FIM MotoGP World Championship Donington Park, England July 2 Race Results: 1. Dani PEDROSA (Hon RC211V), Michelin, 30 laps, 44:54.878 2. Valentino ROSSI (Yam YZR-M1), Michelin, -3.864 seconds 3. Marco MELANDRI (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -4.016 seconds 4. Casey STONER (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -5.776 seconds 5. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (Hon KR211V), Michelin, -9.596 seconds 6. Colin EDWARDS (Yam YZR-M1), Michelin, -21.710 seconds 7. Nicky HAYDEN (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -25.764 seconds 8. John HOPKINS (Suz GSV-R), Bridgestone, -29.034 seconds 9. Loris CAPIROSSI (Duc GP06), Bridgestone, -35.606 seconds 10. Carlos CHECA (Yam YZR-M1), Dunlop, -40.442 seconds 11. Makoto TAMADA (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -41.062 seconds 12. Randy DE PUNIET (Kaw ZX-RR), Bridgestone, -42.197 seconds 13. Alex HOFMANN (Duc GP06), Bridgestone, -51.454 seconds 14. James ELLISON (Yam YZR-M1), Dunlop, -77.804 seconds 15. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Duc GP05), Dunlop, -1 lap 16. Chris VERMEULEN (Suz GSV-R), Bridgestone, -1 lap, crash 17. Shinya NAKANO (Kaw ZX-RR), Bridgestone, -17 laps, DNF, mechanical 18. Ivan SILVA (Duc GP05), Dunlop, -25 laps, DNF, mechanical Point Standings (After 9 of 17 races): 1. HAYDEN, 153 points 2. PEDROSA, 127 points 3. ROSSI, 118 points 4. MELANDRI, 114 points 5. CAPIROSSI, 107 points 6. STONER, 91 points 7. EDWARDS, 73 points 8. ROBERTS, 66 points 9. TAMADA, 59 points 10. HOPKINS, 58 points 11. NAKANO, 57 points 12. Toni ELIAS, 53 points 13. Sete GIBERNAU, 44 points 14. TIE, VERMEULEN/CHECA, 37 points 16. HOFMANN, 19 points 17. DE PUNIET, 17 points 18. ELLISON, 14 points 19. CARDOSO, 6 points More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006 02 JULY 2006 DE PUNIET TWELFTH AT DONINGTON AS NAKANO RETIRES Randy de Puniet was the sole Kawasaki survivor in today’s British Grand Prix at Donington Park, bringing his Ninja ZX-RR home in 12th place after a mechanical problem forced his teammate, Shinya Nakano, to retire from the race at the halfway stage. De Puniet opted for a relatively soft compound Bridgestone rear tyre for today’s 30-lap race in a bid to take maximum advantage from his second row grid position, but the 25-year-old Frenchman was forced to revise his race strategy after a disappointing start saw him down in 12th place at the first turn. In the early stages of the race de Puniet was able to run with current championship leader, Nicky Hayden, and reigning World Champion, Valentino Rossi, but was forced to slow as his rear tyre went off towards the end of the race. Despite the problems, the Kawasaki rider looked set for his first top ten finish of the season, but was pushed back to 11th place after a late charge by Carlos Checa, and then lost one place more to Makoto Tamada on the very last lap. After the high of finishing second at Assen just one week ago, Shinya Nakano experienced the other end of the emotional spectrum today at Donington, as a mechanical problem forced him to retire his Ninja ZX-RR at the halfway point. From the start the 28-year-old Kawasaki rider experienced problems when changing down through the gearbox on his Ninja ZX-RR, which he managed to compensate for with the clutch, but then, on lap 14, the bike suddenly lost power and Nakano was forced to retire from the race at Macleans. Dani Pedrosa took his second win of the season in today’s British Grand Prix, which was run in unseasonably hot conditions and enjoyed by 68,000 sunburnt British race fans. Randy de Puniet: 12th “I got a bad start, once again, but for the first half of the race I was able to follow the group with Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards and Shinya, but then I started to lose grip at the rear in the middle of the race and I wasn’t able to continue at the same pace. My original strategy for the race was to try and stay with the leading group from the start, and for that reason we opted to go with the softer of the two rear tyre compounds we had available. A disappointing start put paid to that plan. I just tried to keep pushing as hard as I could when the rear tyre started to go off, but I think I was losing one second each lap, which allowed Carlos Checa and Makoto Tamada to catch me towards the end. I was hoping for better than 12th today after good practice and qualifying sessions yesterday, but my pace during the early part of the race was encouraging and I’m happy to have another race finish behind me.” Shinya Nakano: DNF “Right from the beginning of the race I was struggling with a gearbox problem that made it difficult to shift down through the gears. After a few laps I figured out how to compensate for this problem using the clutch. I was pushing as hard as I could to catch the group of riders in front of me, but then I felt the engine suddenly lose power and I had no other option but to retire from the race. It’s disappointing after finishing so well in Assen, but now we need to concentrate on our preparations for the next race at Sachsenring, which is an important one for the Kawasaki Racing Team.” Harald Eckl: Team Principal “It is not the day we expected. After good practice and qualifying sessions yesterday, today’s result is disappointing for us. Of course, we need to analyse the problem that Shinya experienced with his race bike and, if necessary, come up with a solution ahead of the next race at Sachsenring. Randy was also disappointed with his result today, but I think he went for too soft a rear tyre for today’s conditions, and that’s why he lost the two places right at the end of the race.” MOTOGP RACE RESULT – DONINGTON PARK 1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 44’54.878; 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team +3.864; 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +4.016; 4. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +5.776; 5. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +9.596; 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +21.710; 7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +25.764; 8. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +29.034; 9. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +35.606; 10. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha +40.442; 11. Makoto Tamada (JPN) JIR Konica Minolta Honda +41.062; 12. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +42.197; DNF. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +17 Laps More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: Sunday Jul 2 2006 Race – Donington DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ENDURE TOUGH BRITISH GP Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Alex Hofmann rode to dogged ninth- and 13th-place finishes at warm and muggy Donington Park this afternoon. Capirossi finished the race exhausted and in pain, due to the chest injuries he sustained at Catalunya two weeks ago. After struggling to 15th at Assen last weekend, the Italian missed one practice session here (Friday afternoon) in a bid to rest himself for today’s race but the 30-lap outing was still an endurance test for him. Hofmann, riding his second race with the team as substitute to Sete Gibernau, who broke a collarbone at Catalunya, never quite found the pace he was aiming for. Capirossi now has almost two weeks in which to recuperate from his injuries and get ready for the German Grand Prix, round ten of this year’s 17-event MotoGP series. The team is also expecting Gibernau to be back in action in Germany. LORIS CAPIROSSI, finished 9th, 5th overall (107 points) “Today was better than Assen but I am completely finished. It was very hard because I couldn’t ride the way I want to ride. I tried to rest as much as possible here, which interfered with my tyre choice. I was smiling when it started raining this morning because I thought that would help us on tyres, but we don’t get to choose the weather! After ten laps or so I started sliding around and also feeling the pain, so I just tried to keep Randy (de Puniet) behind me. Now we have two weeks before the next race, so I hope I will arrive at the Sachsenring in good shape, otherwise it will be another difficult weekend. We haven’t had the results we deserve at the last three races, we deserve more than finishing eighth or ninth which makes me sad.” ALEX HOFMANN, finished 13th, 16th overall (19 points) “We had problems all weekend, our tyre wear was a little too much for race distance, though we did improve tyre wear compared to the first day. It was a difficult choice but I chose quite a hard rear which initially didn’t give me the feeling I wanted. It was difficult to pick up the pace, then when I did put in some strong laps and caught (Carlos) Checa, I couldn’t keep that pace because I lost some grip. I feel pretty down because this will probably be my last race for the reds and I wanted to do extra good, I wanted to do improve on Assen but we had a tougher weekend here. Anyway, we did our maximum and I’d like to say thanks to everyone for giving me this chance.” LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager “That was another heroic ride from Loris and thanks also to Alex for doing a good job at the last two races. This was another difficult weekend because Loris didn’t do all of practice and Alex was still getting used to the bike/tyre package. Last year this was a difficult circuit for us, we’ve made a big step forward since then but we still need more. Now we have a two-week break, during which Loris should be able to get stronger and we also expect Sete to be back with us. A big thank you to our technical partners, in particular Shell Advance, for their support during these difficult races”. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Tough afternoon in the Donington heat Donington Park, Britain Sunday 2 July 2006 Bridgestone endured a troublesome afternoon in today’s British Grand Prix with John Hopkins the highest placed of the tyre manufacturer’s six riders in eighth place. It was an afternoon to forget for Bridgestone after a competitive qualifying session and encouraging free practice times were not replicated in today’s thirty-lap race. Most Bridgestone riders found themselves unable to lap inside the crucial 1m29s mark which would have seen them retain pace with the ultimate frontrunners up to the chequered flag. Hopkins, who posted several 1m29s laps in the early stages including the sixth fastest lap of the race (1m29.578s), was followed past the chequered flag by Ducati rider Loris Capirossi. The Italian battled hard to claim ninth place and seven championship points, which keeps him in the top five in the riders’ classification. Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet came home in 12th position, one ahead of the second Ducati of Alex Hofmann, who claimed his seventh points-scoring finish of the season so far. Chris Vermeulen ran in the top seven for the first half of the race but an unscheduled trip to the pits relegated the Suzuki rider to the back of the pack and an eventual 16th position just out of the points. Shinya Nakano was one of only two retirements in the British Grand Prix, his Kawasaki stopping on track just before the halfway point on lap 14. John Hopkins, Suzuki: “I’m pretty disappointed because I would have like to have finished a lot higher, maybe in the top five or six. It just wasn’t on the cards today. I did everything I could and got the maximum out of all that I had today. The Suzuki was working really good and the Bridgestones had been working really well in the early laps. We had a minor difficulty and lost a lot of grip but we just kept at it and tried to pick up as many points as I could. I have got into the top ten and my ultimate goal is to get up into the top five. We just need to keep doing well and firstly we need to get some good points in Germany and then I am really looking forward to my home grand prix in America.” Hiroshi Yamada, Bridgestone Manager Motorcycle Racing: “It is a shame that our race tyres were not competitive enough to allow our riders or teams to get better results in this afternoon’s race. Admittedly, Donington has traditionally been something of an awkward track for us, but we honestly expected better results today after some signs of encouragement yesterday. Free practice does not allow us to truly simulate race conditions, so the lap times we saw on Saturday morning failed to show us the full picture of our performance in race trim. In anticipation of a long, tough grand prix this afternoon, we decided together with each of our teams to field a variety of tyre compound combinations in the race, which we now hope will provide us with valuable information for future development at smooth surface circuits like this one. We will continue to ramp up our development in preparation for next year’s event, not only here in the UK, but also for Catalunya and Assen where we have also made solid in-roads over the last weeks. A return to form should be expected in Sachsenring in two weeks’ time, a venue where we can be more confident of translating our qualifying form into tangible race results.” Bridgestone Race Results Pos. Rider Motorcycle Race Time Gap Front Tyres Rear Tyres P8 John Hopkins Suzuki 45m23.912s +20.034s Slick Hard Slick Hard P9 Loris Capirossi Ducati 45m30.484s +35.606s Slick Hard Slick Medium P12 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 45m37.075s +42.197s Slick Hard Slick Medium P13 Alex Hofmann Ducati 45m46.332s +51.454s Slick Medium Slick Hard P16 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 45m43.130s +1 lap Slick Medium Slick Hard DNF Shinya Nakano Kawasaki 19m39.618s +25 laps Slick Medium Slick Medium Weather: Dry and Sunny Air 27°C, Track 45°C, Humidity 20% More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: GAS British Grand Prix Sunday 2nd July 2006 Dani Pedrosa claims dominant victory in Britain Dani Pedrosa put on a dominant performance this afternoon to win the GAS British Grand Prix at Donington Park. The Spanish rookie started from pole position, but after losing the holeshot he had to wait 11 laps before finally passing Marco Melandri. Pedrosa had run wide whilst attempting to pass the Italian on lap 4, but it was the only moment of worry for the talented Repsol Honda rider. Pedrosa would eventually go on to win the race by over three and a half seconds, blissfully unaware of the scrap for podium positions behind him. His victory moves him within 26 points of his teammate and championship leader Nicky Hayden, who could only manage seventh today as his title rivals cut chunks out of his sizeable lead. The podium spots were decided after a last lap dice between Valentino Rossi and Marco Melandri. Rossi had ridden a superb race from twelfth on the grid, clawing his way through the field. The reigning World Champion was up to fifth by the halfway point of the race, and continued his ascension through the top six before the epic final lap battle with Melandri, in which he came out on top after Melandri ran wide on the Melbourne Loop hairpin. Casey Stoner and Kenny Roberts Jr had also tussled for podium positions after starting well, eventually finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Colin Edwards finished ahead of Nicky Hayden in sixth, revenge of sorts for last weekend’s final lap at Assen. John Hopkins started the race well once again, but faded in the second half to come home eighth. The injured Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa completed the top ten. 250cc Grand Prix Jorge Lorenzo took a second uncontested victory in the 250cc GAS British Grand Prix, taking victory by more than six seconds to repeat his runaway Assen performance. The Spaniard led from pole position, with main title rival Andrea Dovizioso doing a remarkable job of sticking with the Fortuna Aprilia rider. However, a crash from the Italian whilst in hot pursuit left Lorenzo to complete the race in relative isolation. Alex de Angelis put in a superb pass on Hiroshi Aoyama on the final lap, forcing the Japanese rider wide as he attempted to take back the position. Roberto Locatelli had yet another noteworthy performance, and took fourth ahead of the returning Hector Barbera and the luckless Dovizioso who had picked his bike up after his slide. His team-mate Yuki Takahashi, Sylvain Guintoli and Anthony West were eighth and ninth respectively, whilst Marco Simoncelli rounded off the top ten despite suffering a crash on the closing laps. The British victory puts Lorenzo just one point behind Dovizioso in the classification. 