellent job this week end and I want to thank them for their efforts.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: Nicky Hayden did not race due to injuries received at the X Games on August 2 last. Hayden tested his Repsol Honda RC212V in practice but the strain on his injured right heel became to painful to continue and he decided not to start the race. “This wasn’t an easy decision. I love to race and the racer in me wanted to race, but in this kind of situation it’s better to listen to the experts. The heel got worse as the weekend went on. I was sixth on Friday morning but I kept working my way backward after that, the more I rode, the more strength I lost in the foot. When I woke up this morning I had a lot of swelling and bruising, there wasn’t any way the foot was going to fit in a boot. The team and I took the decision to try and be smart, to try to let it heal as best it can to get it ready for Indy, which is a huge race for me. I felt I could have salvaged a little something out of today’s race but that was just going to make things worse for Indy and for the rest of the season.” 250cc: Yukio Takahashi, JiR Scot Honda: 2nd. “I’m happy for this podium for many reasons, because I feel this is my home race and I have so many fans here. Many of my mechanics and Team live near the circuit and deserve this result. I knew from Friday that we could make a good race but it was going to be really difficult. After the start I knew that I could not leave the others and I didn’t want to be involved in a big fight for the podium as I could have taken some unnecessary risks. I was helped by incidents and crashes, but I wanted to wait until the end of the race anyway to push at the very maximum.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT SAG: 8th. “First of all I want to thank everyone who supported me because without their help I couldn’t get this excellent result. The start of the race was really good, I got 13th position but in one of the first corners Debón touch me and I lost 3 positions. Since that time I started to ride in 1’40 and kept that pace until the end of the race. Finally I finished 8th and I am two points behind Faubel in the General qualifying so I must continue fighting to be in better positions in the championship standings.” 125cc: Louis Rossi, FFM Honda: 23rd. “I had an excellent start and overtook two riders in the first lap. But then I made a small mistake, sliding the back wheel which took me onto the grass and the two riders passed me back. Several riders fell in front of me and I ended up last. I kept up as best I could but the bike was sliding a lot on this track with such poor grip. We’d picked the same settings as the previous day, but even then I felt less grip. I am very disappointed.” More, from a press release issued by Michelin: LORENZO PUSHES ROSSI HARD AT MISANO Michelin man Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) was the only rider who could run with race winner Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1) at Misano this afternoon, the Spaniard finishing a superb second, just three seconds down after 28 laps. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) also had a good ride, coming in fourth, while James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin) made it three Michelin riders in the top six with a strong ride to sixth, just 1.4 seconds ahead of eighth-placed Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot Honda RC212V-Michelin). Conditions were swelteringly hot, with ambient temperature at 35 degrees (95 degrees F) and track temperature close to 50 degrees (122 F). Lorenzo, who had qualified on the front row, finished the first lap in fourth place and then came back brilliantly. He overtook Pedrosa on lap five and then set about hunting down teammate Rossi, who was chasing race leader Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici). When Stoner slid off, Lorenzo believed he had a real chance of victory. He twice ate into Rossi’s advantage, getting the gap down to 2.4 seconds with three laps to go. “That was a good race,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “The tires worked well and we are especially happy with Jorge’s performance. The conditions were very tough, hotter than yesterday, which made our riders choose hard rear tires for the race. Using hard tires makes the early stages of a race quite difficult but Jorge managed the situation very well and his pace was very fast all the way to the end. Dani also did a good job to finish fourth. There were some big fights out there today; James and Andrea had a great battle for sixth place. Despite the high temperatures the lap times were fast throughout, so I think our riders had quite a good tire balance. It was a real shame that Randy de Puniet (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) crashed on the first lap. He had qualified on the second row after working very hard in practice, so he had a good chance of a good result.” Lorenzo was delighted be back in the top three for the first time since his brilliant second-place finish at May’s French GP. “It’s great to be back on the podium after more than three months,” he said. “After Stoner crashed I wanted to win. But of course following Valentino was very difficult and I had to take a lot of risks to catch him, so in the end I preferred to finish second and regain the confidence I had lost during the last few months. I’m very happy with this result and very happy for Yamaha, for Fiat and for Michelin.”