FIM MotoGP World Championship Assen, Netherlands June 28, 2008 Race Results: 1. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 26 laps, 42:12.337 2. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, -11.310 seconds 3. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, -17.125 4. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, -20.477 5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), Michelin, -27.346 6. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), Michelin, -28.608 7. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -32.330 8. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Bridgestone, -34.892 9. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), Michelin, -38.566 10. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -38.817 11. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Bridgestone, -46.025, crash 12. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), Bridgestone, -48.213 13. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -59.594 14. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -19 laps, DNF, crash 15. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), Michelin, -26 laps, DNF, crash 16. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), Bridgestone, -26 laps, DNF, crash 17. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, DNS 18. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), Bridgestone, DNS MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (After 9 of 18 races): 1. Pedrosa, 171 points 2. Rossi, 167 3. Stoner, 142 4. Lorenzo, 114 5. Edwards, 98 6. Dovizioso, 79 7. Hayden, 70 8. Toseland, 60 9. TIE, Vermeulen/Nakano, 57 11. Capirossi, 51 12. Elias, 33 13. TIE, Hopkins/Melandri, 32 15. De Angelis, 25 16. Guintoli, 24 17. De Puniet, 22 18. West, 16 19. TIE, Ben Spies/Tadayuki Okada, 2 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Casey Stoner gave himself, Ducati and Bridgestone a first premier class Assen victory with a superb breakaway from pole. It would have taken a brave man to bet against him achieving a second consecutive victory after his phenomenal form in practice, qualifying and the Saturday warmup, and the Australian set out his stall early in Assen. The circuit record was passed over to the Ducati Marlboro rider after just two laps, and he improved gradually as the race went on to take the win. Stoner´s task was made slightly easier by the absence of Valentino Rossi from the battle for supremacy, the Fiat Yamaha rider crashing on the opening lap after losing the back end of his bike and careering into Randy de Puniet. Rossi returned to action, at times bettering the pace of the frontrunners with the exception of Stoner, but even if he had stayed on track the 2007 World Champion would almost undoubtedly have proved too fast to catch. Dani Pedrosa was also unable to prevent a second Stoner breakaway in as many races, the Repsol Honda rider going round in isolation after being passed for the lead by his rival. Second place combined with Rossi´s misfortunes- puts the Spaniard into the lead in the World Championship. As at last year´s race in the Netherlands, the A-Style TT Assen was set to be Nicky Hayden´s return to the podium in 2008. Untroubled by other riders whilst unable to keep up with the man immediately in front, it had looked to be a cruise to the line for the former World Champion and Assen racewinner. However, in an almost tragicomic turn of events, the pneumatic valve engine-shod RC212V used by the Honda factory rider gave up on him at the last moment, and he could only limp over the line in fourth as Colin Edwards took a second podium of the year. Having started from the second row, dropped down the field and then made a comeback demonstrating his skills at Assen, Tech3 Yamaha satellite rider Edwards went some way to putting his Assen demons to rest. Having lost out in a 2006 to Hayden on the last lap, passing his rival on the home straight was a sweet reward for the `Texas Tornado´. Andrea Dovizioso benefitted the most from some hard overtaking moves from Jorge Lorenzo, which broke up a tussle for fifth place. The JiR Team Scot rider eventually took the spot ahead of his Spanish rival, with Chris Vermeulen and Shinya Nakano losing ground. There were crashes for Kawasaki´s Anthony West and San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alex de Angelis in the race, whilst early faller Rossi managed to pass both Marco Melandri and subsequently Toni Elias for eleventh place. Casey Stoner Race Winner “We´ve known that we had the pace to do it, bcoming to race day it kind of makes you even more nervous knowing that the only thing that can go wrong is you! It managed to stay dry for the race, and I´m happy with that. Valentino´s crash was unfortunate, I don’t want anybody to crash so that I can win points advantages that way, but I´ve had some bad luck too this year. The team have done a great job this weekend.” 250cc Alvaro Bautista won out in a two rider battle for victory in the 250cc A-Style TT Assen, imposing his will on Thomas Luthi and winning from pole position. The Spaniard didn´t have the best of starts in the Netherlands, and on the opening lap he had dropped down to eighth place, the superior drive of his Mapfre Aspar Aprilia machinery later bringing him back into contention. He reeled in Thomas Luthi after the Swiss rider had broken free from the pack, with the definitive pass coming on the nineteenth lap. Bautista then extended his advantage over the Emmi-Caffe Latte man to 4.5 seconds before taking the chequered flag and his second win of 2008. Luthi could not be too disappointed, having achieved his best ever 250cc result. Marco Simoncelli was again on the podium, for the fifth race in succession. He came out worst from a first corner lack of space, running onto the rumble strip and dropping down places, but fought his way back to the rostrum and cut the World Championship gap between himself and leader Mika Kallio to a solitary point. Alex Debon and Hector Barbera also featured in the top six, having both run off at the De Bult asphalted section of the track. Barbera´s rejoining the action nearly took out Kallio, who was later overtaken by the pair and the Finn´s Red Bull KTM teammate Hiroshi Aoyama. Yuki Takahashi, Roberto Locatelli and Julian Simon completed the top ten, whilst the only title contender to crash out was Mattia Pasini on lap eleven. 125cc 125cc World Champion Gabor Talmacsi held his nerve over a five-lap sprint to take his first victory of 2008, in a lower cylinder category race that had everything. The Hungarian had come from thirteenth on the grid for the win, aided when on lap ten a red flag was shown to signal a restart under wet conditions. This bunched up the field, but by no means meant that the Bancaja Aspar rider had an easy ride. Over the handful of remaining laps, he fought tooth and nail with a multitude of rivals before winning out in a breathtaking time round the Assen circuit. It is the first win in the class since Malaysia 2007. On the last lap the lead and podium places changed with wilful abandon, with Belson Derbi´s Joan Olive once again heartbreakingly close to a first Grand Prix victory. The Spaniard had been a consistent force in the Dutch date, always amongst the frontrunners and starting from second after the restart. Second in the World Championship, poleman Simone Corsi took the final podium place after his own late push for victory, the Jack&Jones WRB rider completing a rostrum separated by just 0.255. Emmi-Caffe Latte´s Sandro Cortese came home fourth whilst Bradley Smith experienced a comparative let-off for fifth. However, whilst at the last split race in Le Mans he had experienced a disastrous start before being given a second opportunity by the rain, in Assen he benefitted from a red flag shown just seconds after he had crashed from the lead spot. The top ten was completed by Repsol KTM´s last lap race leader Esteve Rabat, still-World Championship leader Mike di Meglio and the trio of Andrea Iannone, Nico Terol and Raffaele de Rosa. The five-lap shootout had an adjusted grid to that of the order to pass the finish line on lap nine (when the decision was made to bring the riders in) with two crashers unable to return to action. Blusens Aprilia´s Efren Vazquez was unable to assume his place on the front row after crashing his only bike just seconds after Smith´s tumble, whilst Marc Marquez was ruled out of the restart for having returned to the pit lane without his bike following his own fall. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: DOUBLE BLOW FOR KAWASAKI IN ASSEN After the disappointment of the qualifying crash that sidelined John Hopkins, the Kawasaki Racing Team were dealt a double blow at Assen today when Anthony West crashed out of the Dutch TT just 7 laps into the race. The 26-year-old Kawasaki pilot got a good start from the sixth row of the grid, but lost contact with the group ahead of him after losing time avoiding Alex De Angelis, who highsided himself out the race on the opening lap, right in front of West’s Ninja ZX-RR. With his head down and his lap times the same as the riders battling for fourth place, West fought his way back to 11th position and was starting to close the gap to the group ahead of him. Another top ten finish looked a distinct possibility for the Kawasaki pilot, until he lost the front under braking for the right-hand corner at Stekkenwal and crashed out of the race. With Hopkins already on his way back to America for further medical treatment by the time West lined up to start the 26-lap race, the Australian’s premature exit marks the first time this season that a Kawasaki has not made it all the way to the chequered flag. While obviously disappointed with today’s result, West remains confident that the recent engine upgrades to his Ninja ZX-RR will allow him to make amends in the next race in Sachsenring, which takes place in just two weeks time. Whether Kawasaki teammate Hopkins will be riding alongside West in Germany remains to be seen. The 25-year-old Anglo-American will undergo a bone scan in Los Angeles next week that should reveal more about his two tibia fractures and the crack in the lateral malleolus bone of his ankle, sustained when he collided with the tyre wall on the outside of the ultra-fast Ramshoek corner. Only once the full extent of Hopkins’ injuries are known will a decision be made as to whether he will rejoin West for the German Grand Prix in Sachsenring. Anthony West #13 – DNF “I got a good start to the race, although it was difficult from so far back on the grid because the first turn is quite tight. I had made up a few places when Alex de Angelis highsided in front of me and I had to almost stop the machine to avoid hitting him. The bike was feeling good and in the next few laps I managed to pass a few people into 11th place. I was sure I could catch the group ahead of me and be well within the top ten, but we were lapping at a similar pace and with the incident at the start, I had to push just that little bit harder. Unfortunately I lost the front of the bike and crashed out, which is a real disappointment because we were quite strong today. The new engine upgrades have made a difference and we still have more grip than previously, despite struggling a little bit in places with cornering. We just need some luck on our side and, hopefully, we’ll be fighting for good positions next time out at Sachsenring.” Michael Bartholemy Kawasaki Competition Manager “We’ve made a lot of improvements this weekend, so it is quite disheartening to come away with no points. John’s injuries from the crash yesterday ruled him out of the race, so all of our hopes were on Anthony, who I felt sure was capable of repeating his top-ten Donington success. The incident at turn one left him quite a long way back, but he rode hard to pass a few people into 11th place, and was catching the group ahead of him. His lap times were consistently fast and it’s a real frustration because with the upgrades we’ve made this weekend, he was very capable of achieving a good result. We now have to focus on taking advantage of the developments we’ve made at the next round.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: REPSOL HONDA’S PEDROSA RETAKES POINTS LEAD, HEARTBREAK FOR HAYDEN Repsol Dutch TT, Assen Race day, Saturday June 28 2008 Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden looked set to score their first double podium of the season at Assen today. Impressive Pedrosa finished the race a strong second to retake the World Championship lead at the halfway point of the 2008 MotoGP series. Hayden ran strong too, just a few seconds down on his team-mate throughout, until his bike suddenly slowed within sight of the finish. The American coasted over the line in fourth, just seconds after compatriot Colin Edwards had passed him to snatch third place. The race began under threatening skies but the rain stayed away as the Repsol Honda duo quickly established themselves in second and third behind winner Casey Stoner. HRC technicians are now examining Hayden’s RC212V to discover the exact cause of his end-of-race electronics problem. Dani Pedrosa, finish 2nd, World Championship leader “I’m happy with this result because it was a difficult race and I’m happy to be in the World Championship lead once again, the 20 points we got here are very important. We’ve struggled a little bit during practice here, but my team have worked really hard, so a big thanks to all of them. Yesterday I was able to qualify on a MotoGP front row for the first time at Assen. Today I did my best in the race but unfortunately we couldn’t go with Casey because he was so fast. Now we need to keep working hard because we must try to close the gap over the next few races. Sachsenring is next. We had a great win there last year and we will try to the same again this year.” Nicky Hayden, finished 4th, 7th in World Championship “Man, we had a pretty good race. Unfortunately this game can be cruel sometimes. To be so close to a really good result is tough, but we still finished, we made it across the line and still got some good points out of the deal, but it would’ve been nice to stand on the podium. The team certainly deserved it, they’ve worked really hard this weekend. On the sighting lap I knew something was wrong. It’s been a little bit frustrating because she hasn’t run right off the bottom since I got here, especially out of slow corners. They’ve been changing stuff and they thought they had it fixed but something was wrong. I had a dash light come on at the start of the race, though it went off after the start. She finally quit right before the finish line. It’s how it goes, I guess me and Colin are even now, he gave me one here a couple of years ago and I gave him a podium today. There at the end I was trying to make a push on Dani, I wanted to keep the pressure on him, he was coming back to me a bit. I was pushing, then on the last lap I thought ‘oh no, we’re in trouble’. Nonetheless the bike is working good, now they’ve got a week and a half to hopefully sort it out in Japan and we can keep moving on.” Kazuhiko Yamano – Team Manager “Both riders rode very strong races, so my congratulations to them and also my thanks to the team for all their hard work this weekend. We thought we might get both riders on the podium. Nicky tried so hard but he was very unlucky, we are sorry for him and we will solve this electronics problem before the next race. Dani’s result is very good for the championship.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI BATTLES ON AFTER CRASH TO TAKE VALUABLE TITLE POINTS A rare mistake from Valentino Rossi resulted in a first-lap crash for the Fiat Yamaha Team rider today, but he remounted and made up a gap of more than 20 seconds to pass two riders and finish in 11th place, despite riding with a broken gear-shifter and a bent handlebar. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo rallied in the later stages of a difficult race to finish sixth, whilst Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards kept the Yamaha flag flying on the podium by taking third. Rossi had slipped back some places when he made his mistake at turn five and slid into the gravel, unfortunately taking Randy de Puniet with him. Points were still a possibility however and he re-joined the race, despite the damage to his bike and a gap of 24 seconds to Marco Melandri, the next rider. He then embarked on a heroic ride, consistently lapping as fast as the leading riders and closing the gap lap by lap until he finally came within sight of Melandri, eventually passing him on lap 19 of 26. Four laps later he passed Toni Elias to take 11th and five championship points, finishing 46 seconds behind race-winner Casey Stoner. With Rossi’s closest championship rival Dani Pedrosa finishing second, his gutsy ride could prove crucial in the championship race. The Italian’s first non-podium finish since the opening race of the season means he has surrendered his title lead to Pedrosa but he is adrift by only four points, the pair on 171 and 167 respectively. Lorenzo retains fourth place in the championship, 28 points behind Stoner with exactly half of the season remaining. Valentino Rossi Position: 11th Time: +46.025 “After seven podiums in a row I made a mistake today this is racing! I am very disappointed because we made a change to the set-up of the front and it worked very well, and I could tell from the warm-up lap that my bike was very good today. Unfortunately I made a mistake at the first left; I arrived too fast when the tyres were still cold, I was too hard on the brakes and I lost the rear. I am sincerely sorry to Randy de Puniet and all of his team. After the crash I had a bent handlebar and no gear shifter, but despite this I was able to do the third fastest lap time, 37.1! I know I could have been faster than Pedrosa today and, although it’s easy to say now, I think I could have fought with Stoner for the win. I am glad for these five points and although we have lost the lead we are not far behind Pedrosa. I am looking forward now to some more technical improvements for my bike and being fast, together with Bridgestone, at every track.” Davide Brivio Team manager “This was a good race for Valentino, except for the first lap! The crash was unfortunate and we’re very sorry to Randy de Puniet and the LCR team; we apologise to them all and we hope that Randy is okay. Once Valentino remounted what he did was simply amazing, especially without a gear-shift and with a bent handlebar! For several laps he was the fastest rider on the track, which shows once again his spirit and determination, although it’s also disappointing because it’s clear that we could have done a good race today. These five points today are incredibly important because they have kept the gap to Pedrosa to just four points, with half of the season still remaining. Now we will just have to start again in Sachsenring and hope for a better weekend!” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO HOPING FOR MORE NEXT TIME AFTER SIXTH PLACE IN ASSEN Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took sixth place for the second Grand Prix running in the 60th Dutch TT today, the youngest rider in the class making up one place on his grid position. His team-mate Valentino Rossi made an uncharacteristic mistake and crashed out on the first lap, although he was able to remount and finish in 11th to take valuable championship points. Yamaha’s record of having at least one rider on the podium at every race so far this season was kept alive by Tech 3 pilot Colin Edwards, who took third. Lorenzo held onto his seventh grid slot at the start but he was unable to find his rhythm and go with the leading riders, gradually tailing off on his own. On lap ten Edwards passed him on his charge through the field and Lorenzo spent the middle part of the race a lonely eighth. In the later stages he began to feel more confident in his Michelin-shod bike and his lap times improved, enabling him to catch first Chris Vermeulen and then Shinya Nakano to take sixth. Ten points for the Spaniard today means he holds onto fourth place in the championship but the gap to Casey Stoner, today’s winner, is stretched to 28 points. Rossi’s important five points means he is now four behind Dani Pedrosa in second. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 6th Time: +28.608 “I said yesterday that the most important thing for me today was to finish after everything that’s happened recently, so this is a good thing. However I am not happy about the race because it wasn’t fun today and I had some problems, although, as in the last few races, my bike became easier to ride towards the end of the race. I must just take comfort now in the fact that we have two weeks until the next round, and hopefully by then I will be feeling a lot better. We are trying to go step-by-step but of course I want to do better than this. Valentino was not so lucky today but I want to say well done to him for finishing and taking some important points.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “It has been a difficult race weekend for us, we weren’t able to find a good race pace in the practices and today Jorge wasn’t able to fight for the top positions. We have some problems on the rear and the bike is very nervous under acceleration. The team have worked very hard to improve it but we still have some more work to do. Overall however we are quite happy because our aim for these two races was to finish without any more crashes, and we have been able to do this. We are confident that in Sachsenring we will be able to be back in the fight.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: SECOND STRAIGHT WIN FOR STONER, ANOTHER TOUGH ONE FOR MELANDRI Casey Stoner took his second consecutive victory and his third of the season at Assen, to complete a clean sweep after taking pole position and setting the fastest lap of the race. The Australian dominated the race from start to finish, closing the gap to new series leader Dani Pedrosa to 29 points and bringing himself to within 25 of Valentino Rossi in second place. On a day of typically changeable weather in Holland, Stoner started out well with the fastest time in a wet warm-up before carrying his dominance into the race. After briefly conceding the lead to Dani Pedrosa on the first lap he quickly reasserted himself and opened out an advantage that eventually stretched to 11.310 seconds over the Spaniard. Marco Melandri, who was himself impressive during the warm-up when he set the seventh fastest time, was unable to reproduce that form in the dry and eventually crossed the line in thirteenth place. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1st “We knew we had the pace to win today but sometimes coming into race day that can make you even more nervous because you know the only thing that can go wrong is yourself! I was also worried about the weather and after watching the 125 race I thought it would be typical to start raining whilst I was in the lead. Thankfully that wasn’t the case and I was able to get out front, put my head down and concentrate on doing the times we’ve been doing all weekend in dry conditions. I’m sorry Valentino crashed because this isn’t necessarily the way I wanted to recover points on him, but at the end of the day we’ve had our fair share of bad luck this year too and racing is an unpredictable game. Now it seems fortune is favouring us but more than that I’ve really got to take my hat off to Ducati and to my team. They’ve been doing such a good job over the past few races to get us back on the pace again and make us consistently competitive, so I want to say ‘thank you’ to all of them.” MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 13th “It would have been good for me to have a wet race today. This morning things were going better and I was quite satisfied with the bike. Compared to yesterday the situation was much better, even though the front end still wasn’t perfect. Unfortunately though you can’t do anything about the weather, the race was run in the dry and the problems we’ve been having with the bike returned. I can’t get it into the corner, I can’t make it turn and I’m losing so much grip, especially with a full fuel tank. It was a very difficult race.” LIVIO SUPPO (Ducati MotoGP Project Leader) “I think that today Casey has once again shown not only that he has extraordinary talent but also great mental strength. Apart from Qatar it has been a tough start to the season for us but he has never lost his belief and that shows great character. We also need to thank Filippo, Vitto and all the guys at home once more because they have never stopped working to give Casey the technical support he needed to recreate that level of confidence and become unbeatable again, as he has been in the last two races. Huge thanks also go to our sponsors and technical partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell, who have always given us extraordinary support. Marco had shown promising signs in warm-up, which I think was his best ever wet session with us, but unfortunately he couldn’t repeat it in the dry during the race. Now he has two races on tracks he likes so we hope that this can help him discover a good feeling with his bike.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner dominates Dutch TT to take Bridgestone’s maiden Assen win Round 9: Netherlands Race Assen Circuit – Saturday 28 June 2008 Continuing where he left off in Donington last weekend, Ducati Corse rider Casey Stoner took a dominant win in this afternoon’s Dutch TT to secure his, Ducati’s and Bridgestone’s maiden win at the Assen circuit. It is Stoner’s third win of the season, and second consecutively, cementing his third place in the world championship with a reduced gap of 29 points to new championship leader, Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, who finished second today. Yamaha rider Colin Edwards completed the podium. Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Shinya Nakano added more points to their championship tallies with seventh and eighth-place finishes, while Alice Team’s Sylvain Guintoli took his first top ten race result of the season in tenth position. Valentino Rossi recovered strongly from a first lap crash, pulling back a thirty-second deficit from the rest of the field to claim eleventh position at the chequered flag. He set the third fastest lap of the race and earned five important points to be just four points adrift of Pedrosa in the classification at the season’s halfway mark. Four of Bridgestone’s riders were unable to boost their championship positions today. Kawasaki’s John Hopkins and Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi did not start the race due to injuries sustained in free practice, while Honda Gresini man Alex de Angelis and Kawasaki’s Anthony West both crashed out. Casey Stoner set the fastest lap of the race, 1m36.738s, four-tenths under the existing lap record set by Nicky Hayden in 2006 and, such was his dominance today, he set a total of 13 laps under that record during the 26-lap race. Bridgestone has now seen a rider win on its tyres at each circuit on the calendar except Estoril and Sachsenring, which will host the next round of the championship. And there is also the new Indianapolis circuit where Bridgestone will test for the first time next week ahead of September’s debut event at the Speedway. Hiroshi Yasukawa Director of Bridgestone Motorsport “Casey has been in tremendous form this weekend, and was unstoppable today. I would like to thank him and Ducati for helping us take the first ever Assen win on Bridgestone tyres. His performance was incredible, and he thoroughly deserves his 25 points, which have helped him close the gap further in the championship. It has been a difficult weekend with the weather, but several of our teams, including Honda Gresini, Suzuki and Alice, have been able to take top ten results to help their championship positions. Valentino, too, rode a strong race to regain the ground he lost on the first lap to take valuable points. At the halfway point in the season, the championship is getting very exciting.” Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “Casey’s result today is great for us because it is the first time we have taken MotoGP victory in Assen. Generally, I am pleased with the grip level and consistency from our tyres this weekend. We have had another weekend interrupted by rain, but several of our riders were able to demonstrate a good pace today. Casey had a really strong race and set some impressive lap times. Valentino also showed a fighting spirit to battle back to eleventh with some competitive times. We were missing some riders today with John and Loris both injured, and we wish them a quick recovery. We will be testing in Indianapolis next week to begin tyre evaluation at this new circuit, and we will also be working hard to bring competitive tyres to Sachsenring, another tough venue for us.” Casey Stoner Ducati Corse Race Winner “We have had a good pace all weekend, but it is a bit nerve-wracking when coming to race day, when you know the only thing that can go wrong is you. I really didn’t want to make any mistakes today, especially with how uncertain the weather was looking. Apart from a few spots, the rain stayed away today, so I was happy about that. I have really got to take my hat off to the team, they have been doing such a good job these last few races to get us back on the pace and competitive again. Bridgestone has also worked well this weekend with the race tyres and also with the improvements they have made with the qualifying rubber.” 