125cc Grand Prix Alvaro Bautista completed a Spanish triple crown of wins at Donington Park, and like the two classes to race before him, he did it in dominating fashion. The Aprilia rider had started from pole position, although did not get to the front of the pack until the third lap. He then opened up a huge gap to the duo battling behind him, Mika Kallio and Mattia Pasini, eventually crossing the line with three and a half seconds to spare. A daring last corner manoeuvre saw Finland’s Kallio reduce the damage to his title chances to the minimum as he took second, with Pasini coming home four hundredths of a second behind. Bautista’s team-mates Hector Faubel and Sergio Gadea completed the top five, with Joan Olive, Lukas Pesek, Thomas Luthi, Nico Terol and Gabor Talmacsi rounding off the top ten. There was some cheer for British racefans meanwhile, as 15 year-old Bradley Smith took his first World Championship points at his home race. The Repsol Honda rider came home in twelfth place (4pts) after having finished the last two races in sixteenth spot and just outside the points. MotoGP 1st. Dani Pedrosa (Honda): “I’m very happy to be first. Overall it was a fantastic weekend. I want to thank my team and all the people around me for a great job, the whole weekend was good through practice to the race itself. At the beginning it was difficult, I had a good start, perfect when compared to other races. I couldn’t brake any more on lap four and I ran wide but I was able to come back to take the lead.” MotoGP 2nd. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha): “For sure it was a great race for the people watching and for me, it was almost like a victory. It has been a difficult week after Assen and the crash, I made a huge effort to be here in good shape, and my wrist didn’t feel so bad during the race, Doctor Costa and my physiotherapists did a good job, I didn’t have my maximum power but it was good. This weekend we struggled with the bike, usually we are excellent here but this time it was always a case of fighting against it. We prepared a new setting and a new tyre this morning for the warm-up, but then it rained so by race time everything was new to us and I needed laps to find my rhythm. It was a great battle with Marco at the end.” MotoGP 3rd. Marco Melandri (Honda): “It was so hard at every point, after a few laps I was little tired but told myself to continue. The doctors helped me to earn this good result. I’m not so happy about the first part of the race though, I had changed my settings from yesterday and with a full tank it was really hard to control the bike, my rear tyre was sliding but later on it got better. I found a good rhythm alongside Valentino and tried to pass him”¦ I thought that I could fight for second place, unfortunately on the last hairpin I hit the brakes but was going too fast and ran wide. It’s a good result but I’m still a little disappointed.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: ROSSI TAKES SENSATIONAL SECOND AT DONINGTON Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi produced one of the performances of his life today as he rode through the pain of hand and ankle injuries to take a simply sensational second place in the British Grand Prix. Roared on by a partisan local crowd, who have taken the Italian to their hearts after a string of victories at this circuit, Rossi started steadily from twelfth on the grid but soon got into his rhythm and began passing riders with the flamboyance and determination that has already taken him to five consecutive MotoGP World Championship titles. With the series leader before today’s action, Nicky Hayden (Honda), struggling to seventh place today, Rossi’s incredible charge comes into sharper focus with a glance at the championship standings. With eight rounds remaining the Yamaha man trails the American by just 35 points and the destiny of the title is now back in his hands. Rossi remains in third place overall, however, after a second victory of the season for Dani Pedrosa (Honda) saw the Spaniard consolidate second spot. Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards also produced a determined ride as he made up four places from his qualifying position to take sixth despite also struggling to find the correct set-up for his machine during practice. The American now heads to Japan to prepare for the Suzuka 8-Hour race he will contest on 30th July, before returning for the next round of the MotoGP season at Sachsenring, Germany, two weeks from now. VALENTINO ROSSI (2nd; + 3.864) “That was an amazing race and a very important result for me. I am in a better position as far as the points are concerned and that is more important than winning the race. To be honest after Assen I wasn’t sure if it would be possible to fight for a top result here but I wanted it so much because Donington is a very special place to me and the fans give me such incredible support every year. We were really surprised that the bike didn’t work on Friday but the whole team worked really hard to find the right setting and the right tyre. After qualifying we decided we would try some new things this morning but the wet warm-up meant we had no chance to do that so we just took a gamble with the setting and it worked. It took me eight laps to understand just how good my pace could be and from that point I realised that my goal had to be the podium. I had some hard battles along the way but when I got up to Melandri it got even harder! We had real fun and neither of us wanted to back down. He was faster than me in some places and I was faster than him in others. In the end it came down to the last hairpin and we both braked around 20 or 30 metres deeper than normal. We both ran wide but luckily Marco went even wider than me and I was able to get in from of him. I finished second but today it felt like a win.” COLIN EDWARDS (6th; + 21.710) “It just hasn’t clicked for us this weekend and I’m really disappointed, even though sixth place brings in a few decent points. Last year everything came easily here but from the first practice it was clear that it wasn’t going to be the case this time around and we never really found our way, it was as simple as that. The bike wasn’t too bad for the race and I could catch other riders easily but we didn’t have the set-up to get past people on the brakes. That made life really difficult and the race was a struggle from start to finish. It’s been a hard few weeks but now I have a bit of a change of scenery as I will head out to Japan to prepare for the 8 hour. I hope we’ll be in better position to fight at Sachsenring in a couple of week’s time.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “This was a very important race because despite Valentino’s injury we have been able to close the gap to Nicky Hayden in the championship. Valentino said it was more like a victory and the feeling in the team is the same because of the physical condition he was in and the fact he started from so far back on the grid. There was never any doubt about Valentino’s qualities but he has performed like a true World Champion over a difficult few weeks and he deserves a rest now. Our engineers also did a great job to put everything together in time, they have also been working hard and will enjoy a couple of days off before the next race. Now we have eight races left and 35 points to make up before Valencia.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: MARCO MELANDRI TAKES A SPECTACULAR PODIUM AT DONINGTON FORTUNA HONDA rider Marco Melandri, just two weeks after his horrendous crash in Catalunya, put in a courageous and determined performance at Donington to finish third at the British GP following a spectacular battle with Valentino Rossi. Sitting third on the grid, Melandri made a superb start to take the early lead and set a hot pace. The Italian was stalked by Dani Pedrosa and the two soon opened a gap on the rest of the field. Despite still suffering pain from his injuries, Melandri’s supreme fitness allowed him to maintain his challenge for a place on the podium, although he fell behind Pedrosa as the race progressed with the young Spaniard opening a healthy lead at the front. With just a few laps remaining, Valentino Rossi – who had climbed his way through the field in tremendous fashion – caught up with Melandri and, after a memorable battle, got the better of his compatriot to sneak second place. The next round of the World Championship will be in Germany in two weeks. MARCO MELANDRI (3rd – 4th in the championship, 114 points): “Today was an incredible day! Bearing in mind my physical condition two weeks ago, I have to be very satisfied. I want to thank the Clinica Mobile for the work they did to allow me to race here in good shape. After the first few laps I could feel that my strength was going, but I made a big effort to maintain my pace. The first part of circuit was harder for me to negotiate, but as the race went on I improved on that part and the bike worked perfectly. It’s a shame I lost second because of a small error on the penultimate corner, but the battle with Valentino was great and I think the fans really enjoyed the spectacle.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: PEDROSA POWERS TO SECOND WIN, HAYDEN SEVENTH Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) scored a convincing win here at Donington Park to notch his second victory in his rookie year and put himself firmly in the hunt for the World Championship. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) was second and Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) third. In bright sunshine, despite a vicious rain shower on the morning of the race at 7:00am, riders lined up for 30-laps of this sweeping 4.023km track. And it was Melandri from third on the grid who led into Redgate on lap one with Pedrosa on his tail and Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) up with them in third. As the field negotiated that crucial first lap, John Hopkins (Suzuki) relieved Stoner of third place down through the spectacular Craner Curves with his team-mate Chris Vermeulen now in fourth with Stoner fifth. Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) was demonstrating the progress made with the Honda-powered KR bike holding sixth on lap one. Melandri held his lead as lap two began with Pedrosa hard on his tail and Stoner working on getting past Hopkins. But Melandri and Dani showed they had the pace to leave the field as Hopkins gradually but visibly lost ground as the early order settled. Pedrosa was anxious to pass Marco by lap four, but his eagerness nearly got the better of him on the next lap as he lined up a pass at the Melbourne hairpin and then and wobbled wide. Dani was lucky to stay on the machine, but incredibly he was still third as lap six began. Dani then set a fastest lap of 1m 29.465s as he retrieved the ground he had lost. At this stage World Championship series leader Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V), who was circulating in seventh after a compromised qualifying performance, made an error at Foggy’s Esses in his bid to claw his way up the order and rejoined the race in 11th. Kenny then set a fastest lap of 1m 29.351s on lap eight as Dani blasted past Hopkins to begin working on Marco for the lead. By lap ten Kenny had disposed of Hopkins for third place and two laps later Dani had taken the lead he was never to relinquish. In the space of just one lap Dani, with a clear track, extended his advantage over Marco from 0.6 seconds to 1.5 seconds, setting a fastest lap of 1m 28.7s in the process. There was now only a battle for second place Dani was long gone. In the closing laps Dani eased back to secure his win, but from laps 17 to 23 Dani was circulating almost a quarter of a second faster than anyone else on track. But the three rider group of Melandri, Roberts and Stoner fighting for second were holding each other up allowing Rossi, who had gained on them, to catch them and enter the fray. Melandri had a huge moment at McLeans when he hit the kerb with his knee, but miraculously the Italian stayed on to stay in the running. As Rossi and Melandri slugged it out for second, Stoner and Roberts lost ground and it was left to the last lap for this dispute to be concluded. Marco dived past Rossi at the Foggy Esses and looked to be able to hold the advantage until he went wide at the Melbourne Hairpin allowing Rossi past again to hold second at the flag. Dani would have been blissfully unaware of all this as he took the flag 3.86 seconds ahead of Rossi, having eased off the gas in the final laps. Dani said, “I’m happy because this was almost the perfect weekend the team did a great job in every session. When I tried to overtake Marco I braked but I couldn’t stop the machine so I was getting closer and closer to him and he was about to turn in. I was saying, ‘please leave room!’ and luckily he did. Then I was able to get back in front. I didn’t know at that point if I could open up a gap because this class is really close, but at the end I slowed down a little bit to be careful. I think the English crowd enjoyed the race, and this British weather is really good!” Marco said, “That was so hard at every single point of the track. I was tired but I just told myself I had to keep going. I wasn’t happy about the first part of the race because I got a good start and then started sliding around a lot with a full tank of fuel. But in the last six laps the rear tyre got better and allowed me to get into a better rhythm. I fought hard for second, but just missed out.” Casey, in fourth, said, “I got a good start and then got shuffled back by the Suzuki’s. I thought I could pull it back but they tyre didn’t want to seem to kick in. I had a hard time finding enough drive. I was bit far away at the end but we’ve just got to keep going the way we are. I didn’t get a podium when I might have done, but that’s the way it goes.” Fifth-placed Roberts said, “I got away OK, but then the balance of the bike shifted its bias forward and then back. The flowing sections were tough and braking good and then the opposite. I really tried but didn’t want to risk not finishing here. I saw Marco hit the kerb and lose the front and he did a fantastic job saving it. This bike had a podium in it today, but I didn’t quite get it there.” Hayden finished seventh and said, “It’s been a tough weekend and things didn’t quite go for us here. I was coming through the field and making up some places when I made a mistake, got into the chicane bit hot and went straight on. That hurt, but I got back on the track, put my head down and clawed back a few places. We’ll regroup now, think about what didn’t go so well this weekend, and try to do better at the Sachsenring. Everyone in the team worked really hard this weekend we’ll come back strong at the next race.” Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) finished 11th and said, “I started the race with different settings to those I used in qualifying. My start was not so bad but I was wide in the first corner. The bike was understeering in the fast corners today but not as much as yesterday. After the opening laps I held the same position for almost the whole race.” Former WCM rider Michel Fabrizio, standing in for the injured Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V), did not start after breaking a collar-bone in practice. Elias is expected to return to action in Germany in two weeks time. The World Championship now looks like this after nine of 17 rounds: Hayden 153, Pedrosa 127, Rossi 118, Melandri 114. Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) closed in on series leader Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) when he won the 250cc Grand Prix by an easy margin from Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) in second with Hiro Aoyama (KTM) third. Dovi fell on lap 17 while shadowing Lorenzo in second. But the indomitable Italian, who has now failed to reach the podium for the first time this year, managed to remount and finish in the points in sixth place. Lorenzo and Dovi were in a class of their own here, leading the field from the opening lap and pulling away from de Angelis and Aoyama to enjoy a six second cushion over their pursuers until Dovi’s mistake left Lorenzo a clear run to the flag. Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) was another rider to fall and remount in this race. The Japanese fell on lap 25 of this 27-lap encounter and managed to rejoin the race for a points finish in 13th. The World Championship points standings now show Dovi hanging onto his series lead with 159 points from Lorenzo in second with 158. De Angelis lies third with 111 while Hiro Aoyama and Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW), who finished seventh here today, share fourth place with 108 points each. Dovi said, “I’m still leading the Championship, but it doesn’t seem worth so much now as the gap with the Aprilias is too big. Today Lorenzo was fast and I did my best to stay close to him like I’ve been doing since the beginning. If I didn’t ride this way, I wouldn’t be leading now. When I crashed out I spent a few laps getting on the pace again because the footrest was damaged and one of the handlebars wasn’t in the right position.” Takahashi said, “I did a good start but I struggled to get a good rhythm. The set-up of the bike wasn’t perfect and the track conditions were different from the previous two days; I think for this reason I was competitive in some parts of the circuit and less so in others. I made few mistakes and this didn’t help at all. The next race is at Sachsenring, which is a circuit I like where we can get a better result.” Aoyama said, “I made a good start and I was fifth behind de Angelis and my brother, but on the third lap I made a mistake, braking too late and I lost contact with them. Then I stayed with Locatelli and we lapped together almost throughout the race. When there were three laps left I pushed a bit harder to get closer to Locatelli, but I lost the front-end. It’s my fault and I’m very sorry for the team.” Runaway series leader Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) won the 125cc race from Mika Kallio (KTM) who snatched second from Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) at the final turn on the last lap. Bautista has now registered four wins so far this season and looks in unmatchable form at this stage of the season. Kallio led into turn one followed by Pasini and Bautista, but it only took three laps for the Spanish series leader to establish himself at the front with a series of fastest laps and from then on the race was his barring any mishaps and he made no mistakes. His margin of victory after 25-laps was 3.45 seconds but this is scant evidence of his domination here today. He now leads the World Championship on 185 points to Mika Kallio in second with 133. Sergio Gadea (Aprilia) lies third with 114 and Pasini fourth with 112. Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) finished eighth and said, “That was a hard race, a really hard race. I had a small problem with front-end chatter in three fast corners and lost time but I made up a lot for that on the brakes. I feel fine now so it proves I’m back to my best physically, only my hands are a little stiff.” Fifteen-year-old British rider Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) scored a 12th place finish and said, “I’m really, really happy, I scored my first points. I’d given myself the opportunity with that 13th place on the grid and everything was looking absolutely positive to do a good race. It was a tough race and it took a long time to find my pace.” More, from a press release issued by Michelin: PEDROSA LEADS MICHELIN DOMINATION Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin) scorched to his second MotoGP victory in unusually hot conditions at Donington Park this afternoon. As track temperatures reached 45 degrees the Spaniard recovered from an early mistake to comfortably beat injured Italians Valentino Rossi (Camel Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) and Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V-Michelin). Michelin men dominated the 30-lap race at this challenging circuit, filling the top seven finishing positions, Pedrosa breaking the two-year-old race record (last year’s race was run in wet conditions) by 36 seconds. The first non-Michelin rider crossed the line in eighth place, almost 30 seconds down on the winner. Michelin riders also dominate the championship positions as the 2006 series moves into its second half, with the top four riders all on Michelin. “This has been a great weekend for Dani pole position, lap record and the race win,” said Nicolas Goubert, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “He rode a very fast pace and easily