FIM MotoGP World Championship Phillip Island, Australia October 17, 2010 Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Casey STONER, Australia (DUCATI), 27 laps, 41:09.128 2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), -8.598 seconds 3. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), -17.997 4. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), -18.035 5. Ben SPIES, USA (YAMAHA), -22.211 6. Marco SIMONCELLI, Italy (HONDA), -25.017 7. Colin EDWARDS, USA (YAMAHA), -35.168 8. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (DUCATI), -46.194 9. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (HONDA), -46.294 10. Randy DE PUNIET, France (HONDA), -59.635 11. Mika KALLIO, Finland (DUCATI), -59.664 12. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (SUZUKI), -59.732 13. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), -65.029 14. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), -65.053 15. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (HONDA), -24 laps, DNF, retired World Championship Point Standings (after 16 of 18 races): 1. Lorenzo, 333 points 2. Dani Pedrosa, 228 3. Stoner, 205 4. Rossi, 197 5. Dovizioso, 179 6. Spies, 163 7. Nicky Hayden, 152 8. Simoncelli, 102 9. De Puniet, 100 10. Melandri, 93 11. Edwards, 90 12. Barbera, 76 13. Bautista, 73 14. Espargaro, 60 15. Aoyama, 47 16. Kallio, 43 17. Loris Capirossi, 41 18. Alex De Angelis, 11 19. Roger Hayden, 5 20. Kousuke Akiyoshi, 4 21. Wataru Yoshikawa, 1 More, from a press release issued by Interwetten Honda: Three more points for Aoyama in the World Championship standings The Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island Aoyama finished on 13th place today and because of some tyre issues, that didn’t warm up and delivered the usual grip level, he could not improve from his starting position. Aoyama of course is not happy with the result and would have liked to ride faster, but as the feeling with his bike didn’t provide him with confidence and he didn’t want to take the risk to crash. In Portugal in two weeks time, where the conditions will be better for all MotoGP riders, he will try again to attack with new gained energy. After three weeks of non-stop racing the MotoGP paddock will have a short break and will be back in action on 29th of October with the first and second free practice in Estoril. Hiroshi Aoyama, 13 – 42’14.157: “I was waiting for the tyres to heat up, but the whole race I didn’t feel the same grip level as usual and I had to deal with this problem. I would have loved to go faster, but it was not easy to deal with the bike with this problem. It is a pity that I could not improve in the race. The next race is in two weeks in Portugal and I hope I can be faster there.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FIAT YAMAHA SEAL TEAM TITLE WITH DOUBLE PODIUM AT PHILLIP ISLAND A double podium for the Fiat Yamaha Team today sealed the second leg of the 2010 Triple Crown, as World Champion Jorge Lorenzo finished second and Valentino Rossi third behind winner Casey Stoner in the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. After a sopping wet weekend the weather finally cleared up today, as the sun came out and temperatures rose above 15 degrees for the first time. Lorenzo got a good start into turn one, losing one place to Marco Simoncelli but passing the Italian back soon after to retake second. As the World Champion had feared however he was unable to match Stoner’s pace today, despite trying his best in the early stages. Once he realised he could not catch the Australian he contented himself with an uneventful but enjoyable race, unchallenged throughout to finish in second place. It was the 23-year-old& #39;s 50th start in the MotoGP class and his 32nd podium from those races. A small set-up tweak in warm-up had left Rossi slightly more hopeful of his chances today but the nine-time champion was left with all to do when he dropped to ninth on the first lap. He gained two places on the next three laps and on lap five found himself on the end of a four-man group in sixth, with third in his sights. He dealt with Simoncelli first, passing his countryman on the brakes into turn one, dispatched Nicky Hayden on lap seven and then fellow Yamaha man Ben Spies on the eighth. His task was not over however and he had his work cut out to hold onto the final podium spot with Hayden hard on his heels. On the third last lap the American got by the Italian but a brilliant last-lap move from Rossi secured him an incredible 13th podium in 14 years at Phillip Island. Stoner’s win means Rossi slips one place to fourth in the standings, with a def icit of eight points from the Australian. After a hard three weeks the paddock now heads home for ten days, with Jorge Lorenzo due to take part in a parade through his home city of Palma de Mallorca on Wednesday when he returns victorious as the new World Champion. Today also saw American Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies, who will join the Factory Team in 2011, secure the Rookie of the Year title. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 2nd Time: +8.598 “We knew Casey would be hard to beat today! I tried my best, riding as hard as I could at the start and occasionally it seemed like I was closing a little bit, but then on the next lap Casey would extend his lead again by a few tenths. I kept trying but I didn’t have much hope and half way through I decided it was better not to take risks. I really enjoyed riding here and sliding a bit on my M1, it was fun but this was Casey’s race today. It was good to be on the podium and now we are heading back and I have my first chance to go home to Mallorca as World Champion and to celebrate with my friends and family. Today we won the Teams’ Title and this shows what a great season it has been for us all, with everyone working at the maximum.” Valentino Rossi Position: 3rd Time: +17.997 “To start eighth and finish third is not a bad result and, considering the trouble we had this weekend, we can be happy. Today Casey was riding in a different sport and I want to say congratulations to him – the podium was the maximum for us but it was still a hard fight to get there. We made some good changes to our set-up this morning and I knew I had a better chance, but we still lacked grip and the bike started to slide a lot after a bit. I had great fun with Nicky at the end because in some places he was faster than me and I really had to push, but the podium here is so important for me and I couldn’t give it up easily. This is my 13th podium in 14 years racing at Phillip Island and I am very proud of this record. We have had three podiums in a row, including one win, and after this difficult season I am happy about this. Today we won the Team title and I am happy for us all and for Yamaha.