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 Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 42m12.337s Winner Slick-Medium Slick-Hard P7 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 42m44.667s +32.330s Slick-Hard Slick-Medium P8 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 42m47.229s +34.892s Slick-Soft Slick-Hard P10 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 42m51.154s +38.817s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P11 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 42m58.362s +46.025s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P12 Toni Elias Alice Team 43m00.550s +48.213s Slick-Medium Slick-Soft P13 Marco Melandri Ducati Corse 43m11.931s +59.594s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium DNF Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 11m41.383s +19 laps Slick-Medium Slick-Medium DNF Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini Did not complete first lap Slick-Medium Slick-Hard Weather: Dry Air 21°C, Track 28°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen was involved in a thrilling race at the Dutch TT today, eventually crossing the line in seventh place after many race-long battles. Vermeulen got a good start and was up into sixth by the end of the first lap – from eighth on the grid. He narrowly avoided a crash that forced him wide in the early part of the first lap, but was able to keep control of his Suzuki GSV-R and set about chasing riders in front of him. Vermeulen made a couple of superb overtaking manoeuvres as he made his way up into fourth place. He held on to that position for a few laps although he was under constant pressure from the group of riders around him. As the race progressed front grip became an issue and the 26-year-old Australian had to fight for every place. Vermeulen dropped down to eighth, but immediately fought back to bring his machine home for a hard earned seventh. Vermeulen was Rizla Suzuki’s sole rider at today’s Grand Prix following the withdrawal of Loris Capirossi after a crash on Thursday during practice when he injured his arm. Capirossi was present at the circuit for most of the day and has now returned home to continue with his recuperation in readiness for the next event. Today’s race was held in overcast conditions with the threat of rain never far away. It did stay dry throughout the 26 laps and the 94,978 fans at trackside saw Casey Stoner comprehensively win the race by over 11 seconds, as he led from start to finish on his Bridgestone shod Ducati. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will next be in action at Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix on Sunday 13th July, where it is planned that Vermeulen will be joined back in the team by Capirossi. Chris Vermeulen: “I got a good start and moved into a good position through the first two corners, but I was nearly involved in the crash and had to run wide causing me to almost lose the front. The bike worked really well in the beginning part of the race and I had a lot of grip from the Bridgestones. I felt like my pace was better than the guys in front and I could see them and thought I could get up to them, but once I got past and up into fourth the grip went off a bit and it became quite slippery out there. Unfortunately I lost a bit of time and dropped back a few positions, but I was still quite strong at the end of the race and managed to get back to seventh. Considering the problems we have had this weekend and losing a couple of sessions one to problems on the first day and another to the rain it is a decent result and we have managed to salvage something from it. Full congratulations to the team they did a great job again, and I’d like to say get well soon to Loris, I hope he is back at Sachsenring so he can give me a run for my money!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “To qualify eighth and finish seventh in dry conditions today – with Chris as our sole representative – was not too bad. Sure, both Chris and the whole team want more and he pushed hard to get up to fourth with some great passes, but we couldn’t maintain the required speed in the middle of the race to battle for the top-five. In the end when Chris re-grouped and pushed to the absolute limit he was able to improve again, but in general we need to break this mould and maintain our speed over full race distance – this is Suzuki’s focus over the coming weeks. “I’d like to thank Loris for staying with the team over the weekend to support us, and for meeting all the local Rizla and Suzuki guests that came to visit the team it really showed his true dedication considering the amount of pain he was in. It is such a shame he wasn’t out there on one of his favourite racetracks this weekend. I wish him a speedy recovery and I am sure all the fans will want him back on the bike as much as we do at Sachsenring next month!” More, from a press release issued by JiR Team Scot Honda: Andrea Dovizioso comes home a competitive fifth at Assen The Grand Prix of the Netherlands in which Andrea Dovizioso finished in fifth position, confirms the positive trend that JiR Team Scot has maintained during the last three races. After two days of practice, which was disturbed by rain and unstable weather conditions, the ninth round of the MotoGP championship saw Andrea Dovizioso make a good start as the lights went out, taking fifth place on the first lap. Then followed a good fight with Chris Vermeulen, where Andrea passed the Suzuki rider as the duo were caught by Yamaha’s Colin Edwards, with Edwards eventually passing the JiR Team Scot rider. With a fourth and two fifth place finishes, Andrea and JiR Team Scot are showing that they can battle at the front of the pack, ahead of teams with equal technical equipment. Gianluca Montiron – Director JiR Team Scot “The race today ended with the best result we could possibly achieve. Andrea has exploited in the best way the technical material at our disposal and that the Team was able to develop. If you compare our results now on track with other teams with the same equipment, you can see the difference made by our rider’s skill and the effort from all of the team behind him. From the last three races we’ve had some good results and this is a trend which we hope to maintain and we will keep up our levels of concentration so we can repeat these results again or even better them.” Andrea Dovizioso – Pilot JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V 5th position, 7th fastest time: 1’37 “662 “I’m very happy with this fifth place, I believe this is the maximum that we could achieve today. I started well and in the early stages of race I was faster than some of the other riders, managing to stay in front, even though we started from the fourth row of the grid where usually it’s hard to recover and get with the leaders. When Valentino fell, this opened a gap for me and I benefited from it and stayed in fifth position. After a few laps Vermeulen was behind me, so when he came past I wanted to see where he was faster and whether he could drag us further on. He wasn’t faster than me, so I overtook him, as I knew Colin was coming. Colin passed Chris and I was unable to stop him passing me. He then had a pace I could not match. Yesterday I thought we would be able to have a better rhythm, but our result today could not have been better. We struggle to fight for the podium positions and it seems that fourth or fifth is ‘our’ position in the race. We are working well and happy with the results, even if we want better!” Cirano Mularoni – Team Manager JiR Team Scot “The Grand Prix of Holland ended in a good way for us and the result acknowledges the effort from both Andrea and the team, and the hard work put in over the weekend. A good start was made, but we still need to be higher up the order in qualifying, as being so far back can see errors made and crashes take you out of the race, as we saw between Valentino and De Puniet. The final result is important for the standings as it sees that Andrea is in sixth with a good chance to move further forward in the rankings.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: PEDROSA TAKES CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD WITH PODIUM In a race packed with drama at both start and finish Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) took control of the World Championship with a sound ride to second behind runaway winner Casey Stoner (Ducati). Colin Edwards (Yamaha) finished third when Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) ran into machine trouble on the final lap. Edwards snatched the rostrum spot on the line as Hayden coasted forlornly across. Uncertain weather was a factor in both the 125cc and 250cc Grands Prix held prior to this 26-lap race around the sinuous 4.555km Circuit van Drenthe, but the track remained dry despite brooding skies throughout this eventful MotoGP race. Dani launched his RCV off the line clinically quickly and headed the pack into turn one with Stoner inches behind him and Nicky fending off Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) in fourth, the Japanese having burst through the field from ninth on the grid. As the riders filed into the slow left-hand Horseshoe turn Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), who had not enjoyed the best of starts, lost control of his machine and collected the blameless Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) in the crash. Rossi restarted, De Puniet could not. Another lap one victim, this time of his own invention, was Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V). With two Honda men down and out, there was encouragement at the front of the race with Dani, Nicky, Nakano and Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) in the top five. None would be able to make