From a press release issued by Michelin: MICHELIN MAN PEDROSA SMASHES JEREZ RECORDS Local hero dominates home GP, three Michelin riders in the top four Michelin riders dominated today’s Spanish GP at Jerez, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) running away with the race to score his first victory of the year and take the World Championship lead. Fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) finished third, just four seconds down on Pedrosa, with Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) taking an excellent fourth-place finish. Pedrosa led from turn two on lap one all the way to the finish line, running a stunning pace that saw him stretch his advantage lap after lap until he had a 4.6-second lead with eight laps remaining. During the 27 laps he broke the three-year-old lap record by 0.480 seconds and the 2005 race record by more than eight seconds. After the race he was presented the winner’s silverware by King Juan Carlos, a frequent visitor to Spanish rounds of the motorcycling World Championships. Rookie Lorenzo, who started from pole position for the second successive race, followed his second-place finish at the Qatar GP with another impressive podium result. The double 250 World Champion chose similar Michelin tires to Pedrosa — medium compound front/hard compound rear — and spent most of the race with his teammate Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1). Lorenzo wasn’t Michelin’s only rapid rookie here, because James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin) and Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot Honda RC212V-Michelin) were in the midst of a thrilling four-way contest for fifth. “The race was very fast and Dani kept up an incredible pace throughout,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “His times were consistent, which is what we always try to allow our riders to achieve. This proves that the tires gave good and consistent performance. Jorge had another great race and is showing wonderful speed. He’s also very good to work with. It’s really nice for us to have two riders on the podium again, but with the winner and the third-place man on our tires this is even better than Qatar. We were also happy to see Nicky fighting up front again and both James and Andrea enjoying that great battle for fifth place. “Now we go to Estoril. It’s a completely different track to Jerez, but we have worked hard over the winter and we hope our tires will continue to work as well as they’ve worked at the first two races.” Pedrosa was delighted to take the points lead, just nine weeks after he broke bones in his right hand during winter testing at Sepang, Malaysia. “I’m very happy about today’s performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn’t test so much after I broke my hand,” he said. “I focused on not making mistakes and I was able to manage the race all the way to the finish and get a win in front of the Spanish fans. I want to thank all my team and Michelin for giving me a good bike and tire package here.” Race Classification 1. Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 45:35.121 2. Valentino ROSSI Fiat Yamaha Team 45:38.004 3. Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 45:39.460 4. Nicky HAYDEN Repsol Honda Team 45:45.263 5. Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 46:02.645 6. James TOSELAND Tech 3 Yamaha 46:02.929 7. John HOPKINS Kawasaki Racing Team 46:03.417 8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO JiR Team Scot MotoGP 46:03.570 9. Shinya NAKANO San Carlo Honda Gresini 46:07.690 10. Chris VERMEULEN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 46:10.212 11. Casey STONER Ducati Marlboro Team 46:17.344 12. Marco MELANDRI Ducati Marlboro Team 46:19.619 13. Anthony WEST Kawasaki Racing Team 46:20.928 14. Alex DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini 46:20.992 15. Toni ELIAS Alice Team 46:44.679 16. Sylvain GUINTOLI Alice Team 46:49.563 More, from a press release issued by Honda: Grand Prix of Spain at Jerez Sunday March 30, 2008 MotoGP, 250GP and 125GP race report Weather: dry Temperature: 19-degrees ambient, 23-degrees track Humidity: 26% Crowd: 131,563 DANI DEMOLISHES RIVALS WITH PEAK PERFORMANCE At a home track, under royal gaze in the form of King Juan Carlos of Spain, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) rode a regal race to record his first win of the 2008 season. He beat Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo (both Yamaha) into second and third places. Equally encouraging was the showing from Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) who finished fourth. But for a massive front-end slide when he was all over Lorenzo for third, the former World Champion might well have made it two Repsol Hondas on the rostrum. Dani led into turn one from the lights and romped off into the distance after shaking off the early attentions of Lorenzo and Pedrosa’s Repsol team-mate Hayden. He set a fastest lap of the race on lap two, a race record lap on lap three of 1m 40.116s, and it was abundantly clear from that early on he was the dominant force. Much is made of the 4.423km of Jerez as the first real barometer of the prevailing powers in MotoGP and so Dani’s destruction of a tough field here will suggest that with more to come from Honda’s 2008 RC212V Pedrosa and Hayden will be ready to work on getting even more from the bike in Estoril in two weeks time. Reigning World Champion Casey Stoner (Ducati) had a day to forget. The Aussie ran off track twice (in the same place) and finished an eventual 11th to salvage something from what proved a very troublesome weekend. While Dani serenely strode above the massive pressure heaped on him at a home race with a fierce rival in Lorenzo right on his heels, there was plenty of revealing action behind the diminutive yet destructive Dani. Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) was unlucky to lose out on fifth place in a four-bike fight across the line out of that tricky final left-hand hairpin here. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) got the verdict for fifth, with James Toseland (Yamaha) sixth, John Hopkins (Suzuki) seventh and Dovi eighth. But Andrea’s ride over 27 punishing laps was both measured and mature. He mixed it with more experienced riders throughout. Of the new crop of rookies to the class, both Dovi and Lorenzo have proved there will be upsets to come as they rapidly get to grips with racing at the very highest level. While Dovi’s eighth-place emphasized his burgeoning talent in the premier class, an old-stager in the form of Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) showed with a ninth-place finish that his new lease of life with Gresini might well yield the sort of results he has long craved if he can go forward from here. Less encouraging was Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) in 14th place and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) failing to finish. Dani now heads the points standings with 41 from Lorenzo on 36, Rossi on 31 and Stoner still in the early reckoning with 30. Dovi lies fifth with 31 points. Winner Dani said: “This is my first MotoGP win at Jerez and I’m very happy about today’s performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn’t test so much after I crashed and broke my right hand in January. To score good results in two complicated races and lead the Championship is very important. I got a good start, not spectacular like in Qatar, but effective, so I was able to take the lead. I did my best, I focused on not making mistakes and I was able to manage the race all the way to the finish and get a win in front of the Spanish fans.” Fourth-placed Nicky said: “It was fun to be competitive, to come into that stadium section the first lap with 130,000 people coming alive, bombs going off, it was cool, it was nice to be there in the mix. The bike worked the best it’s worked all weekend and I was pushing hard. After I dropped back a bit I made a run on them, I was trying to give those guys a fight. Then I stayed on the brake a bit too long into turn one and pretty much crashed. It was elbow-down and I thought it was done, but the front tyre was good, so I picked it up on the knee and saved it. All in all it’s been a good day for Repsol Honda, so thanks to my team and for the support from all the guys.” Dovi, eighth-placed, said: “We didn’t have the best start, but we ran a strong race. Despite our poor grid slot I was able to go to near the head of the race, which was good. From the first corner I was last I don’t know why but from there I was forced to attack on cold tyres. Obviously this was risky but I pushed very hard until I was in fifth position and ahead of Capirossi. After I made the pass I was tired and unable to pull away and I was also asking a lot of my Michelin tyres. I was ready to fight in last corner, but I was going a little too wide and was trying to accelerate when James and I touched each other and it moved my bike wider still and I lost grip. After this contact there was no chance to keep fifth and I ended up eighth.” Nakano (9th) said: “I made a good start and made up a few places. At the end I had a fight with Vermeulen and two laps from the end I got past him and was going for the group ahead of me again. Throughout the weekend I’ve been able to constantly lower my times thanks to the work of the team and this leaves me quite optimistic for the next race. Thanks to all my mechanics for their work.” De Angelis (14th) said: “I am not happy about today’s performance. I was trying to make a comeback but kept losing places on the straight. I also felt that the traction control was taking away from my pace and that cost me in the end. It’s the same as in Qatar really and I hope to put things right starting from tomorrow with Bridgestone’s help. They are going to give us some new material that we have not tested before.” Faller De Puniet said: “I am very disappointed about the crash. Honestly I made a bad start and lost several positions in the first lap. Then, I found my pace again and was ready to catch the firsts. I was in the middle of the corner on lap three and my line was correct but suddenly I lost the front and crashed. I was expecting something better here after the top-ten finish in Qatar. By the way we will continue our set-up work tomorrow and we will focus on suspension regulations to bet in a competitive form at Estoril.” 250cc GRAND PRIX Mika Kallio (KTM) inherited his first win of the season when longtime race leaders Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) and Marco Simoncelli (Gilera) collided on the last lap and fell to gift the Finn the win. Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) stole over the line in second to relegate gutsy Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW) to third. Simoncelli took a tight line up the inside of Bautista but the two men collided when Bautista’s engine broke mid-corner and both riders went down after the pair had swapped places with a degree of decorum during the closing laps. But the incident deprived them both of valuable points and World Championship advantage. This was a gripping race with a tragicomic finale but the main beneficiary is Pasini who now leads the World Championship points standings with 45 to kallio’s 41 with Hector Barbera (who was fifth here today) on 31. Takahashi lies fourth with 27 points. Takahashi, who has worked exceptionally hard to get back to full fitness and podium form fully deserved this rostrum, inherited or not. He said: “What an incredible race. I’m very happy. I knew I had to attack without any mistakes after qualifying and I attacked for the entire first lap to get a few positions. In fact, from 11th position on the grid I overtook six riders and gained five positions on the first lap. I continued to push very hard as I knew it was my only chance to get a good result, but when I was second the tyres slid a lot and Pasini overtook me just on the finish line.” Ratthapark Wilairot (Stop And Go Racing RS250RW) finished in the points again in 12th and said: “I’m happy with my race result but not my race time. I got a good start but at the first corner several riders got underneath me, pushed me out and I went backwards. I had to push very hard to try and catch the group in front of me. But the bike was very good today, the best set-up I have found this season in testing and at Qatar, and I found a good rhythm so I was much more confident than in practice and qualifying.” 125cc GRAND PRIX Simone Corsi won this 23-lap contest from his team-mate Nicolas Terol with British rider Bradley Smith third to notch his first podium of the 2008 season. German rider Stefan Bradl was edged out to fourth by the determined Smith across the line (all Aprilia). Corsi’s margin of 3.2 seconds over Terol made this win seem perhaps more comfortable than it was. And Smith was in contention for the win until he began to lose contact with the top pair with ten laps to go. Louis Rossi (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) finished 24th just two spots behind fellow Honda runner Ivan Maestro (Alpo Atletico Honda RS125R). The World Championship table is now headed by Corsi with 34 points to Bradl’s 29 with Terol third on 26 points. Rossi said: “My start was good and I was with a good group and I was very relaxed during the race. I was braking deeper into the corners and getting on the gas faster, really enjoying myself. But later in the race I made a mistake and lost some time. In the race my best lap was 0.4s faster than in qualifying but even so I am not super-happy because I want to be better. The most positive thing about Jerez is that I learned more in the race today than I did in 10 days at Qatar.” Honda rider quotes: GP Spain race March 30, 2008. MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: Race winner. World Championship leader. “This is my first MotoGP win at Jerez and I’m very happy about today’s performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn’t test so much after I crashed and broke my right hand in January. To score good results in two complicated races and lead the championship is very important. I got a good start, not spectacular like in Qatar, but effective, so I was able to take the lead. I did my best, I focused on not making mistakes and I was able to manage the race all the way to the finish and get a win in front of the Spanish fans. The crowd gave me incredible support, I hope they enjoyed the race, and it was an honour to get my trophy from the King. Today we are happy but we know that we have to keep working because Yamaha and Ducati are very competitive. We stay here for two days testing that will be crucial in helping us continue development of the RC212V in preparation for the next races.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 4th. “It was fun to be competitive, to come into that stadium section the first lap with 130,000 people coming alive, bombs going off, it was cool, it was nice to be there in the mix. Obviously we’d like to have been having some bubbly afterwards, but the bike worked the best it’s worked all weekend and I was pushing hard. After I dropped back a bit I made a run on them, I was trying to give those guys a fight. Then I stayed on the brake a bit too long into turn one and pretty much crashed. It was elbow down and I thought it was done, but the front tyre was good, so I picked it up on the knee and saved it. You can ride these bikes so hard now and the front tyres are so good, that’s the first time I’ve done that. All in all it’s been a good day for Repsol Honda, so thanks to my team and for the support from all the guys. We came in here a lot more competitive, hopefully we can keep rolling from here and keep moving up.” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 8th. “We didn’t have the best start, but we ran a strong race. Despite our poor grid slot I was able to go to near the head of the race, which was good. From the first corner I was last I don’t know why but from there I was forced to attack on cold tyres. Obviously this was risky but I pushed very hard until I was in fifth position and ahead of Capirossi. After I made the pass I was tired and unable to pull away and I was also asking a lot of my Michelin tyres. I was ready to fight in last corner, but I was going a little too wide and was trying to accelerate when James and I touched each other and it moved my bike wider still and I lost grip. After this contact there was no chance to keep fifth and I ended up eighth. It’s clear that I wanted to celebrate my 100th Grand Prix in a better way, but now it’s important to work hard to improve our qualifying performance. The test here tomorrow will be important for this reason.” Shinya Nakano, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 9th. “Today my start was goo and I quickly gained some places and was with the riders who were a little faster than me in practice. At the end of the race I was fighting with Chris Vermeulen but I wasn’t able to keep the same rhythm as the riders in the second group. Over the weekend I improved my lap times step by step and this makes me optimistic for the next races..” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 14th. “I’m not satisfied with my position today. Unfortunately on the first lap, despite a good start, I lost many places and had to battle hard to recover. I was able to pass riders under braking but they would repass me down the straights. In addition to that the traction control makes the bike slower when its sliding. We had the same problem at Qatar. Tomorrow we will be testing tyres for Bridgestone and I hope we can solve the problems we have.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: dnf crash. “I am very disappointed about the crash. Honestly I made a bad start and lost several positions in the first lap. Then, I found my pace again and was ready to catch the firsts. I was in the middle of the corner on lap three and my line was correct but suddenly I lost the front and crashed. When I came in I checked the data with my Team but we still do not understand the reason why I finished in the gravel. I was expecting something better here after the top-ten finish in Qatar. By the way we will continue our set-up work tomorrow and we will focus on suspension regulations to be in a competitive form at Estoril”. 250cc: Yukio Takahashi, JiR Scot Honda: 3rd. “What an incredible race! I’m very happy. I knew I had to attack without any mistakes after qualifying and I attacked for the entire first lap to get a few positions. In fact, from 11th position on the grid I overtook six riders and gained five positions on the first lap! I continued to push very hard as I knew it was my only possibility to get a good result, but when I was second the tyres slid a lot and Pasini overtook me just on the finish line. Despite this I’m very happy, as my Honda is last year’s bike that Andrea Dovizioso had and I wanted to get the same result as him. Thanks to the team because they have prepared the bike perfectly and this result is very important for the championship.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT SAG: 12th. “I am happy with my race result but not my race time. I got a good start but at the first corner several riders got underneath me and pushed me out and I went backwards. I had to push very hard to try and catch the group in front of me. But the bike was very good today, the best set up I have found this season in testing and at Qatar, and I found a good rhythm I was much more confident than in practice and qualifying.” 125cc: Louis Rossi, FFM Honda: 24th. “My start was good and I was with a good group and I was very relaxed during the race. I was braking deeper into the corners and getting on the gas faster, really enjoying myself. But later in the race I made a mistake and lost some time. In the race my best lap was 0.4s faster than in qualifying but even so I am not super happy because I want to be better. The most positive thing about Jerez is that I learned more in the race today than I did in 10 days at Qatar.” Results MotoGP Race Classification MotoGP : (27 laps = 119.421 km) Pos/ Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap 1 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 45’35.121 / 157.183 / 2 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 45’38.004 / 157.017 / 2.883 3 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 45’39.460 / 156.934 / 4.339 4 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 45’45.263 / 156.602 / 10.142 5 / Loris CAPIROSSI / ITA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 46’02.645 / 155.617 / 27.524 6 / James TOSELAND / GBR / Tech 3 Yamaha / YAMAHA / 46’02.929 / 155.601 / 27.808 7 / John HOPKINS / USA / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 46’03.417 / 155.573 / 28.296 8 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / JiR Team Scot MotoGP / HONDA / 46’03.570 / 155.565 / 28.449 9 / Shinya NAKANO / JPN / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 46’07.690 / 155.333 / 32.569 10 / Chris VERMEULEN / AUS / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 46’10.212 / 155.192 / 35.091 11 / Casey STONER / AUS / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 46’17.344 / 154.793 / 42.223 12 / Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 46’19.619 / 154.667 / 44.498 13 / Anthony WEST / AUS / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 46’20.928 / 154.594 / 45.807 14 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 46’20.992 / 154.590 / 45.871 15 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / Alice Team / DUCATI / 46’44.679 / 153.285 / 1’09.558 Pole Position: Jorge LORENZO 1’38.189 162.164 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Dani PEDROSA 1’40.116 159.043 Km/h Lap 3 Circuit Record Lap: Valentino ROSSI 1’40.596 158.284 Km/h 2005 Circuit Best Lap: Jorge LORENZO 1’38.189 162.164 Km/h 2008 World Championship Positions: 1 PEDROSA 41, 2 LORENZO 36, 3 ROSSI 31, 4 STONER 30, 5 DOVIZIOSO 21, 6 TOSELAND 20, 7 HAYDEN 19, 8 CAPIROSSI 19, 9 HOPKINS 13, 10 NAKANO 10, 11 EDWARDS 9, 12 MELANDRI 9, 13 DE PUNIET 7, 14 VERMEULEN 6, 15 WEST 3. 