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “Today the podium was the most we could do. Jorge tried his hardest at the start and his lap times were quick; we had a good set-up today but Casey was just faster than us. Jorge really enjoyed himself out there and he had a big gap behind him so it was a successful day. Considering the difficult circumstances we’ve had all weekend we can be satisfied with what we’ve achieved. We are happy to win the Team title and now we are going home, finally, and everyone deserves a good rest!” Davide Brivio Team Manager “This morning we did a good job and we were able to find a much better setting. Unfortunately the difficult conditions this weekend and the bad luck we had in qualifying yesterday meant that we were starting from the third row so we had a big job to do. Valentino did very well to get this podium. These three races have gone well for us and we’re heading back to Europe satisfied. Congratulations to the whole team tonight for another Team Championship.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Casey Stoner’s authoritative reign at his home track of Phillip Island continued in style on Sunday as the Ducati rider won at the circuit for the fourth year in a row. Starting from pole position the 25 year-old led the Iveco Australian Grand Prix from start to finish as he made it a third win of 2010 in front of a partisan crowd of 41,537. Eventually crossing the finish line 8.598s ahead of 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo it was the perfect end to a strong weekend from Stoner, who had demonstrated his pace throughout the practice and qualifying sessions, which had been run in mixed conditions. However with bright sunshine providing ideal conditions for the race itself, Stoner had taken an advantage of over a second by the end of the first lap, winning comfortably and admitting, “This feels really nice. I think when I won two in a row here nobody expected me to make it three but having done that I felt there was a lot of expectation on me today. Everything has gone well for us, we have been happy with the bike from the first practice and the support from the fans has been fantastic. I have to admit that before the race I was feeling the pressure, I was more nervous than I normally am but maybe I should be like that more often because I didn’t make a single mistake! I am really happy with the way I rode today but every single person in the team has done a great job this weekend so my thanks go to them and I hope we can keep it going to the end of the season.” Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) rode a lonely race in second position as he finished almost ten seconds ahead of third-placed Valentino Rossi. For the Spaniard it was a 14th podium finish in his title-winning campaign in what was his 50th premier class start. The fight for third place went right down to the final lap as Fiat Yamaha man Rossi edged out Nicky Hayden in what was a fantastically close battle. The Ducati rider appeared to have got one over on his future team-mate with three laps to go when he overtook at Honda Hairpin, but Rossi returned the move at the same place on the final lap to beat the American to the final podium spot by a margin of just 0.038s. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies achieved his eighth top-five finish of his maiden MotoGP campaign and with it secured Rookie of the Year, with fellow premier class debutant Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) just under three seconds further back in sixth position. There were top-ten finishes also for Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing), Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda). Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) was the only rider who failed to finish the race after he experienced technical problems early on. Absent due to injuries were Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) who rode in qualifying but opted not to race as he continues his recovery from a broken collarbone and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki), who sustained a groin injury in a qualifying session crash. The pair both expect to be fit to return at Estoril in a fortnight. The result lifted Stoner into third in the Championship standings ahead of Rossi, and with the Italian and his Spanish team-mate’s podium finishes Fiat Yamaha also secured Fiat Yamaha the Team Championship for 2010 with two rounds remaining. Moto2 Alex de Angelis took his first victory in the Moto2 class as he led his JiR Moto2 team bike across the finish line ahead of Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) and Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) in the intermediate category race. The Sammarinese rider lined up in pole position and recovered from a start which saw him drop to fourth position before slowly entering the battle for the lead. A strong finish to the race saw De Angelis win by a margin of 2.172s as he followed up his first podium of the year last time out in Malaysia with a first victory of 2010. It was also his first GP win since his only previous triumph, which came in Valencia in the 250cc class in 2006. Redding rounded off an impressive weekend with his second podium of the year as he rode to second his best Moto2 result to date. The 17 year-old Brit showed great determination and maturity to challenge at the front of the race for the most part, eventually placing second having started from the same position on the grid. In third position Iannone came in a fraction over eight-tenths of a second behind Redding, as he suffered from rear-tyre issues towards the end, having gone with the softer Dunlop option. The Italian had also been part of the leading group for the majority of the race, having engaged in a thrilling battle with the two riders who finished ahead of him. It was his seventh podium of the campaign as he moved to within two points of Julián Simón in the fight for second position in the overall standings. The Mapfre Aspar rider ended the race in fourth position, ahead of Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) and team-mate Mike di Meglio, the German equalling his best result of the season so far and the Frenchman recording his highest placement in the category to date. 2010 World Champion Toni Elías (Gresini Racing) came out on top in an engrossing contest for seventh position, ahead of Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2), Alex Debón (Aeroport de Castelló-Ajo) and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) who completed the top ten. Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Racing) had also been involved for much of the race and ended 11th. 125cc In the 125cc class Marc Márquez’s ninth win of the season stretched the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider’s lead at the top of the World Championship standings to 12 points as he triumphed from pole position. The 17 year-old also equalled Jorge Martínez’s 1988 record as the Spanish rider with the most wins in the category in a single season as he strengthened his title charge with just two rounds remaining. Taking the chequered flag 6.062s clear of the rest of the field having opened up an early lead Márquez finished well ahead of title rivals Pol Espargaró and Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar), who had competed closely for the remaining two podium positions during the race. Espargaró eventually finished just over five seconds clear of Terol however as the Tuenti Racing rider put in a strong final stage of the race. The round 15 result leaves Márquez on 272 points at the top of the standings, with Terol now on 260 and Espargaró on 255 with the Estoril and Valencia rounds to go. In a tight battle for fourth position which required a video finish between Efrén Vázquez and Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) the Tuenti Racing edged his British competitor, with Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) close behind in sixth. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany), Luis Salom (Stipa-Molenaar Racing), Randy Krummenacher (Stipa-Molenaar Racing) and Danny Webb (Andalucia Cajasol) all secured top-ten finishes. Unfortunately for front-row starter Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) his race ended early with a crash. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: DOVIZIOSO FAST BUT FRUSTRATED IN AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso had a frustrating Australian Grand Prix today and wasn’t able to finish the race, pulling in on lap four and into retirement. The 24-year-old Italian completed an excellent first lap, climbing from his ninth place grid slot to fifth as the MotoGP field crossed the line for the first time. Then, however, Dovizioso began to experience some stiffness with the steering of his RC212V which affected his ability to ride at full pace. He continued for another lap but at the end of lap three Dovizioso was forced to pull into the pits, after which the cause of the problem was found to be the steering damping mounting which had moved from its original position. Casey Stoner won today’s race with Jorge Lorenzo second and Valentino Rossi third. Scoring no points today, Dovizioso has lost some ground in his battle for third place in the championship, but the Italian will be back in action at the Grand Prix of Portu gal in two weeks’ time and will attempt to return to his excellent recent form. His team-mate Dani Pedrosa had elected not to race today after making a brave return to the MotoGP paddock this weekend following his recent injury. Despite his absence, Pedrosa retains second place in world championship with a 23-point lead over Casey Stoner. Pedrosa is also targeting a successful return in Estoril. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO retired World Championship position 5th 179 points “It’s really a pity that I had to retire today because we had worked hard with team and, after two difficult days of practice, today we had the pace to fight for third position and a podium finish. I made a good start and I was able to recover some positions. On the first lap I did a 1m31.7s without pushing too hard and I was fifth across the line. In the first two laps though I felt the steering was stiff and on lap three this caused me to lose a lot of positions. I could control the bike but, although I completed another lap, it was too risky to keep riding and I had to come into the pits. There was a problem at the steering damper mounting – it had moved into an incorrect position, so now we will investigate the causes. I’m really disappointed because after two great races in Japan and Malaysia, it was important to make a good race here to fight for third position in the championship. Still, now we will look to get the best results possible in Estoril and Valencia.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “This result is obviously disappointing for us because Andrea showed in the first two laps that he had a chance to fight for the podium today. Naturally he is frustrated with this problem and how the race turned out, and so are we all. We were hoping for much more from this weekend, but now our focus will be on the next race in Portugal where we are determined to bounce back with a strong result for all our Honda fans. We have proved recently that we have the speed and potential to compete for race wins and this is our target for the final two races of the season.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: EIGHTH POSITION FOR ALEIX ESPARGARO’ THAT EQUALS HIS BEST MOTOGP RESULTS. KALLIO IN ELEVENTH POSITION AFTER A GOOD RACE. Fair good race for both Pramac Racing Team riders on Philip Island track, how finish the race in eighth and eleventh position respectively, with Aleix Espargarò and Mika Kallio. Good result for the green riders who have both accused physical problems before the start. The non-perfect start, that have seen them losing both a couple of places, but this didn’t affected in the wrong way their race. Thanks to a good race pace, the Pramac Racing Team riders have both overtaken during the fourth lap, Bautista and De Puniet, conquering the ninth and tenth position with Espargarò and Kallio. On the seventh lap the Spaniard has than overtake Melandri for the eighth position. The Italian rider have then passed back Aleix in the eleventh lap, but the same lap time pace haven’t allowed Melandri to increase his gap from the Pramac Racing Team Rider. On the last lap, using his bike in the best way, Aleix has overtaken Melandri and finished the race in eighth position with an advantage of a cent of a second on the final straight. Upside down fate for Mika Kallio how, after having occupied the tenth position for almost the entire race, has been involved in Bautista and De Puniet comeback, that have relegated the Finnish rider in twelfth position with three laps to go. Despite his shoulder pain, the Finn was able to make a good final lap that had allowed him to get the better of Bautista and finish the race within a breath from the tenth position won by De Puniet. The appointment will be now in two weeks for the Portuguese Grand Prix which will be held on the Estoril’s track situated just a few kilometers from Lisbon. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Technical Director “We are pleased with how things went today. After two races to forget we’ve got two good results that give us great confidence in our assets for the last two races of the season. Today’s result acquires more importance because it was obtained with both riders in not perfect physical condition. This morning we tried a couple of technical solutions during the warm up, we then used this set up during the race, we knew that Ducati has a good performance on this track and we made our best to be able to made the riders lead the race in the best way. ” Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing Team – 8th in the race – 14th in the World Championship “What a great race, I am happy for the final result. Being back in the top ten in these conditions is a good thing. This morning after the warm up I had a little pain in my forearm and in my inflamed wrist. Before the race I had an acupuncture treatment in the mobile clinic that has helped me to feel less pain during the race. My start was not the best, after the first corner I lost three positions. Fortunately, in a couple of laps, when my tyres came up to the right temperature, I lowered my lap time and I overtaken some riders who were ahead of me. I then reduced the gap I had from Melandri in just three laps. Once I reached the Italian rider I started a brawl with him that we have continued until the last straight. I managed to end the race in eighth position by a breath. I am satisfied with how things went, especially when I think to the two previous races in which I could not be competitive as I wanted. Now I’ll have a week off in which I hope to resolve my physical prob lems and be back in top form for the next Portugal Grand Prix.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team – 11th in the race – 16th in the World Championship “What a pity, I am very sorry for the final position. By a narrow margin, less than 3 cents of a second, I could not close the race in the tenth position. The disappointment is even greater when I think about the fact that I was in the tenth position for almost the entire race. Returning to the race, my start was not the best but I have limited the damage, I was in twelfth place after the first round. Then on the fifth lap I managed to climb to the tenth position. I kept my pace consistently fast for about ten laps, this allowed me to be very close to my teammate and to Melandri. Unfortunately, over the course of the race the shoulder pain was aggravated and with for that reason my pace lap has suffered greatly. With four laps to go I was overtaken by Bautista, an in the next lap I was overtaken also by De Puniet. But thanks to an excellent last lap I managed to overtake Bautista. Too bad because my final gap from De Puniet, and from the tenth position, was less than 3 cents, a real blow and I finished the race in eleventh position. ” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER CONTINUES ISLAND REIGN, HAYDEN 0.038 SECONDS OFF THE PODIUM Casey Stoner extended his dominance of the Australian Grand Prix to a fourth successive season today, leading from start to finish at Phillip Island to take his third victory from the last four rounds of the MotoGP World Championship. Stoner has led every MotoGP lap but one here since 2007 and after taking pole position yesterday and finishing 1.890 seconds quicker than his nearest rival in warm-up this morning he was untouchable in the afternoon, crossing the line 8.598 seconds clear of Jorge Lorenzo. Nicky Hayden came through from sixth on the grid to mount a sensational battle for the podium, passing three riders on the first lap before exchanging positions with Marco Simoncelli, Ben Spies and Valentino Rossi in a breathtaking opening to the race. A pass on Rossi with three laps remaining looked to be enough to seal third place but the Italian staged a late attack to edge out the American by just 0.038 seconds at the line. CASEY STONER (Ducati Team) 1st “This feels really nice. I think when I won two in a row here nobody expected me to make it three but having done that I felt there was a lot of expectation on me today. To be fair we have been going for the win at the last four races – unfortunately I slipped off on the first lap at Sepang but we’ve made up for that this weekend. Everything has gone well for us, we have been happy with the bike from the first practice and the support from the fans has been fantastic. I have to admit that before the race I was feeling the pressure, I was more nervous than I normally am but maybe I should be like that more often because I didn’t make mistakes! I am really happy with the way I rode today but every single person in the team has done a great job this weekend so my thanks go to them and I hope we can keep it going to the end of the season.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Team) 4th “It was a good, hard battle in the sunshine and I am very disappointed to have lost. It would have been a lot cooler if it was for the win but fighting with Valentino Rossi for any position is never easy. We made a few changes to the bike today but this morning in the warm-up I ran off the track and we missed the opportunity to try them, so it took me a few laps just to get used to the bike. I have to say the team did a fantastic job because once I got going it felt great and I was able to recover the gap. I don’t want to make excuses or be a cry baby and say ‘maybe if I did this or that it would be different’ because the bottom line is I got fourth, I got beaten. I feel down because this is a track I love, I felt good and to beat Rossi on the last lap would have been really good for me but I can’t dress it up. I feel like I let the team down today because they gave me the bike to do the job but I didn’t get it done.” VITTORIANO GUARESCHI TEAM MANAGER “Casey was simply incredible this weekend. He was fast from the start here in practice, he took pole position, set an unbelievable pace in warm-up and then produced a frightening race. We don’t know where his true limit was today because I think if he needed to he could have won by an even bigger margin. Nicky also had a great race he was fast, determined and he only missed the podium by 0.038 seconds to Valentino. At Aragon he won a similar battle, today he lost, but the important thing is that he was there, riding as he was and in a position to fight for the podium. Our bike is working really well now – I would say we have found the right balance for it over the last five races and now we have two left that I think we can do well in.