any impression on Stoner however. The Aussie World Champion relieved Dani of the lead at the end of lap one and was never again troubled as he powered to a decisive win, his third of this 2008 campaign. Nicky harried Dani for second early in this race, but in only his second outing on the pneumatic-valve-engined RC212V he had to consolidate third place as the contest wore on. It looked as if the Kentucky Kid would achieve his first podium of the season, but he would be denied freewheeling to the flag as Edwards sped past. But the signs for the new machine are encouraging, despite today’s disappointment. Nakano rode his strongest race so far this season but faded in the second half to come home eighth. It was an encouraging performance from this intense campaigner. Dovi road another strong race to finish fifth and confirm his status as the most successful of the Honda satellite riders so far. There were just 13 riders on track in the final laps, laps where Rossi overhauled Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) to take 11th place and garner a valuable five points after all looked lost on lap one. Of concern to all World Championship hopefuls will be the margin of Stoner’s victory 11.3 seconds a little too convincing for comfort. The implications for the World Championship are substantial: Dani now heads the standings after another podium, his eighth in nine races, with 171 points, Rossi sits second on 167 and Stoner now looks a serious title threat with 142 points and the momentum of a winner of consecutive races. Dani said: “I’m happy with this result because it was a difficult race and I’m happy to be in the World Championship lead once again, the 20 points we got here are very important. We’ve struggled a little bit during practice here, but my team have worked really hard, so a big thanks to all of them. Yesterday I was able to qualify on a MotoGP front row for the first time at Assen. Today I did my best in the race but unfortunately we couldn’t go with Casey because he was so fast. Now we need to keep working hard because we must try to close the gap over the next few races. Sachsenring is next. We had a great win there last year and we will try to do the same again this year.” A resolute Nicky, fourth, said: “Man, we had a pretty good race. Unfortunately this game can be cruel sometimes. To be so close to a really good result is tough, but we still finished, we made it across the line and still got some good points out of the deal, but it would’ve been nice to stand on the podium. The team certainly deserved it, they’ve worked really hard this weekend. I had a dash light come on at the start of the race, though it went off after the start. She finally quit right before the finish line. Nonetheless the bike is working good. Now they’ve got a week and a half to hopefully sort it out in Japan and we can keep moving on.” Dovi said: “I’m very happy with this fifth place, I believe this is the maximum we could achieve today. I started well and in the early stages I was faster than some of the other riders, managing to stay in front, even though we started from the fourth row of the grid where usually it’s hard to recover and get with the leaders. Yesterday I thought we would be able to have a better rhythm, but our result today could not have been better. We struggle to fight for the podium positions and it seems that fourth or fifth is ‘our’ position in the race. We are working well and happy with the results, even if we want better!” Nakano in eighth said: “I’ve finished ninth for the last three races and our objective today was to improve on that! Eighth place isn’t a fantastic result, but the most positive thing about this race was the start. I got away really well and managed to get straight into a good pace. Unfortunately after a few laps my rhythm dropped off and I lost positions, from fourth back to seventh. I would have liked to finish higher but I’m still happy because eighth isn’t bad and I think we’ve taken a step forward today.” Non-finisher De Angelis said: “I started quite well but Valentino and De Puniet crashed in front of me coming onto the back straight and I had to slam the brakes on, allowing a couple of riders past. In the next corner I’d barely opened the throttle when the bike lost grip and threw me into the air. It was probably the tyre that wasn’t up to temperature and I just lost control, the rear came around and I crashed. Luckily I’m not hurt and I’m looking forward to the next race.” Crash victim De Puniet said: “We deserve a lot better than this. Since the beginning of this weekend my pace was consistently fast and I could stay with the top five riders today. I made a very good start and was in the fifth position when Rossi crashed and I was ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’. We both went in the gravel but he rejoined the race. Probably he arrived too fast and lost the rear hitting my bike. I’m very disappointed because we could have fought for a good result here.” 250cc Grand Prix Alvaro Bautista won this race from Thomas Luthi (both Aprilia) with Marco Simoncelli (Gilera) third. With changeable weather a threat this was declared a ‘wet’ race and even though raindrops fell after half-race distance the full 24-laps were completed. Simoncelli looked as if he had the first turn under control until Luthi rocketed underneath him to snatch the lead and upset Simoncelli’s composure to the extent that that Italian dropped back to mid-pack. But he recovered well and gradually made his way back into contention. Bautista fought his way through from mid-field too getting on terms with runaway leader Luthi and then relieving the Swiss man of the lead on lap 19. Bautista was too fast for Luthi once he got ahead and the Spaniard took the flag for his first win of the season. Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW) was eighth and said: “I made a good race, with a good start as always and I was sixth at the end of the first lap. I tried to stay with the leaders, but could not keep their pace. From mid-race I managed to lap quicker, on the pace of the leaders, but no matter how hard I pushed I was not able to gain any positions before the end of the race.” Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG RS250RW) finished 12th and said: “I got a good start but I made a mistake at the first corner and a few riders passed me costing me positions. After that I settled down and caught a few riders. When the light rain came my lap times dropped off and I stayed in the same group of riders to the finish. I have to thank my team for this weekend, my bike was very good and I am happy with the result. One thing for sure, I know I have to be more aggressive in the qualifying sessions get a better grid position for the race.” The World Championship points table now shows Mika Kallio (KTM), who finished seventh today, leading with 140 points from Simoncelli with 139. Alex Debon (Aprilia), who was fourth today, on 114 and Bautista now fourth with 102. 125cc Grand Prix Weather played a part in producing a thrilling restarted five lap race won by reigning World Champion Gabor Talmacsi with Joan Olive second and Simone Corsi third (all Aprilia). Bradley Smith (Aprilia), however, was comfortably leading the original 22-lap race when rain fell and the race was stopped with 13 laps to go. Smith crashed, as did three other riders, before the red flags brought a halt to proceedings. The British rider was 3.6 seconds ahead of the field when the conditions changed. In the restarted race he ran with the lead group, but could only manage fifth in a fierce and congested struggle for podium places the first eight riders covered by less than one second. Louis Rossi (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) finished 24th and said: “I had a good start in both legs. And compared to the previous Grands Prix I was able to stay and fight with an experienced group of riders. I really feel much better, it’s a soothing feeling not only for me but for the whole team as well. I made some good improvements this weekend, braking being one of them. It’s nothing enormous, but a series of small points where we’ve been improving, and the outcome is positive.” Mike Di Meglio (Derbi), who finished seventh today, leads the World Championship with 141 points with Corsi second on 125. Honda rider quotes. GP NL race. July 28 MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2nd. “I’m happy with this result because it was a difficult race and I’m happy to be in the World Championship lead once again, the 20 points we got here are very important. We’ve struggled a little bit during practice here, but my team have worked really hard, so a big thanks to all of them. Yesterday I was able to qualify on a MotoGP front row for the first time at Assen. Today I did my best in the race but unfortunately we couldn’t go with Casey because he was so fast. Now we need to keep working hard because we must try to close the gap over the next few races. Sachsenring is next. We had a great win there last year and we will try to the same again this year.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 4th “Man, we had a pretty good race. Unfortunately this game can be cruel sometimes. To be so close to a really good result is tough, but we still finished, we made it across the line and still got some good points out of the deal, but it would’ve been nice to stand on the podium. The team certainly deserved it, they’ve worked really hard this weekend. On the sighting lap I knew something was wrong. It’s been a little bit frustrating because she hasn’t run right off the bottom since I got here, especially out of slow corners. They’ve been changing stuff and they thought they had it fixed but something was wrong. I had a dash light come on at the start of the race, though it went off after the start. She finally quit right before the finish line. It’s how it goes, I guess me and Colin are even now, he gave me one here a couple of years ago and I gave him a podium today. There at the end I was trying to make a push on Dani, I wanted to keep the pressure on him, he was coming back to me a bit. I was pushing, then on the last lap I thought ‘oh no, we’re in trouble’. Nonetheless the bike is working good, now they’ve got a week and a half to hopefully sort it out in Japan and we can keep moving on.” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 5th. “I’m very happy with this fifth place, I believe this is the maximum that we could achieve today. I started well and in the early stages of race I was faster than some of the other riders, managing to stay in front, even though we started from the fourth row of the grid where usually it’s hard to recover and get with the leaders. When Valentino fell, this opened a gap for me and I benefited from it and stayed in fifth position. After a few laps Vermeulen was behind me, so when he came past I wanted to see where he was faster and whether he could drag us further on. He wasn’t faster than me, so I overtook him, as I knew Colin was coming. Colin passed Chris and I was unable to stop him passing me. He then had a pace I could not match. Yesterday I thought we would be able to have a better rhythm, but our result today could not have been better. We struggle to fight for the podium positions and it seems that fourth or f ifth is ‘our’ position in the race. We are working well and happy with the results, even if we want better!” Shinya Nakano, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 8th. .”I’ve finished ninth for the last three races and our objective today was to improve on that! Eighth place isn’t a fantastic result but the most positive thing about this race was the start. I got away really well and managed to get straight into a good pace. Unfortunately after a few laps my rhythm dropped off and I lost positions, from fourth back to seventh. I would have liked to finish higher but I’m still happy because eighth isn’t bad and I think we’ve taken a step forward today.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: dnf- crash. “We deserve a lot better than this. Since the beginning of this weekend my pace was consistently fast and I could stay with the top five riders today. I made a very good start and was in the fifth position when Rossi crashed and I was ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’. We both went in the gravel but he rejoined the race. Probably he arrived too fast and lost the rear hitting my bike. I’m very disappointed because we could have fought for a good result here.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: dnf crash. “I started quite well but Valentino and De Puniet crashed in front of me coming onto the back straight and I had to slam the brakes on, allowing a couple of riders past. In the next corner I’d barely opened the throttle when the bike lost grip and threw me into the air. It was probably the tyre that wasn’t up to temperature and I just lost control, the rear came around and I crashed. Luckily I’m not hurt and I’m looking forward to the next race.” 250cc: Yukio Takahashi, JiR Scot Honda: 8th. “I made a good race, with a good start as always and I was sixth at the end of the first lap. I tried to stay with the leaders, but I could not keep their pace. This was due to us changing the suspension after yesterday’s practice sessions, but we didn’t have the conditions to verify these changes in the warm-up. Also, with a full tank of fuel, the bike didn’t have the nimbleness through the corners that I would have liked. From mid-race I managed to lap quicker, on the pace of the leaders, but no matter how hard I pushed I was not able to gain any positions before the end of the race. I want to thank the Team, which has worked well throughout the weekend and has prepared my Honda very well; Assen is a difficult circuit for the suspension on a 250cc bike, but they did a good job.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT SAG: 12th. “I got a good start but I made a mistake at the first corner and was not good at the second one and a few riders passed me costing me positions. After that I settled down and caught a few riders. When the light rain came my lap times dropped off and I stayed in the same group of riders to the finish. I have to thank my team for this weekend my bike was very good and I am happy with the result. One thin for sure, I know I have to be more aggressive in the qualifying sessions get a better grid position for the race.” 125cc: Louis Rossi, FFM Honda: 24th “I had a good start in both legs. What’s more, compared to the previous Grand Prix events I was able to stay and fight with an experienced group of riders. I really feel much better, it’s a soothing feeling ­ not only for me but for the whole team as well. I made some good improvements this weekend, with braking one of them. It’s nothing enormous, but a series of small points where we’ve been improving, and the outcome is positive. It was a disappointment when Alexis Masbou passed me in the last corner, but it shows he has several years’ Grand Prix experience.” More, from a press release issued by Michelin: FIVE MICHELIN MEN IN TOP SIX AT ASSEN Michelin rider Dani Pedrosa retakes 2008 World Championship lead Michelin packed the lead placings at Assen today, with five Michelin men in the top six. No one could handle Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici) but otherwise it was very much a Michelin race with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) taking a strong second place to retake the World Championship lead at the midway point of this year’s 18-race campaign. There was drama in the battle for the final podium position, Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) slowing within sight of the finish as Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin) swept through to grab third place at the line. Rookies Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot Honda RC212V-Michelin) and Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) battled for fifth, completing Michelin’s fastest five finishers. James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin) took ninth place. Michelin’s only non-finisher was Randy de Puniet (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) who was taken out by Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1) at the Strubben hairpin on the very first lap. “It was a very good race,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “When you look at the results we filled second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth places, so we have to be quite happy about that. We always knew Stoner that was going to be very fast so we knew it would be very difficult to beat him. We went with quite hard tires today for some of our riders, though maybe we should have used slightly softer rears, which would have been better for initial performance. But we are happy with the performance; our riders were able to run fast and consistent times throughout. Dani, Nicky and Lorenzo all used the same rear, while the Tech 3 guys used something slightly softer. Our guys had some great rides today ? Dani was amazing, Edwards rode a wonderful race, Nicky was fantastic but so unlucky, Andrea and Jorge also did a great job! . We feel sorry for Randy, he was very unlucky on the first lap.” Pedrosa’s awesome consistency gave him his eighth podium from the first nine races, which puts him four points ahead of Rossi in the points chase. “I’m happy with this result and I’m happy to be in the World Championship lead once again,” said the Spaniard. “Now we need to keep working hard because we must try to close the gap over the next few races.” Edwards was delighted with his second podium of the year. “It was a long race, I kept pushing and we got there in the end,” said the Texan, who had been 12th at the end of the first lap after getting tangled up in the Rossi/de Puniet incident. “My thanks go to the all Michelin guys for coming up with some great stuff again, that really helped my charge this afternoon.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards was involved in more late drama at Assen today as a stunning surge from the back of the field was rewarded with third place. For the second time in three years, Edwards was involved in dramatic incident at the final chicane with Nicky Hayden as he snatched third from his fellow American just metres from the finish line. Fourth at the start of the last lap, Edwards produced a brilliant display of overtaking to come from dead last on the opening lap as he narrowly avoiding an early tangle between Valentino Rossi and Randy de Puniet. Producing lap times close the formidable pace set by eventual winner Casey Stoner, Edwards fought his way back into seventh when he passed Jorge Lorenzo on lap 10. He then quickly closed on an exciting battle for fourth that included Chris Vermeulen, Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano. Reeling off a succession of personal best laps, Edwards passed Nakano at the start of lap 13 and a lap later claimed fourth with brilliant moves on Vermeulen and Dovizioso. Trailing Hayden by over seven seconds on lap 15, Edwards halved the deficit by the last lap, but having settled for fourth, he grabbed third with Hayden encountering machine problems exiting the final corner. Today’s result was Edwards’ second podium of 2008 and moved him to within 16-points of Lorenzo in fourth place in the championship standings. James Toseland made a welcome return to the top ten today despite encountering some small front-end set-up issues during the 26-lap encounter. His points though helped the Tech 3 Yamaha team consolidate fourth in the Team World Championship standings. Colin Edwards – Position: 3rd – 98 points “Third is never a win, but