2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Valencia, Spain November 4, 2007 Race Results: 1. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 30 laps, 46:43.533 2. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, -5.447 seconds 3. John HOPKINS (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -20.404 4. Marco MELANDRI (Honda), Bridgestone, -24.827 5. Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -25.804 6. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -25.862 7. Alex BARROS (Ducati), Bridgestone, -29.470 8. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, -30.333 9. Randy DE PUNIET (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -30.895 10. Toni ELIAS (Honda), Bridgestone, -31.030 11. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Yamaha), Dunlop, -38.763 12. Carlos CHECA (Honda), Michelin, -42.506 13. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, -46.572 14. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Michelin, -50.220 15. Makoto TAMADA (Yamaha), Dunlop, -56.879 16. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -75.369 17. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Michelin, -11 laps, DNF, retired 18. Kurtis ROBERTS (KR-Honda), -20 laps, DNF, retired MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 18 of 18 races): 1. Stoner, 367 points 2. Pedrosa, 242 3. Rossi, 241 4. Hopkins, 189 5. Melandri, 187 6. Vermeulen, 179 7. Capirossi, 166 8. Nicky Hayden, 127 9. Edwards, 124 10. Barros, 115 11. De Puniet, 108 12. Elias, 104 13. TIE, Alex Hofmann/Checa, 65 15. West, 59 16. Guintoli, 50 17. Nakano, 47 18. Tamada, 38 19. Kurtis Roberts, 10 20. TIE, Roger Hayden/Michel Fabrizio, 6 22. Fonsi Nieto, 5 23. TIE, Olivier Jacque/Kenny Lee Roberts, 4 25. Nobuatsu Aoki, 3 26. Shinichi Ito, 1 Constructor Championship Point Standings (after 18 of 18 races): 1. Ducati, 394 points 2. Honda, 313 3. Yamaha, 283 4. Suzuki, 241 5. Kawasaki, 144 6. Roberts Honda, 14 Team Championship Point Standings (after 18 of 18 races): 1. Marlboro Ducati, 533 2. Repsol Honda, 369 3. Rizla Suzuki, 368 4. Fiat Yamaha, 365 5. Gresini Honda, 297 6. Pramac d’Antin Ducati, 181 7. Kawasaki Racing Team, 176 8. Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3, 88 9. LCR Honda, 65 10. Konica Minolta Honda, 47 11. Team Roberts, 14 More, from a press release issued by Team Roberts: EARLY BATH FOR ROBERTS AS MISFIRE STOPS HIS RACE Valencia, Spain – November 4, 2007: Kurtis Roberts had a disappointing close to a difficult season in the final round of the MotoGP championship, the Valencia GP, retiring after ten laps of the 30-lap race round the 4.005-km Ricardo Tormo circuit outside the historic port city. The younger son of triple-champion Kenny Roberts had qualified 19th, and felt confident he could improve his position and add to his points score after an encouraging performance in morning warm-up, when he was 14th. It all came to nothing, when his Honda-powered hybrid went sick almost immediately after the start. The engine, fitted in a special chassis made in England by his father’s team, started to misfire, and got progressively worse. Kurtis kept trying, but was losing more ground each lap, and eventually retired from the hopeless task. It meant disappointment also for 15,502 fans who subscribed to put their names on the bike’s fairing for the last race. The list had to be closed after just one week, because the response was so great, in spite of a difficult year. Team Roberts hopes to reward their loyal support in the future, with a project for a two-rider team and a different machine for 2008. Today’s race winner was Dani Pedrosa (Honda), from new World Champion Casey Stoner (Ducati), with John Hopkins (Suzuki) third. Pedrosa’s victory meant he displaced multi-champion Valentino Rossi from second overall. KURTIS ROBERTS – Did Not Finish The thing just never worked right. We did 1’34 lap times pretty easily in practice, and a 1’33 to qualify. I was riding just the same in the race and we couldn’t even see 1’34. My last lap was a 1’36. The engine started missing really bad off the bottom, and got progressively worse from the first lap on. I couldn’t do anything to keep up with them. It got slower and slower, which is pretty bad for the slowest thing out there. Honda did a good job on their bikes obviously, but not ours. CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager That wasn’t exactly what we hoped for, but there’s nothing you can do when the thing’s not running right. It just got worse with each lap. It was very inconsistent, and just got impossible to ride. It’s a shame because this morning’s warm-up went great, Kurtis has been riding hard and well all weekend, and could have had a good race. Anyway, that’s that – we go on to better things, hopefully. We need to thank all the fans who supported us and showed interest in the project this year, and to all our suppliers and technical staff for assisting as they could. And the team: they worked hard and never gave up. I think it is one of the strongest teams in the paddock. Hopefully we can get the programme together to get our results back where they should be. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Sports: Pedrosa closes 2007 with victory at Valencia Gran Premio bwin.com de la Comunitat Valenciana November 4th Report Day 3 motogp A home victory for Dani Pedrosa, combined with a DNF for Valentino Rossi, gave the Spaniard second place in the 2007 MotoGP World Championship at the Gran Premio bwin.com de la Comunitat Valenciana. Starting from pole for the fourth consecutive race, Pedrosa was desperate not to let World Champion Casey Stoner get away from him in front of his local crowd. The difference in top speed between the Honda RC212V and the Ducati Desmosedici GP7 was nowhere near as apparent as it was at the season-opening race at Qatar in March, as evidenced when the Spaniard drafted past Stoner on lap six. The gap between the two remained comfortable for Pedrosa, who crossed the line with a 5.4 second advantage for his first home MotoGP victory. John Hopkins ended his long-standing association with Rizla Suzuki by taking fourth place in the World Championship. The Anglo-American needed to finish ahead of Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi and team-mate Chris Vermeulen to confirm the position in the standings, and that he did with the trio finishing just behind Hopkins’ GSV-R800. Melandri and Capirossi were also riding their final races for Gresini Honda and Ducati respectively, whilst Vermeulen will look to progress yet further with Suzuki next season. Making his 276th and final Grand Prix appearance, Brazilian veteran Alex Barros bowed out of the MotoGP World