250cc Race Classification 250cc: (26 laps = 114.998 km) Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap 1 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Red Bull KTM 250 / KTM / 45’27.908 / 151.762 / 2 / Mattia PASINI / ITA / Polaris World / APRILIA / 45’32.185 / 151.524 / 4.277 3 / Yuki TAKAHASHI / JPN / JiR Team Scot 250 / HONDA / 45’32.195 / 151.523 / 4.287 4 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Red Bull KTM 250 / KTM / 45’32.784 / 151.491 / 4.876 5 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Team Toth Aprilia / APRILIA / 45’33.876 / 151.430 / 5.968 6 / Alex DEBON / SPA / Lotus Aprilia / APRILIA / 45’41.541 / 151.007 / 13.633 7 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Repsol KTM 250cc / KTM / 45’44.280 / 150.856 / 16.372 8 / Roberto LOCATELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera / GILERA / 45’50.479 / 150.516 / 22.571 9 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Lotus Aprilia / APRILIA / 45’56.514 / 150.187 / 28.606 10 / Lukas PESEK / CZE / Auto Kelly – CP / APRILIA / 46’00.634 / 149.962 / 32.726 11 / Alex BALDOLINI / ITA / Matteoni Racing / APRILIA / 46’06.510 / 149.644 / 38.602 12 / Ratthapark WILAIROT / THA / Thai Honda PTT SAG / HONDA / 46’11.279 / 149.386 / 43.371 13 / Karel ABRAHAM / CZE / Cardion AB Motoracing / APRILIA / 46’22.067 / 148.807 / 54.159 14 / Manuel HERNANDEZ / SPA / Blusens Aprilia / APRILIA / 46’49.846 / 147.336 / 1’21.938 15 / Imre TOTH / HUN / Team Toth Aprilia / APRILIA / 45’38.968 / 145.335 / 1 lap Pole Position: Alvaro BAUTISTA 1’43.071 154.483 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Marco SIMONCELLI 1’43.546 153.775 Km/h Lap 9 Circuit Record Lap: Alex DE ANGELIS 1’44.295 152.670 Km/h 2007 Circuit Best Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1’42.868 154.788 Km/h 2005 World Championship Positions: 1 PASINI 45, 2 KALLIO 41, 3 BARBERA 31, 4 TAKAHASHI 27, 5 DEBON 23, 6 LOCATELLI 16, 7 SIMON 14, 8 ESPARGARO 14, 9 AOYAMA 13, 10 ABRAHAM 12, 11 BAUTISTA 10, 12 WILAIROT 7, 13 PESEK 6, 14 FAUBEL 6, 15 BALDOLINI 5. 125cc: Race Classification 125cc (23 laps = 101.729 km) Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap 1 / Simone CORSI / ITA / Jack & Jones WRB / APRILIA / 41’46.100 / 146.133 / 2 / Nicolas TEROL / SPA / Jack & Jones WRB /APRILIA / 41’49.306 / 145.946 / 3.206 3 / Bradley SMITH / GBR / Polaris World / APRILIA / 41’51.086 / 145.843 / 4.986 4 / Stefan BRADL / GER / Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing / APRILIA / 41’51.122 / 145.840 / 5.022 5 / Pablo NIETO / SPA / Onde 2000 KTM / KTM / 41’52.354 / 145.769 / 6.254 6 / Stevie BONSEY / USA / Degraaf Grand Prix /APRILIA / 42’06.663 / 144.943 / 20.563 7 / Scott REDDING / GBR / Blusens Aprilia Junior/ APRILIA / 42’08.617 / 144.831 / 22.517 8 / Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Ajo Motorsport /DERBI / 42’09.102 / 144.804 / 23.002 9 / Mike DI MEGLIO / FRA / Ajo Motorsport / DERBI/ 42’10.028 / 144.751 / 23.928 10 / Sandro CORTESE / GER / Emmi – Caffe Latte /APRILIA / 42’19.641 / 144.203 / 33.541 11 / Raffaele DE ROSA / ITA / Onde 2000 KTM / KTM/ 42’19.764 / 144.196 / 33.664 12 / Esteve RABAT / SPA / Repsol KTM 125cc / KTM / 42’20.087 / 144.177 / 33.987 13 / Tomoyoshi KOYAMA / JPN / ISPA KTM Aran / KTM/ 42’20.526 / 144.152 / 34.426 14 / Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Belson Derbi / DERBI / 42’26.138 / 143.835 / 40.038 15 / Takaaki NAKAGAMI / JPN / I.C. Team / APRILIA/ 42’30.615 / 143.582 / 44.515 Pole Position: Bradley SMITH 1’47.587 147.999 Km/h Fastest Lap: Simone CORSI 1’47.999 147.434 Km/h Lap 3 Circuit Record Lap: Lukas PESEK 1’47.404 148.251 Km/h 2006 Circuit Best Lap: Mattia PASINI 1’46.937 148.898 Km/h 2006 World Championship Positions: 1 CORSI 34, 2 BRADL 29, 3 TEROL 26, 4 GADEA 25, 5 OLIVE 20, 6 DI MEGLIO 20, 7 REDDING 20, 8 SMITH 16, 9 NIETO 11, 10 CORTESE 11, 11 BONSEY 10, 12 WEBB 10, 13 ESPARGARO 10, 14 AEGERTER 8, 15 VAZQUEZ 7. More, from a press release issued by KTM: Lady luck rides with KTM’s Mika Kallio in Jerez Mika Kallio, Red Bull KTM 250s cool, calculating and clever Finnish rider had already settled for third place in the 205 cc Grand Prix at Jerez when the two leading riders touched and went down on the last lap and gave him the victory. Kallio had taken an early lead but dropped back as his rear tyre grip diminished, was able to sail home for a lucky but well deserved victory when Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista went out. The 25-year-old Finn had been able to defend third place for most of the race and even when Swiss rider Tom Lüthi got ahead of him, he fought back to regain his position. Still an enjoyable victory for Kallio Kallio said he felt sorry for Alvaro Bautista but underlined that his team had been unlucky in the past so he allowed himself to be happy with his victory. “I had a good start and took the lead, but very early on, almost immediately, my rear tyre grip started