controlled the race. Valentino made an incredible comeback, it was amazing to see two injured riders fighting for second, they both showed incredible strength. We are obviously very happy to have the first seven guys on our tires, especially considering the unusually hot tarmac. Despite that we found the right tires for excellent race-long consistency. Both Valentino and Marco did their best laps on lap 28. “Dani is using our smaller profile front tire now, after we introduced a new construction of this tire at Assen. Some riders prefer the smaller profile, others like the bigger profile, it all depends on the bike and the riding style. We now have four guys out of nine using the smaller profile tire: Dani, Kenny (Roberts Junior, Team Roberts KR211V-Michelin), Valentino and Colin (Edwards, Camel Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin).” Casey Stoner (Honda LCR RC211V-Michelin) and Roberts Junior were also involved in the battle for second place but slipped behind Rossi and Melandri to finish fourth and fifth, ahead of Edwards and World Championship leader Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin). Top five Michelin riders’ tire choice Pedrosa: medium compound, narrow-profile front, medium compound rear Rossi: medium compound, narrow-profile front, hard compound rear Melandri: medium compound, wider-profile front, medium compound rear Stoner: medium compound, wider-profile front, soft compound rear Roberts Jr: medium compound, narrow-profile front, medium compound rear More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins picked up yet another high scoring position at today’s GAS British Grand Prix at Donington, as he finished in the top 10 for the fourth race in succession. Anglo-American Hopkins got a good start from the second row of the grid and was running in a podium position early on. As the race progressed and grip was compromised in his tyres due to the high track temperatures, he had to battle hard to maintain his pace. He eventually brought his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R home in eighth place a position good enough to move him into the top 10 in the World Championship table. Chris Vermeulen also had a strong first half to the race and he was running with the leading pack. Unfortunately disaster struck for the rookie Australian on lap 16 when Colin Edwards tried to overtake him at the Melbourne Loop. The two riders collided and Vermeulen came off the worst as he crashed to the floor. He re-mounted and rode back to the pits for running repairs before re-joining the race. The gap between the other riders was too great, and although he gave chase he was unable to get into a point scoring position and crossed the line in 16th. Today’s race was watched by 68,391 spectators and they witnessed Dani Pedrosa win his second Grand Prix of the season. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now moves on to Sachsenring in Germany for round 10 of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 16th July. John Hopkins: “I’m pretty disappointed because I would have liked to have finished a lot higher, maybe in the top five or six. It just wasn’t on the cards today! I did everything I could and got the maximum out of all that I had today. The Suzuki was working really good and the Bridgestones had been working really well in the early laps. We had a minor difficulty and lost a lot of grip but we just kept at it and tried to pick up as many points as I could. I have got into the top 10 and my ultimate goal this year is to get up into the top five. We just need to keep doing well and firstly we need to get some good points in Germany and then I am really looking forward to my home Grand Prix in America!” Chris Vermeulen: “The start of the race was ok, I knew I had a hard race tyre and I was quite comfortable where I was in the pack. Colin went past me and he went a little deep so I tried to go up the inside of him but he turned the bike back in and I had nowhere to go. I went over and bent the handlebar into the frame so I had to come into the garage and get the bike fixed up. We went out again and I was able ride at a reasonable pace but I had no brake adjuster and it was getting a bit difficult to ride, plus the footrest was rubbing on the chain so it wasn’t the best! We made big steps this weekend and before I crashed we were a lot closer to the leaders than we have been. We now have to take this forward to Sachsenring a circuit I’ve never been to before and see how we go there.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “All-in-all for both riders and for Suzuki we have to say we have had a successful weekend in terms of our qualifying and the potential shown by both riders especially John in the first third of the race. Bridgestone will freely admit that they had an extremely difficult weekend at a track that we knew may be tough. I want to say thank-you to John for maintaining a better pace than looked possible as the tyre degradation became extreme, and thanks to Chris for getting his bike back to the pits, getting it fixed and trying to get some points. “We will have better days, and I run the danger of becoming boring by repeating myself, but as we keep moving forward the day will come when bike, rider and tyres match the situation and we look forward to running up front over the full race distance!”