Championship with seventh place at Valencia, ahead of 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden on the American’s last outing with the number one plate. Hayden had battled valiantly in the early going, but dropped down the running in the latter stages of the race. Randy de Puniet and Toni Elias completed the top ten, also riding for the last time before switching teams for another year in the premier class. Needing only one point to put himself out of the reach of Pedrosa in the overall classification, Valentino Rossi was the odds-on favourite to take second position for the year. However, yesterday’s practice crash and three fractures in his hand were always going to make things difficult for the Italian, although in the end it was a mechanical issue that forced Rossi to return to the garage and watch on as Pedrosa achieved the only result that could demote him to third. Carlos Checa finished in 12th, also making his final Grand Prix appearance. The Spaniard had a special cake waiting for him in the LCR Honda garage and was greeted by applause from his team. MotoGP riders stay on for testing at Valencia next week, out on track on Tuesday and Wednesday. 250cc Mika Kallio signed off his rookie season in the 250cc class with a second win of the year at the Ricardo Tormo circuit. The Finn had started from pole, but was not by any means a runaway winner as he chased down leader Alex de Angelis in the latter stages of the race. 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo looked on course for a win to end his quarter litre career in style, but an engine problem at the midway point dropped the Spaniard down to seventh. It had looked as if De Angelis, another rider moving on to pastures new next season, would repeat his only 250cc win at the scene of his maiden victory, but a move by Kallio two laps from the finish gave the KTM rider the triumph. Competing at his home race as a wild card rider, Alex Debon rode a fantastic race onboard the Aprilia machine that he has developed so much this season, holding of Andrea Dovizioso to deny the Italian a final podium before his move to MotoGP. Debon will be a full-time rider next year, with the hope of building on his first ever podium in the quarter litre class. Hector Barbera headed a tight group battling for fifth position, which included his countrymen Julian Simon and the aforementioned Lorenzo. Yuki Takahashi, Thomas Luthi and Sepang race winner Hiroshi Aoyama completed the top ten. Looking to fight with the leaders at his home track, Alvaro Bautista crashed out of the race on lap 20. 125cc As expected, the thrilling battle for the 125cc World Championship went right down to the last lap in Valencia, but not even a popular home victory was enough for Hector Faubel to deny Gabor Talmacsi the lower cylinder class title. The duo both had bad starts from the front two positions on the grid, but by the end of the first lap Talmacsi had pushed through the pack to lead the race. A man with a plan, the Hungarian extended his lead, before his Aspar team-mate and title rival set a blistering series of fast laps to begin the battle in earnest by lap nine. Attempting to slow down the pace with the intention of allowing other riders to pass Talmacsi, Faubel made moves every lap on the championship leader. It nearly worked, with third Aspar rider Sergio Gadea able to move up into contention by the final lap. Tense moments followed, including a pair of near-collisions between the trio, before Faubel salvaged something for the day by crossing the line first for his second victory in as many years at his home circuit. Talmacsi was overjoyed as he snatched second place, the 26 year-old confirming himself as the first ever Hungarian World Champion in history. He will stay on in the Aspar team to defend his title next season before moving up to 250cc in 2009. Gadea completed the all-Aspar podium, with Mattia Pasini just behind him on his final 125cc race. He in turn held off Lukas Pesek, who was unable to make up the 15 point deficit on Tomoyoshi Koyama that would have moved him up to third in the overall classification. Esteve Rabat completed the top six, ahead of Pablo Nieto, Bradley Smith, Koyama and Pol Espargaro. More, from a press release issued by KONICA MINOLTA Honda: Valencia, Spain, Sunday 4th November 2007 Points for KONICA MINOLTA Honda at final MotoGP race of 2007 KONICA MINOLTA Honda took their last points of the year at today’s final MotoGP race of 2007. Shinya Nakano took 14th place at the end of the 30-lap race around the 2.764-mile Valencia circuit. Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won the race, helping him to second-place in the riders’ championship. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Our result today was not so good, but Shinya was fighting to get into the top ten, but again he had the problems we’ve had all year. Eventually he couldn’t push or be more aggressive with the bike or he would lose the front. I would like to thank Shinya for his efforts this year, as he’s a very professional rider. I would also like to thank our technical partners and sponsors who have supported us, even if the results were under our original expectations. Our expectations were higher, but this is racing and we have to be realistic. Despite this we have worked well with our partners and our cooperation with them has been excellent. We created something special for our partners and irrespective of our results on the track our partners have been satisfied with our results off of it this is our difference. I would like to thank KONICA MINOLTA, Honda, HRC, Michelin and all of our sponsors for their support this year and all the team for their hard-work, professionalism and dedication.” Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda (14th) “Another very difficult race and one which has basically summed up the whole season. My start was so-so, but I found that I could overtake some riders going into turn two. At the beginning my pace wasn’t so bad, but from the middle of the race I found that I couldn’t improve my lap times. It was another big battle from 16th to 12th with riders like Carlos Checa, Colin Edwards and myself. Eventually I finished in 14th place. This year we’ve struggled with front-end feeling from the RC212V, which has been a big problem, as my style needs this. I’ve crashed a few times this season because of this, but I’m pleased to be ending the year without any injuries. I would like to thank Luca and Giulio for always supporting me and keeping me motivated during this difficult year and also the rest of the team. This is an excellent team but unfortunately the results haven’t been there for us this year.” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Today’s race was indicative of our whole season, really. Our technical package wasn’t so bad today, but all year we’ve seen that our potential just isn’t high enough to compete with the leading group of riders. This has been our major problem we’ve always been racing at the very limit of our technical package and it’s been very difficult to move forwards. Today was no different. It’s a shame as racing is about having problems, testing to solve the problems and then moving forward. It has been very difficult to do that this year. I want to thank Shinya, as for a rider like him it’s not so easy to manage such a difficult season. Despite our frustrations and difficulties, we have had a good personal relationship. I would also like to thank the few persons who worked hard through a very long season.” GP de la Comunitat Valenciana – Race results 1) Dani Pedrosa Honda 46′ 43.533″ 2) Casey Stoner Ducati 46′ 48.980″ 3) John Hopkins Suzuki 47′ 03.937″ 4) Marco Melandri Honda 47′ 08.360″ 5) Loris Capirossi Ducati 47′ 09.337″ 14) Shinya Nakano Honda 47′ 33.753″ More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner and Hopkins end Bridgestone’s competitive season in style Round 18 Valencia Race Circuit Ricardo Tormo Sunday 4 November 2007 2007 MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner ended his title-winning season in style by laying claim to his 14th podium finish of the year with a solid second place in this afternoon’s Valencia GP behind Spanish Honda rider Dani Pedrosa. Departing Suzuki rider John Hopkins rounded out a five-year career at the team with third place, his fourth podium of the 2007 season, which secures him an excellent fourth place in the championship, just two points ahead of Honda Gresini’s Marco Melandri who finished in fourth place this afternoon. Loris Capirossi enjoyed a strong afternoon in his final race for Ducati with fifth place ahead of Chris Vermeulen, whose sixth place rewards Suzuki with third in the team’s classification, just one point adrift of the Repsol Honda squad. Pramac d’Antin rider Alex Barros and Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet, also in their final races with their respective teams, ensured that all five Bridgestone-equipped teams finished the season with top ten results. The twenty points earned for second ensure Stoner has taken points at every single event of the season and his total points tally to a remarkable 367. Valencia marked Bridgestone’s 100th race participation in MotoGP bringing to an end its most competitive season by far. Bridgestone-shod riders have taken 12 race wins this season with Stoner and Hopkins’s rostrum trip today increasing the number of podiums to 33 from a possible 54. For Bridgestone, though, the 2008 season begins in Valencia on Tuesday when testing resumes. Hiroshi Yamada Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Sport Unit “That was a tough thirty laps for all riders today and a very high standard set by Dani Pedrosa. I would like to say well done to all five of our teams for taking top ten results in this final race of the season. Casey has performed like a true champion in every race this year and his second place today was another fine example of this. He has taken top six results at every race and thoroughly deserves his championship title. John’s podium was another great result in a competitive season for Suzuki, congratulations to them also. Of course the racing season never truly stops but, for Bridgestone, we will enjoy a brief moment of reflection on our most competitive season ever, after our 100th MotoGP race. Overall though, I am overjoyed with this year’s results and performance and I would like to convey my personal thanks to our staff and to all our teams and riders for their invaluable contribution throughout the season. But our preparations for 2008 will already start on Tuesday.” Atsushi Tomura Bridgestone Corporation General Manager, Motorcycle Tyre Development “I am pleased with the performance of our tyres in today’s race, especially considering the challenging nature of this Valencia circuit. The degradation and grip levels were within our expectations, but it was a long race and tough on the tyres, particularly on the left hand side in the closing stages of the race. Looking back on this amazing season, I am very happy with our results and I would like to say thank you to everyone involved in Bridgestone’s MotoGP activities, both at the track and in Japan, for a great job this season. Also thanks to our five teams I sincerely hope that they have enjoyed as many benefits from our technical relationship as we have. Our sights are already on 2008 and we will keep pushing hard to improve our tyre performance.” Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 2nd place in Valencia GP and 2007 MotoGP World Champion “I’m happy with the way I rode today and I think I got the most of out the bike and I’m reasonably happy with th e way the weekend has gone. Dani just rode a faultless race and didn’t make any mistakes and deserves this win. Definitely I expected the pace to be in the low 1:33s, but I didn’t expect it to be quite that fast for so long. At the beginning of the race everything seemed quite good and then Dani came past and pulled a bit of an advantage straight away and I just wasn’t able to claw it back. With five laps to go I started to lose quite a lot of grip on the left hand side of the rear tyre, and I just decided to call it a day. We were quite a distance in front of the rest and our pace had been really strong.” Bridgestone Race Results Front Rear P2 Casey Stoner Ducati 46m43.533s +5.447s Slick Soft Slick Soft P3 John Hopkins Suzuki 47m03.937s +20.404s Slick Soft Slick Soft P4 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 47m08.360s +24.827s Slick Medium Slick Soft P5 Loris Capirossi Ducati 47m09.337s +25.804s Slick Soft Slick Soft P6 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 47m09.395s +25.862s Slick Soft Slick Soft P7 Alex Barros Pramac d’Antin 47m13.003s +29.470s Slick Medium Slick Soft P9 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 47m14.428s +30.895s Slick Medium Slick Medium P10 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 47m14.563s +31.030s Slick Medium Slick Soft P16 Anthony West Kawasaki 47m58.902s +1m15.244s Slick Medium Slick Medium (16”) Weather: Dry. Air 19°C, Track 25°C, Humidity 43% (Taken from official MotoGP timesheet) More, from a press release issued by Honda Gresini: MELANDRI JUST OFF THE PODIUM At Valencia Marco finishes 4th, Toni Elias is 10th Marco Melandri and Toni Elias fought with determination in the final race of the year. After starting relatively