to drop. Even though we hadn’t made any changes my bike felt completely different to yesterday and to this morning’s warm-up. The tyre was also supposed to be the same as the one we used in practice. I saw there was no way to hang on to the leaders, so I settled into my own pace and tried to defend third place, which was difficult enough. Then I got into a fight with Tom Lüthi but another group of riders came from behind I regained my third position.” Cloud of dust reveals imminent victory Kallio said he then saw a cloud of dust in the last lap and Bautista and Simoncelli came out of it. “I knew I only had to finish the race to take victory although it didn’t feel the same as if you fight for your win, I still happy.” Kallio dedicated his victory to his 6-months-old daughter, who, although she slept through her father’s success, was attending her first Grand Prix. Solid places for Aoyama and Simon The event was also rewarding for Kallio’s team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama and Spanish Repsol KTM 250 rider Julian Simon. Aoyama, who had managed to move up from eighth to sixth then made a heroic dash at the end to jump two more places to finish fourth. Simon, who battled increasing pain in his right arm and rode in a lonely ninth position, eventually finished in seventh place. New start for Aoyama “The Grand Prix of Qatar was horrible for me, so today was like the first race for me, as if the season had just begun,” Aoyama said. “Somebody pushed me off my line right after the start of the race and I lost a lot of places, but after that, everything went really well. My engine was strong and consistent, and the chassis set-up was fine. I only struggled a bit with the level of tyre grip in the fast corners. But we’ve shown that we are fast and competitive again, and my expectations for the next race in Portugal are very high!” Simon has problems with arm Julian Simon of Repsol KTM 250cc was in fifth place for almost half the race and expected a strong result. But then he had problems with his right forearm, which became very painful. “It got harder and harder to control the front brake and throttle, which is why I lost some positions,” the Spanish KTM rider said. Bartol positive While conceding it was a lucky victory, Technical Director Harald Bartol joined with Mika in enjoying the victory. “With Mika now second in the championship standings, and all three KTM 250 riders in the top seven, things look really good for us. But at the same time, we know in which areas we have to catch up. In terms of speed, Bautista had a small edge over us and we will be working hard to close this gap,” Bartol said. Results 250 cc race 1. Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM 250 2. Mattia Pasini, Italy, Aprilia 3. Yuki Takahashi, Japan, Honda 4. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM 250 5. Hector Barbera, Spain, Aprilia 7. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250 cc More, from another press release issued by KTM: Nieto gives all in 125 cc GP in front of home crowd at Jerez Onde 2000 KTM rider Pablo Nieto gave it all in front of his home crowd to secure an impressive fifth position in the 125 cc class at the Jerez Grand Prix on Sunday to be the best finisher onboard a KTM machine Hard work “We’ve worked very hard to establish a good base set-up for my bike in these first two races, and we’ve learned and achieved a lot,” Nieto said. ” Thanks to the KTM’s good handling, I gained in the corners and I was able to pass some of my opponents. At some stage, I seemed to even have a podium finish within reach. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite match the speed of the others on the straights. I gave it all in the corners but in the end it wasn’t enough for the podium.” Nieto confirmed he is happy with the team’s progress. “I have full confidence in KTM and their development speed in order to give us what we need, and to be able to respond very quickly,” he said. Valuable points Nieto’s teammate Raffaele de Rosa, Repsol KTM 125cc rider Esteve Rabat and ISPA KTM Aran’s Tomoyoshi Koyama also took valuable points in twelfth, thirteenth and fifteenth position on the Spanish circuit which draws a huge crowd of the sport’s enthusiasts. “We made a change to the suspension set-up this morning and we thought it was the right move, but with the unexpected change in air and track temperature, it turned out that we’d gone the wrong way,” de Rosa said. “I was sliding a lot with the rear, and couldn’t do any more!” Krummenacher and Marquez absent from the grid Absent from the KTM lineup for Sunday’s race was Red bull KTM 125 racer Randy Krummenacher who underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen on Friday and young Marc Marquez of Repsol KTM 125cc who is recovering from a broke wrist from a spill in pre-season tests. Results 125 cc Race 1. Simone Corsi, Italy, Aprilia 2. Nicolas Terol, Spain, Aprilia 3. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia 4. Stefan Bradl. Germany, Aprilia 5. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTM 11. Raffael De Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM 12. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Respol KTM 125cc 13. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, ISPA KTM Aran Not classified Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, ISPA KRM Aran More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: MotoGP RACE REPORT: GRAND PRIX OF SPAIN Pedrosa dominates for home victory; Hayden finishes fourth to lead Americans INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, March 30, 2008 Two months ago, Dani Pedrosa couldn’t ride a motorcycle due to a broken hand suffered in a late January testing crash. Now he sits atop the MotoGP World Championship standings after a dominant victory March 30 in his home Grand Prix of Spain at the Jerez circuit. Pedrosa pulled away from his second starting spot and led all 27 laps for his first victory of the season on the Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin. The victory vaulted him the top of the standings with 41 points, as he finished third in the season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar on March 9. “This is my first MotoGP win at Jerez, and I’m very happy about today’s performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn’t test so much after I crashed and broke my right hand in January,” Pedrosa said. “To score good results in two complicated races and lead the championship is very important.” Five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi finished second on his Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, 2.883 seconds behind Pedrosa. Rossi is winless in his last six starts, the longest drought of his MotoGP career, which started in 2000. But he could take solace in becoming the first MotoGP rider to record 100 career podium finishes. The charismatic Rossi nearly blew his finishing position when he slowed and started to gesticulate toward his crew when crossing the start-finish line with one lap remaining. He quickly realized the race wasn’t over and twisted the throttle hard for the final lap. Rookie Jorge Lorenzo, who won his second consecutive pole, finished third on his Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Michelin. Lorenzo climbed to second in the points with 36, just five points behind bitter rival and fellow Spaniard Pedrosa. 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden led the American contingent with a fourth-place finish on his Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin after starting in the same position. John Hopkins climbed from the ninth starting position to finish seventh on his Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone. Colin Edwards placed 17th after crashing his Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin on Lap 5 and retiring one lap later. Edwards qualified third, his second consecutive front-row start, and was running sixth when he crashed. Defending World Champion Casey Stoner endured a miserable weekend after winning the season opener in Qatar. Stoner qualified seventh on his Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati/Bridgestone and dropped to an 11th-place finish in the race after running into the gravel twice. It was the worst finish of his 20 career starts with Ducati, which he joined last season. The next race is the Grand Prix of Portugal on April 13 at Estoril. The inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. RESULTS JEREZ, Spain Results of the 27-lap Grand Prix of Spain MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle/tire, time behind winner: 1. Dani Pedrosa Spain Honda/Michelin 2. Valentino Rossi Italy Yamaha/Bridgestone +2.883 seconds 3. Jorge Lorenzo Spain Yamaha/Michelin +4.339 4. Nicky Hayden United States Honda/Michelin +10.142 5. Loris Capirossi Italy Suzuki/Bridgestone +27.524 6. James Toseland Great Britain Yamaha/Michelin +27.808 7. John Hopkins United States Kawasaki/Bridgestone +28.296 8. Andrea Dovizioso Italy Honda/Michelin +28.449 9. Shinya Nakano Japan Honda/Bridgestone +32.569 10. Chris Vermeulen Australia Suzuki/Bridgestone +35.091 11. Casey Stoner Australia Ducati/Bridgestone +42.223 12. Marco Melandri Italy Ducati/Bridgestone +44.498 13. Anthony West Australia Kawasaki/Bridgestone +45.807 14. Alex De Angelis San Marino Honda/Bridgestone +45.871 15. Toni Elias Spain Ducati/Bridgestone +1:09.558 16. Sylvain Guintoli France Ducati/Bridgestone +1:14.442 17. Colin Edwards United States Yamaha/Michelin +22 laps 18. Randy De Puniet France Honda/Michelin +25 laps Fastest lap: Pedrosa, 1:40.116, Lap 3 Pole lap: Lorenzo, 1:38.189 POINTS Riders: Pedrosa 41, Lorenzo 36, Rossi 31, Stoner 30, Dovizioso 21, Toseland 20, Hayden 19, Capirossi 19, Hopkins 13, Nakano 10, Edwards 9, Melandri 9, De Puniet 7, Vermeulen 6, West 3, Elias 3, De Angelis 2, Guintoli 1. Manufacturers: Honda 41, Yamaha 40, Ducati 30, Suzuki 19, Kawasaki 13. PODIUM QUOTES DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, winner): “This is my first MotoGP win at Jerez, and I’m very happy about today’s performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn’t test so much after I crashed and broke my right hand in January. To score good results in two complicated races and lead the championship is very important. I got a good start, not spectacular like in Qatar, but effective, so I was able to take the lead. I did my best, I focused on not making mistakes, and I was able to manage the race all the way to the finish and get a win in front of the Spanish fans. The crowd gave me incredible support, I hope they enjoyed the race, and it was an honor to get my trophy from the king (Spanish King Juan Carlos I).” VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, second): “I’m really happy with this podium because, even though it hasn’t been so many