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Super Spies claims top rookie award in Australia Ben Spies set another personal milestone in his stunning 2010 MotoGP world championship campaign today, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider’s hard fought fifth place in the Australian Grand Prix securing him the coveted Rookie of the Year award. After a weekend of typically unpredictable conditions at Phillip Island, today’s 27-lap race started under sunny skies with temperatures hitting a weekend high of 15 degrees. Spies made a flying start from the front row of the grid but slipped back to sixth after nearly touching new world champion Jorge Lorenzo as the field jostled for position at turn two. The 26-year-old was back in the hunt for his third podium by lap five, Spies executing thrilling overtakes to move by fellow American Nicky Hayden and Marco Simoncelli. But a small mistake under heavy braking for the perilously fast first turn dropped Spies back to sixth on lap eight. He quickly regained his composure but was unable to restart his rostrum challenge with Hayden and Valentino Rossi pulling clear. Spies had a determined Simoncelli to occupy his mind though, the Italian seizing fifth on lap 19. Content to shadow Simoncelli, Spies quickly realised he could lap much faster and claimed back fifth on lap 23. Displaying his expertise on worn tyres, a magnificent late attack broke Simoncelli’s resolve to ensure Spies lifted the Rookie of the Year title with two races remaining. And his latest top six result means he will also finish top non-factory rider in 2010. Colin Edwards got his bid for a top ten world championship finish back o n track today, the experienced Texan claiming seventh. Edwards was hopeful of fighting for a top six finish but he spent the majority of the race adapting his riding style to counter a small rear grip issue. With just two races remaining at Estoril and Valencia, Edwards is just three-points away from an overall top ten finish. Ben Spies 5th 163 points “Jorge and I got super close coming out of the first corner and he almost touched my brake lever. It made me run wide in turn two and a couple of people came by. It didn’t ruin the race but it ruined me building up some momentum. I fought my way back into third and was pretty comfortable when I ran wide at the first corner on lap seven. I got in there a bit hot and the rear came round. Everybody got a run on me and came by and dropped me back to sixth. I then had a good battle with Simoncelli. I kind of towed him around and h e picked up his pace and came by me. Once I knew nobody was behind me, I just waited until a few laps from the end to push and pass him back. I made sure I got a decent gap and chilled out in fifth. At the end I was running times that if everything had gone smoothly, I feel like we could have battled for the podium. Towards the end of the race I was running similar times to those ahead of me and that’s all I can do. I’m happy to be Rookie of the Year too. I beat a lot of good guys for that and it will be an achievement I can be proud of at the end of the season. I’ve had some good results on this three-week stretch and I’m now looking forward to the last two rounds.” Colin Edwards 7th 90 points “The pace I’d run all weekend was pretty much the pace I was able to run in the race. Conditions changed so much over the weekend that we never really got enough time to work on findi ng a decent set-up. I was confident going into the race and got a decent start but pretty much from the second corner I was having some spinning from the rear tyre. I tried to adjust my riding style because I didn’t want to lose contact with the group in front of me. I settled into a comfortable rhythm but I just couldn’t go any faster. I was trying different lines but I couldn’t enter the corner like I wanted to. My speed was basically dictated by what the rear was doing, but we’ll look at the data and figure a few things out for the final part of the season. I want to thank my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3. This has been a tough period of the season but we’ve worked really hard together and I’m happy with the way I’ve performed. Congratulations to Ben too for getting Rookie of the Year. He’s rode awesome all year and he’s beaten a lot of good guys to achieve that.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “Ben’s amazing season just gets better and better. To win the Rookie of the Year title with two races to go is a fantastic achievement for him and all of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew. A lot of very talented riders came from the 250cc class into MotoGP this year and they knew all the tracks, which Ben didn’t. He’s done a magnificent job and done it with another impressive top five finish. Simoncelli never gave up but Ben was too strong for him and showed how strong he is on used tyres. Without a couple of problems in the early laps, I think he could have battled with Valentino and Nicky for the podium. I’d like to thank Colin for all his efforts in this run of three races because he has been very consistent, qualifying very well and showing strong form in the races. He might have expected to be a bit higher up today but he never stopped pushing and I’m delighted with his attitude. Congratulations to Yamaha too on winning another Triple Crown fo r the third year in succession. The competition is so high in MotoGP and that is an amazing accomplishment.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Results Phillip Island Australian Grand Prix, Phillip Island MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc races October 17, 2010 Weather: Cool and sunny. Track temperature: 27 degrees Ambient Temperature: 15 degrees Crowd: 41, 537 DIFFICULT DAY FOR HONDA MEN ON THE ISLAND Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) fell back from an early podium position to finish sixth in what was a difficult day for the Honda men in the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. The race, which was run in glorious sunshine after a weekend of typically unpredictable weather, was won by hometown hero Casey Stoner (Ducati) for the fourth year in a row. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) was second in front of his team-mate Valentino Rossi. Simoncelli was the top finishing Honda rider on a weekend that the Repsol Honda team will be happy to forget. Four-time race winner Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) opted not to protect his second place in the MotoGP World Championship point standings after Saturday qualifying. Pedrosa discovered that he couldn’t control the RC212V to his satisfaction and didn’t want to put himself or his fellow competitors at risk. That left Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) to fly the flag. And, though he started well-Dovi was fifth on the first two laps-trouble struck on lap three. Dovizioso found it difficult to steer his RC212V and lost a number of positions on the third lap. Rather than continue to fight the steering, he chose to return to the pits to have the team diagnose the problem. What they discovered was the steering damper mounting had moved position. Rather than continue, he retired. Simoncelli took up the Honda mantle and ran hard at the leaders, slotting into third place on the second lap and holding it for the third. Then he became embroiled in an entertaining battle with Nicky Hayden (Ducati), Ben Spies (Yamaha), and Rossi. “Super Sic” was a close fifth until the 23rd of 27 laps when Spies made his way past. Using his fellow rookie as a pacer, Simoncelli chased him to the end to finish sixth, equaling his season best finish. Team-mate Marco Melandri continued to struggle, though the start of the race was more promising than most. Melandri had a difficult time getting heat into his tires on the cool track and by the time he had confidence to push hard he wasn’t able to challenge for a top five finish. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) was working his way through the field en route to what he believed would be a top six finish when a small mistake blunted his drive. De Puniet had just re-passed Marco Melandri when he made a shifting error and ran off the track. He recovered and rejoined the race, passing four riders to secure a top ten finish. Grip was also an issue for Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP). The Japanese rider had difficulty getting heat into his tires and found himself unable to apply his usual aggression. Rather than take undue risks, he soldiered on to a 13th place finish and three championship points, while looking forward to returning to Europe for the final two races. The Moto2 race was a dream come true for the veteran Alex de Angelis. The San Marinese has had one of the most difficult seasons of his long career. The team he began the season with succumbed to financial pressures following the seventh race of the season in Catalunya. De Angelis then moved to the MotoGP class, where he rode in place of the injured Hiroshi Aoyama for two races. And when the series returned to Europe for his home race, the San Marino GP at Misano, de Angelis was thrown a lifeline by the JiR Moto2 team. De Angelis showed early promise, but the results didn’t come until the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi where he finished fourth. That was followed by a second the next week in Malaysia. And he’s ended the three race flyaways with a win, the second of his career and his first since the final 250cc race of the 2006 season in Valencia. Riding the JiR Moto2, Motobi, de Angelis battled early with Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team, Suter) and Fimmco Speed Up’s Andrea Iannone (Speed Up) before taking the lead on the the 16th of 25 laps when Iannone slipped up in Siberia, allowing de Angelis and Redding through. Iannone was having tire troubles, but was able to consolidate third, while Redding chased de Angelis in vain. De Angelis padded his lead over the final three laps to win by 2.172 secs. Redding was second, .802 secs. back. Still, it was the 17-year-old Brit’s career best Moto2 finish. Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) had wrapped up the title last week in Malaysia, but the spots behind are up for grabs. Fourth place finisher Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter) now has 181 points to 179 for Iannone. Now, after three races in three weeks on two continents, the teams fly home to their European bases for a weekend off before the final two races of the year in Estoril and Valencia. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V): DNF “It’s really a pity that I had to retire today because we had worked hard with team and, after two difficult days of practice, today we had the pace to fight for third position and a podium finish. I made a good start and I was able to recover some positions. On the first lap I did a 1m31.7s without pushing too hard and I was fifth across the line. In the first two laps though I felt the steering was stiff and on lap three this caused me to lose a lot of positions. I could control the bike but, although I completed another lap, it was too risky to keep riding and I had to come into the pits. There was a problem at the steering damper mounting – it had moved into an incorrect position, so now we will investigate the causes. I’m really disappointed because after two great races in Japan and Malaysia, it was important to make a good race here to fight for third position in the championship. Still, now we will look to get the best results possible in Estoril and Valencia.” Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V): 6th “It was a really nice race and I enjoyed it a lot, so I am happy. I got a good start and moved into third place on the first lap and then stayed in the group with Rossi, Hayden and Spies. We had a great battle and it was really good fun. When Hayden passed me and went after Valentino I was left with Spies for the rest of the race but I managed to keep my pace up and make an attempt to pass him at the end, although unfortunately he was a little too fast for me. Anyway, as I said I am delighted with a really nice race.” Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V): 9th “This race was just the same as all the others this season, I struggled throughout and at the end I was passed by Espargaro. He passed me between the penultimate and final corners and he looked like he was out for a stroll, whereas I was fighting with the bike and couldn’t hold him off. I got a good start but over the first few laps my tyres felt like they were made of ice and by the time they had heated up I couldn’t make any progress.” Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V): 10th “I am disappointed as I expected a top-six finish. With the lap time I did during the race I could have finished in a better position. I had a real constant lap time during the whole race and I was faster and faster lap by lap. At the beginning of the race I was behind Melandri and overtook him a couple of times but he overtook me back and on turn 4 I passed him again in the inside. But I made a mistake on downshifting and ran wide in the grass loosing many places. After that it was a chase race for me as I tried hard to come back.” Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V): 13th “I was waiting for the tyres to heat up, but the whole race I didn’t feel the same grip level as usual and I had to deal with this problem. I would have loved to go faster, but it was not easy to deal with the bike with this problem. It is a pity that I could not improve in the race. The next race is in two weeks in Portugal and I hope I can be faster there.” MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2, Motobi): 1st “I’m obviously very happy for how the weekend has gone, pole position and a win in one single race are a good thing and help me re-evaluate a season that has been very difficult for me and in this happy moment I want to remember also Shoya Tomizawa. The weekend went well, the improvements we registered in the last few races gave us hope but we know that in motor racing nothing can be sure until you get to the flag. Today is a good day, I must say thank you to the team that gave me this opportunity and prepared a very competitive package. Now I want to enjoy this moment.” Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing, Suter): 2nd “It was actually one of the races I enjoyed. But, man I was just so pumped I can’t even remember what happened. It was really weird. Even on the podium just then, I didn’t know what was going on. I was just so pumped for it. It was great racing with Iannone and de Angelis, really battling hard. I had a little gap in the beginning, but then I lost the front into Turn 9. Alex come past, so I thought I’ll got with these guys a bit. Yeah, then we had a little tussle. For me it was a fantastic race. The team built a really good bike for me this weekend, the same as every weekend. And we’re just coming stronger and stronger, which is just what we’re planning to do.” Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up): 3rd “Today’s race was very demanding, but I’m happy with the result and the team’s work. We had some problems because of the traction and I was losing time when exiting turns. Since the beginning I rode to the limit in order to fight with the first guys and to try to grab a spot on the podium. We are once again very close to the second position in the Championship Classification: we’ll see how the last two races go, we’ll do our best till the end of the season. I want to thank the team and all the people that work with me for their great support and commitment.” HONDA 125 RIDER QUOTES Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125 Team): 13th “The race was not bad, but I know I could have done better. But anyway I am satisfied with 13th. I had a good start and was able to follow Cortese. I could stick with him until he crashed and that was a great feeling. I didn’t go over my limit and felt comfortable. Then a rider in front of me was braking and he was at his limit and he crashed. This cost me some time and a gap was building up in front of the group I was in. I could have finished the race in 11th if the overtaking and position changes around me would not have been that crazy. In the last couple of laps I tried to get some time back, but I slipped and was just able to avoid to crash so apart from that my race was quite okay.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Bautista narrowly misses out on a top-10 in Australia Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista had a hard-fought 10th position cruelly snatched from his grasp in the final few metres of today’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. The Spaniard got a good start from 14th on the grid and was up into 11th by the end of lap one. As the race progressed – and the field started to spread out – Bautista found himself riding a lonely race, but never gave up the pursuit of Mika Kallio, who had had pulled a gap in-front of him. He chased and caught the Finnish rider on lap 24, but then Bautista was put under pressure from behind by Randy de Puniet. As the final lap started de Puniet had got in front of Bautista, but Suzuki’s Spanish star fought back to lead the three riders on to the final straight. As the drag for the line developed, both de Puniet and Kallio drafted past Bautista, leaving the Suzuki man in 12th position, just 0.097 seconds from a thoroughly deserved 10th place. Bautista was Rizla Suzuki’s lone representative today following the withdrawal of Loris Capirossi on medical advice. The Italian injured the Adductor muscle at the top of his left thigh in a big crash in yesterday’s qualifying session and was deemed unfit to ride in today’s race. Capirossi immediately returned to Europe to receive further treatment and make sure the he has every chance of being fully fit for the next round. Today’s race was held in bright sunshine as the conditions finally improved after some awful weather at the Australian circuit this year. A crowd of 41,537 fans at trackside witnessed a commanding victory by home favourite Casey Stoner, as he took his fourth successive MotoGP win at the Phillip Island circuit, with a flag-to-flag victory from pole position. Rizla Suzuki will now return to Europe for the final two races of the season in Portugal and Spain respectively. The first of this double-header will take place at Estoril on Sunday 31st October, with the final race of the season at Valencia the following weekend. Álvaro Bautista: “I knew that today would be a difficult race and I would really have to ride at my maximum to get anything from it. I got a good start and felt good into the first corner, I was able to overtake other riders but I didn’t really have a good enough rhythm straight away and lost some positions and time. At the end of the race I was in a great battle with de Puniet and Kallio and we fought hard with each other in the last laps. On the last lap I passed de Puniet on the outside of turn seven and I got into 10th. On the last corner I tried to close the inside line so they couldn’t get past me and as I was about 40 metres from the finish line I felt the bike lose a bit of power and speed and I lost two places. I don’t know if the bike had a problem or not, but today I felt like I finished 10th, but the bike was 12th! It is not a good result compared to the last races, but here we knew that it would be a difficult weekend. I would liked to have finished in the top 10 because that result for Suzuki here would have been a very good one, but at the end – because of the bike – I could not finish there. We now have to work very hard in the next two races and I can’t wait to get to Portugal and get riding again to forget the result here.” Tom O’Kane Crew Chief Álvaro Bautista: “In my opinion Álvaro rode to a top-10 finish today at a racetrack that we really struggle at. The fact that he got passed on the line wasn’t his fault and he’s done an incredible job over the weekend in really difficult circumstances and conditions. I think my opinion of him has gone up more this weekend than it did after his fifth place in Malaysia and I’m sure he’ll bounce right back from today and be pushing hard when we get to Portugal.