low on the grid Marco Melandri and Toni Elias both got away well to make up several places at the start of the race. Marco, in particular, had a strong start to recover five positions in moving from tenth up to fifth, the Honda Gresini rider soon getting up to successfully battle with Nicky Hayden for fourth. Third place was just out of his reach though as he was unable to catch John Hopkins who finished the race behind leading pair Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Fourth place saw Marco end the season fifth in the championship, missing fourth overall by just two points. Toni Elias also fought competitively to make up four places from 14th at the start, but was not as quick as he would have hoped in the early laps and eventually had to settle for tenth. The Honda Gresini Team would officially like to thank Marco Melandri and Toni Elias for their efforts this season and for some great years together – three with Marco and two with Toni – with have brought success and satisfaction to us all. MARCO MELANDRI (4th in race, 5th in World Championship with 187 points): “I knew that it a would be a tough race, but today was much harder than in practice. I made a good start to gain five places but I lacked feeling in the front end and the bike was moving around a lot. I fought with Hayden for fourth and was looking for Hopkins, but it wasn’t possible on this occasion. It’s disappointing because I wanted a podium and I’ve missed out on fourth place in championship by two points to John. I wanted a better result but thanks to Fausto and the team for all their hard work.” TONI ELIAS (10th in race, 12th in World Championship with 104 points): “I made a good start, but I struggled a lot in the first ten laps with a full tank, and was not getting enough grip. Once my pace improved I went after Vemeulen, De Puniet and Capirossi but couldn’t catch them. It’s a shame because I wanted to end the season with a better result. I want to thank the team and Fausto for the two last years. They have been like a family to me and they helped me get my first MotoGP win.” FAUSTO GRESINI: “Marco had a good race and was lapping at a decent pace but he was let down by his starting position. We thank him for three great seasons, and his first win in Turkey in 2005 is a special memory. His overall record with us of five victories and 17 podiums and his second in the World Championship in his first year with the team speaks for itself. Toni deserves another big ‘thank you’ after two years with us, in which he took his first MotoGP win last year and then got two further podiums this year.” More, from a press release issued by KTM: Pole sitter Kallio snatches final 250cc Grand Prix at Valencia Red Bull KTM rider and master tactician Mika Kallio rode a cool headed race at the 250 cc Grand Prix on the Valencia circuit Sunday to snatch victory in the final laps of the last 250 cc world championship race of the season. Kallio, no stranger to the 125cc podium in Valencia thus wrapped up his rookie season in 250 in style. His victory was a season third for KTM in 250cc. Kallio also won in Japan and team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama in Germany where he and Kallio gave KTM their first ever 1-2 podium in 250 cc. Between them, Kallio and Aoyama delivered a satisfying eight podiums in the current season. The 24-year old Finn got away well and in the first half of the race tucked into the leading group, oscillating between third and fourth and waited for his opportunity to take the lead. He put in his fastest lap in lap 20 clocking 1:35,659 for a new lap record. Then, on the penultimate lap, Kallio overtook race leader Alex de Angelis, and pulled away to win with a margin of almost four tenths of a seconds. After the race, Kallio said his bike became progressively easier to handle as he used up fuel during the 27 laps. He said although he dropped down the order in the opening phase he was confident that he would be able to catch the front of the pack as the race progressed. “Getting past Alvaro Bautista wasn’t an easy task. I tried many things but I couldn’t find a way past. He was very fast and also very good on the brakes. But then he crashed and I had a clear track ahead of me. I kept going, produced good lap times and saw that I was able to catch de Angelis. I took the first opportunity to overtake him. I waited for him to respond on the last lap but I had already opened up a little bit of a gap and won.” Kallio said he was now very confident for next season and underlined that the team would be chasing the 250 cc title in 2008. What was a glory day for Kallio was less successful for Aoyama, who didn’t quite have the set-up to stay with the front runners. He struggled in most corners of the Ricardo Tormo track and finished in tenth position. “I couldn’t go so fast in the corners. I lost time on every lap, and it was very stressful to keep on pushing. We couldn’t find the right set-up this weekend, and even though I was pushing for all 27 laps, I couldn’t go as fast as I wanted. It was a handling and a feeling problem more than a tyre grip problem. But I believe that we can improve for next year.” Kallio finishes the season in seventh place with 157 championship points, just three points behind Aoyama in sixth place. Results Valencia 1. Mika Kallio, Finland, KTM, 43:28.349 2. Alex de Angeles, San Marino, Aprilia, 43:28.720 3. Alex Debon, Spain, Aprilia, 43:35.146 4. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy, Honda, 43:35.229 5. Hector Barbera, Spain, Aprilia, 43:41.116 10. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, KTM, 43:48.572 Koyama wraps up 125cc season third in the world championship Red Bull KTM’s Tomoyoshi Koyama wrapped up his 125cc Grand Prix season in Valencia, going through the flag in ninth position for seven championship points to finish in third overall for the 2007 season. To round off the season at the Spanish racing circuit, Koyama fought tooth and nail to overcome persistent set-up problems and eventually secured a creditable finish in the top ten of the world’s elite 125 cc racers. Koyama said it had been a difficult weekend. “Whenever I was late on the brakes, the rear would step out and start sliding. It was difficult to find the right braking points and to keep my concentration in the corner exits. Every time I opened the gas, the rear would slide.” Given the problems he experienced Koyama said it was “not bad” to finish in ninth place. “All in all I am happy because I am third in the championship and took six podiums, which was much better than last year.” Unflaggingly optimistic, Koyama concluded: “Next year I want to go two positions up!” The diminutive Japanese rider won at Catalyuna earlier in the season and was three times second and twice third. Swiss team-mate Randy Krummenacher took one world championship point in fifteenth place with American Steve Bonsey right on his back wheel at sixteenth. Krummenacher was disappointed with his performance. “This was one of my worst races, a real shame. I saw from the beginning that I couldn’t brake any later as I did, and therefore I was caught in battles with people that I normally pass very easily.” His younger team-mate American teenager Steve Bonsey was more optimistic.”That was a good fight, with Randy and a couple of others! I saw Randy up there and didn’t know if I would be able to reach him, but that was obviously what I as shooting for. I got closer and closer, and finally got up to him and ahead of this group,” he said. Results Valencia 1. Hector Faubel, Spain, Aprilia 40:14.228 2. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia 40:14.413 3. Sergio Gadea, Spain, Aprilia 40:14.514 4. Mattia Pasini, Italy, Aprilia 40:40:15.054 5. Lukas Pesek, Czech Republic 40:15.106 9.Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, KTM 40:32.962 (third place in the World Championship) 15. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, KTM 40:53.934 16. Stevie Bonsey, USA, KTM, 40: 55.105 More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: HEARTBREAKING END TO SEASON FOR ROSSI AND YAMAHA Valentino Rossi’s hopes of securing the runner-up spot in the championship ended in the unluckiest of fashions today, when a technical issue brought the injured Italian’s race to a premature end in Valencia. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards also had a disappointing race and finished 13th in his final race for the Factory Team, after starting from 15th. Having broken three bones in his hand after crashing in qualifying yesterday, Rossi bravely decided to race, his 192nd consecutive start since his 125cc debut in 2006. Forced to start from 17th after completing only five laps in qualifying, he needed to finish 15th or higher in order to secure second place in the championship from Pedrosa, who started on pole. By mid-race distance he had gone one better, having passed Anthony West, Shinya Nakano and Makoto Tamada to take 14th. However on lap 18 Rossi ran into unexpected problems with his bike and he was forced to retire, only able look on as Pedrosa went on to win the race and take the championship runner-up spot by just one point. Edwards meanwhile had made up three places from his starting position to 12th, but was limited by a lack of grip and unable to make any headway to the next group of riders. A late battle with Carlos Checa however, who was riding in his last MotoGP race, went the way of the Spaniard and Edwards was forced to settle for 13th across the line and ninth place in the championship on his Fiat Yamaha farewell. Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, commented after the race, “This final race has been a very disappointing end to a long and hard season. I feel very sorry that our machine failed Valentino today and denied him the second place in the championship that he surely deserved. His ride today with a broken hand showed his fighting spirit and his passion for racing. Colin’s last race for the Yamaha Factory Team was also a disappointing end to his season. I would like to anyway thank Colin for his commitment to Yamaha and for his great teamwork during the last three years. We also look forward to having him in the Yamaha family as our next-door neighbour in 2008. Last but not least I would like to thank all members of the Factory Team and the Yamaha MotoGP staff for their tireless dedication and commitment all year long. We will now put our full focus on next year. We have a lot of work ahead of us in order to come back stronger and faster and to return to winning ways for the 2008 MotoGP World Championship.” Colin Edwards Position: 13th Time: +46.572 “There’s really nothing to say about today so I’ll just leave that be! It was my last race with the Factory Team and everyone knows I wanted a better goodbye than this, but there was little I could do today. I’m very thankful to everyone in this team for the last three years, which have without doubt been some of the most memorable of my racing career. A huge thanks to Yamaha, to Michelin and to everyone in the team; it’s been great fun. I’m very glad I’m staying with Yamaha and now I’m just looking forward to getting started with the new bike!” Valentino Rossi Position: DNF Time: 11 Laps “I have no words. For sure, after today, I can say that it’s not just a matter of misfortune. I did everything I could in order to be on the grid today, because I wanted to try and confirm my second place in the championship, which I think I deserved. I was riding very fast, even though my bike was not perfect. When I got into 14th place, I told myself that my task was done, but I was feeling quite good and I wanted to try to pass some more riders. Unfortunately however I felt that I had a problem with my bike and I was forced to come in. Now we are checking the data to understand what happened, because at the moment it’s not so clear. I will need 20 days to fix my hand and then I will be back in Jerez to start my winter testing programme. I’d like to thank Claudio Costa and Marco Montanari, as well as everyone at the Clinica Mobile, because they made a great effort with my hand to enable me to race today.” Fiat Yamaha Team Davide Brivio Team Director “We hoped for a much better end to the season and we would like to say sorry to Valentino because he made a great effort to race with his broken hand. Unfortunately a technical problem stopped him from getting the second place and we’re very sad about this. Our engineers are doing everything they can now to understand what happened today, because Valentino felt that he had a problem and that the engine was not working properly. From our first analysis we are not yet sure what the problem was, so we have decided to send the engine back to Japan for further investigation. Colin was only able to finish 13th and it’s a shame also that he couldn’t finish the season and his Factory Team career on a better note. We’re glad however that he’s staying in the Yamaha family and we wish him all the best. It seems that Valencia hasn’t been a very lucky track for us over the last couple of years, but what happened today will just give us a stronger motivation for next season. We start testing again this month and we will do everything we can to be at the top of the championship again next year. Thanks to the team and everyone involved; there have been some very difficult moments this year but we will try again in 2008.