races since the last one, it’s been quite a lot of months. I am also very happy to have reached 100 podiums in MotoGP; now I am wondering if I can get to 200. It’s a pity we couldn’t win today, and maybe I was a little bit too cautious at the start because I wanted to take care of my tires, but in the end they worked very well from start to finish and so this is great for the future. It’s always better to win, but after the poor result in Qatar this is a very important second place to us, also because it’s my first podium with Bridgestone. My bike and tires are working very well, we’re third in the championship with a very long way to go, and I’m feeling quite confident.” JORGE LORENZO (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Michelin, third): “I’m a little bit disappointed today because we thought that we might be able to make more of a challenge, but I can’t complain because it’s only my second race and I’ve had two podiums and two pole positions, so it’s still a great result. To race today in front of so many Spanish fans and also the king was something incredible, and I have really enjoyed myself a lot here. Dani was a fair winner today. His pace was very strong, and I couldn’t stay with him. But I am learning all the time, and I will be stronger again at the next race. It’s a very long championship, and this is an important result for us. To be second in the championship at this point is still far more than I expected, and now I am just looking forward to the next race.” AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES NICKY HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, fourth): “It was fun to be competitive, to come into that stadium section the first lap with 130,000 people coming alive, bombs going off, it was cool. It was nice to be there in the mix. Obviously, we’d like to have been having some bubbly afterwards, but the bike worked the best it’s worked all weekend, and I was pushing hard. After I dropped back a bit, I made a run on them. I was trying to give those guys a fight. Then I stayed on the brake a bit too long into Turn 1, and pretty much crashed. It was elbow down and I thought it was done, but the front tire was good so I picked it up on the knee and saved it. You can ride these bikes so hard now, and the front tires are so good; that’s the first time I’ve done that. We came in here a lot more competitive. Hopefully we can keep rolling from here and keep moving up.” JOHN HOPKINS (Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone, seventh): “We took a gamble on the race tire we used today as we’ve only completed two timed laps on it previously, and thankfully we made a good decision. I got a good start to the race but went backward a few places on Lap 1. I was pushing hard to make a pass on Lap 4 when I made a mistake and lost a few positions, so I gritted my teeth and pushed hard to stay with the group in front. I was riding consistently throughout the race but, by the time the last lap arrived, I was sliding quite a lot on the rear tire. I was right with Toseland and Dovizioso when they had a coming together in the final part of the race, which left the door open for me to make up another position. My injury is feeling much better and now we have some test time so can continue the process of getting the Kawasaki to the top of the field.” COLIN EDWARDS (Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin, 17th): “I’m disappointed. I didn’t get a good start. Compared to every start I’ve done this weekend, it was a lot slower, and I got caught up and tangled with Nicky and Stoner right off the start. I got in behind them, and I just couldn’t do anything. It’s just what we are lacking in the motor. We can run the pace on our own, but as soon as we get in traffic to where we can’t carry the momentum ’round the corner, then we have a problem. We are just waiting for the new engine at the next race, and that is going to make a big difference because now it is hard at the moment with the deficit we have got. I can get off the corner, but when you have got somebody road-blocking you midway through the corner, it is hard to carry the momentum that we have to carry. You can’t outbrake any of these guys from five bike lengths back. It is just not going to happen, so I was kind of stuck for a little bit, and Capirossi motored by me into Turn 1. Then I was pretty angry because I didn’t want to get stuck behind him. But I’d come off the corner, and he’d just pull away. I was pushing, trying get up there with the guys in front, and I made a mistake. I lost the front coming onto the back straight, but that’s racing, I guess. Before yesterday, I hadn’t had any moments on the front tire. We had that big moment yesterday, and today I was a bit unlucky. We’ve looked at the data, and I was actually slower than the lap before, but I must have hit a little. But I’m not sure what happened. It didn’t look like I should have crashed, but I did. I felt really confident, and thanks to my guys because they worked hard all weekend, and it’s a shame it turned out how it did.” MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS 250cc: Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM 250. 125cc: Simone Corsi, Italy, Jack & Jones WRB Aprilia. American Stevie Bonsey finished sixth and is 11th in series points. NEXT RACE Grand Prix of Portugal, Estoril, April 13. Round 3 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.