this feels as good as one. I remember how disappointed I was with third in Le Mans and I feel much better with this after what happened. I thought I had a good start and was fifth or sixth when Valentino got tangled with Randy de Puniet and he crashed. I might have gone left but I knew Valentino was on the ground and I didn’t want to run over him or his bike and I just stopped. The next thing I know is I’m dead last and then Alex de Angelis went down soon after and I lost a bit more ground. I just decided to get my head and push. I thought I’d rather be in the gravel than riding round for eighth or ninth. I started picking guys off and before I knew it I was on the back of the group fighting for fourth. I just kept pushing myself to go faster and the next thing I’m fourth. I could see Nicky and Dani in the distance and all I did was ride as hard as I could and my Tech 3 guys gave me a great bike today. Michelin had some great tyres so I started to hammer away at Nicky. I thought if I kept applying pressure he might make a mistake and if I hadn’t kept pushing as hard as I did then I might not have been close enough to pounce on Nicky. I’d settled for third but as I came out of the chicane he was sat up, and I couldn’t believe it. I guess that’s karma corner after 2006. This place owed me something after I crashed a couple of years ago with my first win in sight, and I’m really happy with third just because in the way I achieved it. It’s hard to get on the podium at any time in MotoGP, so to do it from last is a great feeling.” James Toseland – Position: 9th – 60 points “We tried a completely different setting on the front and we had quite a few problems because riding was just not that comfortable for me. It is nice to get a finish under my belt and get a top ten to build on from here because there is no doubt we have got some work to do and we need to find a direction with the bike. The shorter bike seems to be a lot more sensitive to changes but the mixed weather is really killing us at the moment as we try and make some big progress. With all the wet time we are not moving forward in the dry. In the last six races there’s been a wet day and to only have one day to get the bike dialled in is difficult, even on tracks that I know. It is frustrating to watch and frustrating for me to be down in ninth position and I know I have got work to do. We are quite a way off with the setting and it is up to me to make it better. I’m not riding any worse than I was before but we have hit a bit of a brick wall. Sachsenring is another new track and I’ll have a think about where we are at over the next few days, watch some videos of the races so far and try and work out where we can improve.” Herve Poncharal – Team Manager “Colin was incredible today. I was really upset after what happened on the first lap because he has always been very fast this weekend and we were convinced with the pace he had shown that he could have challenged for the podium. This is racing but Colin was last and we thought it was over. When we saw his pace we had even more regret, so we were just thinking about what might have been. But he made an incredible recovery and we can’t believe this podium. When I saw him come out of the chicane and pass Nicky it was an incredible emotion. His lap times were very impressive and close to Casey’s, which was not easy to achieve this weekend, so I think he deserved this. Nobody wants to see what happened to Nicky but today it was Colin’s turn to have the luck after what happened in 2006. I am really happy for the team and I’m also pleased for James because he has been riding at a competitive pace and he was fast in all conditions. After the disappointment of Donington it was important for him to get a solid result and both have helped us stay close to Ducati in the team championship.” Lorenzo hoping for more next time after sixth place in Assen Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took sixth place for the second Grand Prix running in the 60th Dutch TT today, the youngest rider in the class making up one place on his grid position. His team-mate Valentino Rossi made an uncharacteristic mistake and crashed out on the first lap, although he was able to remount and finish in 11th to take valuable championship points. Yamaha’s record of having at least one rider on the podium at every race so far this season was kept alive by Tech 3 pilot Colin Edwards, who took third. Lorenzo held onto his seventh grid slot at the start but he was unable to find his rhythm and go with the leading riders, gradually tailing off on his own. On lap ten Edwards passed him on his charge through the field and Lorenzo spent the middle part of the race a lonely eighth. In the later stages he began to feel more confident in his Michelin-shod bike and his lap times improved, enabling him to catch first Chris Vermeulen and then Shinya Nakano to take sixth. Ten points for the Spaniard today means he holds onto fourth place in the championship but the gap to Casey Stoner, today’s winner, is stretched to 28 points. Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 6thTime: +28.608 “I said yesterday that the most important thing for me today was to finish after everything that’s happened recently, so this is a good thing. However I am not happy about the race because it wasn’t fun today and I had some problems, although, as in the last few races, my bike became easier to ride towards the end of the race. I must just take comfort now in the fact that we have two weeks until the next round, and hopefully by then I will be feeling a lot better. We are trying to go step-by-step but of course I want to do better than this. Valentino was not so lucky today but I want to say well done to him for finishing and taking some important points.” Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager “It has been a difficult race weekend for us, we weren’t able to find a good race pace in the practices and today Jorge wasn’t able to fight for the top positions. We have some problems on the rear and the bike is very nervous under acceleration. The team have worked very hard to improve it but we still have some more work to do. Overall however we are quite happy because our aim for these two races was to finish without any more crashes, and we have been able to do this. We are confident that in Sachsenring we will be able to be back in the fight.” Rossi battles on after crash to take valuable title points A rare mistake from Valentino Rossi resulted in a first-lap crash for the Fiat Yamaha Team rider today, but he remounted and made up a gap of more than 20 seconds to pass two riders and finish in 11th place, despite riding with a broken gear-shifter and a bent handlebar. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo rallied in the later stages of a difficult race to finish sixth, whilst Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards kept the Yamaha flag flying on the podium by taking third. Rossi had slipped back some places when he made his mistake at turn five and slid into the gravel, unfortunately taking Randy de Puniet with him. Points were still a possibility however and he re-joined the race, despite the damage to his bike and a gap of 24 seconds to Marco Melandri, the next rider. He then embarked on a heroic ride, consistently lapping as fast as the leading riders and closing the gap lap by lap until he finally came within sight of Melandri, eventually passing him on lap 19 of 26. Four laps later he passed Toni Elias to take 11th and five championship points, finishing 46 seconds behind race-winner Casey Stoner. With Rossi’s closest championship rival Dani Pedrosa finishing second, his gutsy ride could prove crucial in the championship race. The Italian’s first non-podium finish since the opening race of the season means he has surrendered his title lead to Pedrosa but he is adrift by only four points, the pair on 171 and 167 respectively. Valentino Rossi – Position: 11thTime: +46.025 “After seven podiums in a row I made a mistake today – this is racing! I am very disappointed because we made a change to the set-up of the front and it worked very well, and I could tell from the warm-up lap that my bike was very good today. Unfortunately I made a mistake at the first left; I arrived too fast when the tyres were still cold, I was too hard on the brakes and I lost the rear. I am sincerely sorry to Randy de Puniet and all of his team. After the crash I had a bent handlebar and no gear shifter, but despite this I was able to do the third fastest lap time, 37.1! I know I could have been faster than Pedrosa today and, although it’s easy to say now, I think I could have fought with Stoner for the win. I am glad for these five points and although we have lost the lead we are not far behind Pedrosa. I am looking forward now to some more technical improvements for my bike and being fast, together with Bridgestone, at every track.” Davide Brivio – Team Manager “This was a good race for Valentino, except for the first lap! The crash was unfortunate and we’re very sorry to Randy de Puniet and the LCR team; we apologise to them all and we hope that Randy is okay. Once Valentino remounted what he did was simply amazing, especially without a gear-shift and with a bent handlebar! For several laps he was the fastest rider on the track, which shows once again his spirit and determination, although it’s also disappointing because it’s clear that we could have done a good race today. These five points today are incredibly important because they have kept the gap to Pedrosa to just four points, with half of the season still remaining. Now we will just have to start again in Sachsenring and hope for a better weekend!” More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: MotoGP RACE REPORT: GRAND PRIX OF THE NETHERLANDS Stoner stays hot with victory; Edwards charges to third, Hayden