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM COMPLETES GLORIOUS 2007 SEASON WITH 2ND & 5TH PLACES AT VALENCIA Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner finished a hard-fought second in today’s tense, season-ending Valencia Grand Prix watched by an appreciative 132,500 fans. Loris Capirossi finished his final race for the team in fifth place after a spirited ride from eighth on the grid. The race concluded a remarkable season for World Champion Stoner who has scored ten victories and a further four podiums from 18 races. The awesome Aussie scored a tally of 367 points equalling the all-time points record and putting him an amazing 125 points ahead of series runner-up Dani Pedrosa, who won today’s race. Stoner’s stunning run of victories and Capirossi’s Motegi win also helped Ducati to the constructors’ crown and the Ducati Marlboro Team to the teams’ title. Stoner led the first five laps of today’s race before Pedrosa came past. The pair set a blisteringly fast pace that soon moved them well clear of the pack, the gap between them growing by a tenth here, shrinking by a tenth there. Capirossi’s farewell ride, after five seasons and seven victories, including Ducati’s debut MotoGP win in 2003, took the Italian to seventh overall. The team’s Desmosedici GP7 machines wore a special ‘Made In Italy’ livery today and the duo were cheered all the way by the entire Ducati Corse staff, flown into Valencia from Bologna this morning aboard a specially chartered plane. CASEY STONER, 2nd place, World Champion on 367 points “I expected the pace to be low 33s, but I didn’t expect it to be so fast for so long. Everything seemed good, then Dani came past and pulled a bit of an advantage straight away and I wasn’t able to claw it back. I could pretty much hold it, then he’d eke out a tenth or two, then I’d get some of it back, then he’d take out a little more. He rode a faultless race, so he deserved the win. I’m happy for him because I now know what it’s like to win your home GP – it’s a very good feeling, especially in this class. We were pushing hard and I had a couple of front-end slides but the bike was feeling good. Then with five laps to go I lost some grip, so I eased off a bit because we were quite a distance in front of the rest. I’m happy with the way I rode, I got the best out of the bike, so I’m reasonably happy. It’s been a fantastic year, we can’t say anything bad about it, my worst result was the race where we won the championship so the title made up for that! I think next year everyone will come out a little tougher, a little stronger, so I’m going to make sure I do everything I can to come out on top again.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 5th place, 7th in World Championship on 166 points “I felt emotional when I came into the pits after my last race for Ducati. Saying goodbye is always very difficult. We’ve had a lot of good times together and although this year has been difficult, I’ve won a race and scored three more podiums. I wish to thank all my team, all the Ducati people and all the Ducati fans who have supported me. I think we worked very well this weekend and today the bike was working not so bad. I had some difficulties with the tyres because my style, which uses a lot of lean angle, works the tyres very hard. I made a decent race, not bad and not good. I had a good duel with Nicky [Hayden] but that lost me contact with Marco [Melandri]. Anyway, this season is over and now it’s time to think of the future.” CLAUDIO DOMENICALI, CEO Ducati Corse “It’s been an incredible season, with Casey winning more than half the races. He’s been amazing, so our thanks to him. Today he finished on the podium again, though we thought we had the chance of another win after his strong practice performance. Dani was very fast and consistent so he beat us, which shows the level of competition. We hoped Loris would also finish on the podium, which would’ve been a great way to complete his time with us. We cannot thank him enough, because this year’s results have a lot to do with the work he’s done with us over the past five seasons.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Hopkins signs off with a stunning podium John Hopkins ended his Suzuki Grand Prix career in style today at Valencia in Spain, by powering his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to a fantastic third place at the final race of the season. Starting from seventh on the grid, the Anglo-American made a fantastic start and was in fourth position by the first corner. He then passed Nicky Hayden to move in to third on lap four and pulled away from the 2006 World Champion. Hopkins tried to chase down the two riders in front of him, but the gap was already too large and he had to settle for a race against the clock as he was never troubled by another rider for the remaining laps. An emotional Hopkins crossed the line with his front wheel in the air to celebrate his best-ever result at Valencia, his fourth podium of the season and fourth position overall in the Riders’ Championship. Chris Vermeulen had a good start from the fourth row but got boxed in on the first lap and found himself in 12th place after the first lap. The aggressive nature of the Australian again came to the fore as he battled his way through the field to get up to sixth position. He finished the race just 0.058 behind fifth place and only just over a second off fourth. His 10 points were enough to secure him sixth place in the championship and also confirm Rizla Suzuki MotoGP the third position in the Team’s Championship missing out on second place by just one point. Today’s race was watched by 132,500 fans at trackside and the partisan Spanish crowd were treated to a victory by home hero Dani Pedrosa on his factory Honda, a result that secured him second in the championship behind today’s runner-up Casey Stoner. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now stay in Spain for a two-day test on Tuesday and Wednesday, before continuing with a further testing schedule through the close-season in readiness for the 2008 MotoGP World Championship that begins in Qatar in March. John Hopkins: “I have just got to thank everyone at Suzuki – that is my first and foremost task. To every member at Suzuki I want to pass on my ultimate thanks to them, Suzuki has given me my life in MotoGP and established my career and I just cannot show enough gratitude to them. “Today the tyres and the bike worked awesome and I just went for it from the beginning! I got a good start and then got around Nicky Hayden, but from there it was a pretty lonely race. I just had to push myself against the clock and make sure I pulled away from the riders behind me. I succeeded in that but it was very emotional on the last few laps with that comfort and I had to concentrate real hard to keep focused! It’s a great result because my Mum, sister, fiancée and her family are all here today so it was an unbelievable feeling when I crossed the line it was a great way to end the year. I would have liked to have put the bike on the top step for Rizla Suzuki and especially all my crew, but that’s for Dani and the home fans today! “I just want to say thanks once again, it’s been a fantastic five years and I’ve had a top time, now I just want to take it all in tonight and have a good time with the boys!” Chris Vermeulen: “It was a tough race today with having to start from the fourth row. I got a bit boxed in on the first corner and it was hard to pass some of the guys as they were running quite wide on some parts of the track. Once it settled down I got into a rhythm and was able to pass them. The pace at the front was very hot and I felt like I had the speed to run with John, but he had a much better advantage after the first few laps. We finished sixth in the end and sixth in the championship, it’s been a good season and we have improved a lot this year. We have a number of new things coming so it looks like being a very exciting future. “I’d like to thank everybody for their help this year especially my crew and Chief Technician Tom O’Kane, and congratulations to John on his third place today. It’s been a great two years working with him and it will be sad to see him go. I wish him good luck next year and hope he does well as long as we beat him!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “I am really happy with the end result today for the whole team, and especially for John who has been loyal, hard working and has always given 100% during his five seasons with Suzuki. During the last two years we have given him massively improved equipment and that has enabled him to take big steps forward. Today he gave everything for us and thoroughly deserved his podium, and to finish his Suzuki career on a high. On behalf of the whole team I would like to thank him for some great times on and off the track and we all wish him well in the future he’ll certainly be missed! “Chris’s potential was to fight with John for a podium position, but it’s difficult to come from 12th on the first lap and get past the quality of riders that are out there on this type of circuit. However, as always he raced aggressively and maintained lap-times right till the end, and only missed fourth place by a second. “Suzuki did not win the World Championship this season, but we have to put that into context with the starting point from 2005 and 2006 and I believe Rizla Suzuki as a team, Suzuki as a factory and all Suzuki fans worldwide can be proud of our achievements. We are the only manufacturer not to suffer a mechanical breakdown in any race this year, both riders finished in the top-six of the championship and we missed second in the team’s championship by only one point. This is a solid position to move forward from and I want to thank every single person involved in the project for their commitment, hard work and efforts!” G.P. bwin.com De La Comunitat Valenciana Race Classification 1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 46’43.533: 2. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +5.447: 3. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +20.404: 4. Marco Melandri (Honda) +24.827: 5. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +25.804: 6. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +25.862: World Championship Classification 1. Stoner 367: 2. Pedrosa 242: 3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 241: 4 JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 189: 5. Melandri 187: 6. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 179: More, from a press release issued by Michelin: MICHELIN MAN PEDROSA ENDS 2007 WITH A FLOURISH Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) rode to a thrilling victory in today’s MotoGP season finale at Valencia, beating Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici) by an impressive 5.447 seconds after a nail-biting 30 laps. Pedrosa was in astonishing form, starting the race from pole position and leading from lap five all the way to the checkered flag, breaking the 990cc lap record by 0.176 seconds aboard his 800cc RC212V. His second victory of the year secured him second overall in the 2007 MotoGP World Championship, just one point ahead of Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) who didn’t finish today’s race. Rossi crashed out of yesterday’s qualifying session, breaking three bones in his right hand, and although he bravely elected to race he was unable to finish the grueling 30-lap event. The final event of the MotoGP season was watched by a record weekend crowd of 237,000 fans. “That was a fantastic race,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “The pace was very fast and we were very happy to see that Dani could maintain a quick pace all the way to the finish. It’s great for him to win in front of his fans and also great for us. This is one of the most demanding tracks in MotoGP so we are very happy to have scored pole position, the race win and established a new lap record here. This result shows that we are improving the performance of our tires. We had some good results in recent tests, getting good feedback from our riders, and today’s result shows that we are going in the right direction. This win is very positive for us and very motivating for winter testing and for next season.” “Casey and I were going fast all race, I didn’t expect the pace to be that quick,” said Pedrosa. “I pushed very hard in the early laps to catch him, I was riding at my maximum and was really focused on my job. Once I was in front I had to keep pushing because he didn’t give up. Towards the end of the race the tires started to move around a bit, so I was changing my style to get more grip. Winning this last race is very important for me, for my team and also for Michelin. I think we all did a good job, my thanks to all of them. We start testing next week with HRC and Michelin and I’m looking forward to it. MotoGP technology is developing very fast, so we need to work hard on our new bike, it’s going to be an interesting test.” Weber also welcomed the revised tire regulations, announced this weekend, which increase each rider’s race allocation from 31 tires to 40 tires and open up options for track testing. “This year it was quite difficult for us to adapt to the 2007 rules but the new rules are better,” he said. “Next year there will be the opportunity to test at new tracks and fully resurfaced tracks with test riders, which will be useful for everyone. Also, everyone will already have experience of all the tracks with the 800s. Finally, I’d like to say thanks to all the riders who have supported us this year and we look forward to working with our partners into 2008.