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner completes strong weekend with dominant victory in Australia Round 16: Australian Grand Prix Race Phillip Island, Sunday 17 October 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Hard, Extra Hard (both asymmetric) Producing a repeat performance of his spectacular pace in qualifying and during this morning’s warm-up, Casey Stoner dominated the Australian Grand Prix to take his third victory of the season and his fourth consecutively at the Phillip Island circuit. From pole, the Australian never looked back as he romped to a convincing victory using Bridgestone’s softer option slicks front and rear. Conditions today were fine with only light showers in the morning although the track and ambient temperature was still low, with the air just 15 degrees Celsius. Every rider used Bridgestone’s softer option front and rear slicks in the cold conditions this weekend. This weekend was the first time that Bridgestone’s softer option asymmetric rear slicks featured the new extra soft compound in the right shoulders for improved warm-up performance and grip in the cold. Finishing a lonely second was newly-crowned champion Jorge Lorenzo, whilst his Fiat Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi took the final step of the podium after a race-long battle with Nicky Hayden, the two crossing the line separated by just 0.04seconds. Ben Spies finished fifth after another race-long scrap with Marco Simoncelli. Hiroshi Yamada Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “Casey has been so fast all weekend so I congratulate him and the Ducati Team for their performance here. With four consecutive victories Phillip Island really is his circuit! From 2007 we have celebrated a win with Casey at Australia every year, and last year he marked our 50th win in MotoGP so we have good memories of Phillip Island. This weekend the conditions have been very difficult because of the rain, the wind and the cold but finally today was dry and we could see some good battles especially between Valentino and Nicky for third and Ben and Marco Simoncelli for fifth so I think the fans saw some good action this weekend too.” Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “Track conditions for the race were the best of the weekend but grip was still not ideal and still relatively low compared to last year. I’m happy with tyre performance and durability as the top five were still lapping consistently until the end of the race. This is the first race using our extra soft compound in the rear tyres and it performed well from the start and was very consistent over race distance. Casey’s first laps of the race were incredible, including a 1m 30.8s on his second lap, so I think this is a good indication of the improved warm-up and rider confidence this extra soft compound gives right from the start. I want to congratulate Casey for his fourth consecutive win at his home grand prix, all on Bridgestone tyres.” Casey Stoner Ducati Team Race Winner “I’m really happy with this weekend. Every weekend for the last four races we’ve been really trying to win and we’ve managed at three of those. It’s been a hard season so it’s fantastic to be competitive again. This weekend everything has gone well and right from free practice one I was happy with the bike and how everything was working. Tyre degradation is pretty severe here and we’re using the softer compounds because of the conditions, so once I had a gap I tried to relax and just flow around the track. I like to spin up round here but I tried to back it off a bit. It’s a circuit I enjoy and just feel comfortable here. For sure it’s nice to get this home GP win!” Top ten classification (Sunday 16:00 GMT+11) Pos. Rider Team Race time Gap Front spec Rear spec Tyres 1 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 41m 09.128s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks 2 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 41m 17.726s +8.598s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks 3 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 41m 27.125s +17.997s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks 4 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 41m 27.163s +18.035s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks 5 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 41m 31.339s +22.211s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks 6 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 41m 34.145s +25.017s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks 7 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 41m 44.296s +35.168s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks 8 Aleix Espargaro Pramac Racing 41m 55.322s +46.194s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks 9 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 41m 55.422s +46.294s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks 10 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 42m 08.763s +59.635s Soft Hard Bridgestone slicks Weather: Dry. Ambient 15°C; Track 30°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: DE PUNIET TAKES TOUGH 10th FINISH AT “THE ISLAND” GP Phillip Island, 17 October: In a tough race LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy de Puniet finished 10th in today’s Australian Grand Prix at a sunny Phillip Island ahead 41.537 MotoGP fans. The notorious unpredictable Island weather changed again today for the last over sea round of the calendar so sunny skies and spring temperature of 16Ëšdegrees welcomed the premier class riders today for the 27-lap race that got underway at 16:00 local time. The Frenchman riding the LCR RC212V was again a strong performer in yesterday’s qualifying posting the 7th lap time (second Honda rider on the grid) and was happy with his race pace at the track he loves. Unfortunately the 29-year made a mistake in a close battle with Melandri but he managed to finish in the top-ten. De Puniet 10th: “I am disappointed as I expected a top-six finish. With the lap time I did during the race I could have finished in a better position. I had a real constant lap time during the whole race and I was faster and faster lap by lap. At the beginning of the race I was behind Melandri and overtook him a couple of times but he overtook me back and on turn 4 I passed him again in the inside. But I made a mistake on downshifting and ran wide in the grass loosing many places. After that it was a chase race for me as I tried hard to come back…”