fourth in dramatic finish INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, June 28, 2008 Casey Stoner cruised to victory by 11.310 seconds over Dani Pedrosa in the Grand Prix of The Netherlands on June 28 at Assen, his second consecutive victory. Sounds like an uneventful race by MotoGP’s exciting standards, right? Hardly. While Stoner sailed to victory from the pole on his Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati/Bridgestone, various dramas unfolded behind him that shook the World Championship standings, planted the sport’s mega-star in a gravel trap, and created a heartbreaking finish for a former World Champion and a shot of redemption for an American rider. Stoner’s third victory of the season helped him pull to within 29 points of the World Championship lead, but that top spot no longer is held by five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi. Pedrosa leads with 171 points after his fourth consecutive podium finish on the Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin. Rossi, meanwhile, limped to a season-worst finish of 11th after making a rare mistake in Turn 5 on the first lap and sliding into the gravel trap. He carried Randy De Puniet with him into the gravel, ending De Puniet’s race. But Rossi remounted his Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone and rode to the finish despite a bent handlebar and a broken gear shifter. That first-lap moment was the warm-up act for the drama that played out in the final corner of the race. American Colin Edwards dropped to last place on his Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin after stopping to avoid hitting the fallen Rossi on Lap 1. But Edwards sliced through the field for the next 24 laps and was fourth on the final lap, within sight of fellow American and 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden, who was running third. But the new pneumatic-valve engine on Hayden’s Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin ran out of fuel at the final chicane before the finishing straightaway. Edwards cruised past Hayden to claim his second podium finish of the season. Hayden coasted to fourth. It was a turn of fortune for Edwards, who had his first MotoGP victory in sight in 2006 at Assen before going off track in the same chicane on the final lap. Hayden passed Edwards that day for victory. “I guess that’s karma corner after 2006,” Edwards said. Said Hayden, “I guess me and Colin are even now: He gave me one here a couple of years ago, and I gave him a podium today.” American John Hopkins didn’t race after suffering a broken leg and ankle in a frightening crash June 27 during qualifying on his Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone. His participation is doubtful for the next race, the Grand Prix of Germany on July 13. The inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. *** RESULTS ASSEN, The Netherlands Results of the 26-lap Grand Prix of The Netherlands MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle/tire, time behind winner: 1. Casey Stoner Australia Ducati/Bridgestone 2. Dani Pedrosa Spain Honda/Michelin +11.310 seconds 3. Colin Edwards United States Yamaha/Michelin +17.125 4. Nicky Hayden United States Honda/Michelin +20.477 5. Andrea Dovizioso Italy Honda/Michelin +27.346 6. Jorge Lorenzo Spain Yamaha/Michelin +28.608 7. Chris Vermeulen Australia Suzuki/Bridgestone +32.330 8. Shinya Nakano Japan Honda/Bridgestone +34.892 9. James Toseland Great Britain Yamaha/Michelin +38.566 10. Sylvain Guintoli France Ducati/Bridgestone +38.817 11. Valentino Rossi Italy Yamaha/Bridgestone +46.025 12. Toni Elias Spain Ducati/Bridgestone +48.213 13. Marco Melandri Italy Ducati/Bridgestone +59.594 14. Anthony West Australia Kawasaki/Bridgestone +19 laps 15. Randy De Puniet France Honda/Michelin +26 laps 16. Alex De Angelis San Marino Honda/Bridgestone +26 laps Fastest lap: Stoner, 1:36.738, Lap 5 Pole lap: Stoner, 1:35.520 *** POINTS Riders: Pedrosa 171, Rossi 167, Stoner 142, Lorenzo 114, Edwards 98, Dovizioso 79, Hayden 70, Toseland 60, Vermeulen 57, Nakano 57, Loris Capirossi 51, Elias 33, John Hopkins 32, Melandri 32, De Angelis 25, Guintoli 24, De Puniet 22, West 16, Ben Spies 2, Tadayuki Okada 2. Manufacturers: Yamaha 196, Honda 171, Ducati 147, Suzuki 80, Kawasaki 41. *** PODIUM QUOTES CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati/Bridgestone, winner): “We knew we had the pace to win today, but sometimes coming into race day that can make you even more nervous because you know the only thing that can go wrong is yourself! I was also worried about the weather, and after watching the 125 race, I thought it would be typical to start raining while I was in the lead. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, and I was able to get out front, put my head down and concentrate on doing the times we’ve been doing all weekend in dry conditions. I’m sorry Valentino crashed because this isn’t necessarily the way I wanted to recover points on him, but at the end of the day we’ve had our fair share of bad luck this year, too, and racing is an unpredictable game. Now it seems fortune is favoring us, but more than that, I’ve really got to take my hat off to Ducati and to my team.” DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, second): “I’m happy with this result because it was a difficult race, and I’m happy to be in the World Championship lead once again. The 20 points we got here are very important. We’ve struggled a little bit during practice here, but my team have worked really hard, so a big thanks to all of them. Yesterday I was able to qualify on a MotoGP front row for the first time at Assen. Today I did my best in the race, but unfortunately we couldn’t go with Casey because he was so fast. Now we need to keep working hard because we must try to close the gap over the next few races. Sachsenring is next. We had a great win there last year, and we will try to the same again this year.” COLIN EDWARDS (Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin, third): “Third is never a win, but this feels as good as one. I remember how disappointed I was with third in Le Mans, and I feel much better with this after what happened. I thought I had a good start and was fifth or sixth when Valentino got tangled with Randy de Puniet, and he crashed. I might have gone left, but I knew Valentino was on the ground, and I didn’t want to run over him or his bike and I just stopped. The next thing I know is I’m dead last and then Alex de Angelis went down soon after, and I lost a bit more ground. I just decided to get my head and push. I thought I’d rather be in the gravel than riding round for eighth or ninth. I started picking guys off, and before I knew it, I was on the back of the group fighting for fourth. I just kept pushing myself to go faster, and the next thing I’m fourth. I could see Nicky and Dani in the distance and all I did was ride as hard as I could, and my Tech 3 guys gave me a gr eat bike today. Michelin had some great tires, so I started to hammer away at Nicky. I thought if I kept applying pressure, he might make a mistake, and if I hadn’t kept pushing as hard as I did, then I might not have been close enough to pounce on Nicky. I’d settled for fourth, but as I came out of the chicane, he was sat up, and I couldn’t believe it. I guess that’s karma corner after 2006. This place owed me something after I crashed a couple of years ago with my first win in sight, and I’m really happy with third just because in the way I achieved it. It’s hard to get on the podium at any time in MotoGP, so to do it from last is a great feeling.” *** OTHER AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES NICKY HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, fourth): “Man, we had a pretty good race. Unfortunately this game can be cruel sometimes. To be so close to a really good result is tough, but we still finished, we made it across the line and still got some good points out of the deal, but it would’ve been nice to stand on the podium. The team certainly deserved it; they’ve worked really hard this weekend. On the sighting lap, I knew something was wrong. It’s been a little bit frustrating because she hasn’t run right off the bottom since I got here, especially out of slow corners. They’ve been changing stuff and they thought they had it fixed, but something was wrong. I had a dash light come on at the start of the race, though it went off after the start. She finally quit right before the finish line. It’s how it goes. I guess me and Colin are even now: He gave me one here a couple of years ago, and I gave him a podium today. There at the end, I was trying to make a push on Dan i. I wanted to keep the pressure on him; he was coming back to me a bit. I was pushing, then on the last lap I thought, ‘Oh, no, we’re in trouble.’ Nonetheless, the bike is working good.” *** MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS 250cc: Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Mapfre Aspar Team Aprilia 125cc: Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Bancaja Aspar Team Aprilia. American Stevie Bonsey placed 17th and is 13th in series points. *** NEXT RACE Grand Prix of Germany, Sachsenring, July 13. Round 10 of 18. *** Red Bull Indianapolis GP tickets: Tickets are on sale for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14, 2008. Tickets can be purchased either online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time; on the phone by calling (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or (317) 492-6700 locally between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office on the first floor of the IMS Administration Building at 4790 W. 16th St. in Indianapolis from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. All tickets for this event are three-day tickets, with both reserved and general admission seating available.