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: Grand Prix of Valencia Sunday November 4 2007 Weather: Dry and sunny. Temperature: Air 19 degrees C, ground 25 C. Crowd: Race day 132,500, weekend 237,149. PEDROSA WINS TO TAKE SECOND IN TITLE STANDINGS This was the MotoGP race that Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) wanted to win to sign off his season in style and take the coveted runner-up spot in the World Championship. He was a cut above the rest today with Casey Stoner (Ducati) was second and John Hopkins (Suzuki) third. Stoner rocketed into the lead form the lights and had established a three-quarter second lead by the end of the first tour of this 4.005km circuit. The Aussie obliterated the lap record on lap two and it looked as if the new World Champion might run away with this race. But Dani knew otherwise. On lap three Pedrosa was holding Stoner in check and this lead pair had a 2.3 second advantage over first Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) and then Hopkins when he stole past the former World Champion on lap four. Conditons were perfect for racing under sunny skies with a temperature of 19 degrees and the track at 25. Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) began attacking Hayden for fourth place and the Honda duo swapped places twice on lap four, the lap when Dani decided to run the race at his own increasingly rapid pace. Pedrosa set a fastest lap of 1m 32.748s as he closed on Stoner. Dani took him on lap six and two laps later the 21-year-old Spanish star had a 0.6 second advantage, another two laps later it was 1.1 seconds and Stoner had no reply. Nor did the rest of the field. And Dani’s rival for second overall in the World Championship, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), was struggling at the back of the field nursing a hand injury sustained in qualifying yesterday. Dani, starting from his fourth consecutive pole of the season finally put his late season dominance to full effect and rode lap after lap at blistering pace annihilating the opposition. He wanted second overall, but perhaps more than that, Dani wanted a Grand Prix win again. Rossi slowed on lap 18 with machine trouble and then pitted a lap later, his race run. Dani was now riding for both the win and the runner-up slot and he was never going to be stopped. His margin at the finish was a massive 5.5 seconds over Stoner. Behind them Hopkins had consolidated third while Hayden was slipping down the order having lost fourth place to Melandri on lap 19, fifth spot to Loris Capirossi (Ducati) on lap 26 and then succumbing to Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) who took sixth from him on the penultimate lap. Dani, who is now the only rider ever to have won here in all three classes from pole while setting fastest race laps too, said: “I’m very happy with this result. I really wanted to win this race very much and so actually achieving it feels fantastic. In the early laps I was struggling a little with grip from the front tyre but then in the second half of the race it was very good. The pace today was really fast and Casey was chasing hard so there was no moment to relax or back off. Towards the end of the race I was sliding in some of the left-handers but I was still able to push hard. Thanks to the team because they worked very hard for me this weekend and all year and the bike was perfect today.” Melandri was fourth. He said: “I knew that it a would be a tough race, but today was much harder than in practice. I made a good start to gain five places but I lacked feeling in the front-end and the bike was moving around a lot. I fought with Hayden for fourth and was looking for Hopkins, but it wasn’t possible on this occasion. It’s disappointing because I wanted a podium and I’ve missed out on fourth place in the World Championship by two points to John. I wanted a better result, but thanks to Fausto and the team for all their hard work.” Hayden, eighth at the flag, after Alex Barros (Ducati) took seventh off him on the last lap, said: “Well, we knew all weekend that we were on the back foot and the race proved it. We made a lot of changes for warm-up this morning and the package felt a bit better, but still we didn’t have the pace we needed for the race. I got a pretty good start but there were a few places on the lap where I was too weak and this made it quite a difficult race for me. It’s been a tough year so now we’ll go back to work. Thanks to the team for all their hard work this year. We’re going to keep working hard so we can do a lot better next year.” Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) finished tenth and said: “I made a good start, but I struggled a lot in the first ten laps with a full tank, and was not getting enough grip. Once my pace improved I went after Vermeulen, de Puniet and Capirossi but couldn’t catch them. It’s a shame because I wanted to end the season with a better result. I want to thank the team and Fausto for the two last years. They have been like a family to me and they helped me get my first MotoGP win.” Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V), 12th in his final MotoGP race, despite riding with a severe stomach complaint said: “I’m a little emotional because I still have a great feeling for this fantastic sport. My aim was just to finish the race as way of saying goodbye to my fans and friends and seven laps from the finish I started to have a lot pain in my stomach. Grand Prix racing has been a great part of my life but now I start a new adventure in Superbikes.” Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) was 14th and said: “Another very difficult race and one which has basically summed up the whole season. My start was so-so, but I found that I could overtake some riders going into turn two. At the beginning my pace wasn’t so bad, but from the middle of the race I found that I couldn’t improve my lap times. I’ve crashed a few times this season because of this, but I’m pleased to be ending the year without any injuries. This is an excellent team but unfortunately the results haven’t been there for us this year.” Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V) retired on ten. He said: “The thing just never worked right. We did 1m 34s lap times pretty easily in practice, and a 1m 33s lap to qualify. I was riding just the same in the race and we couldn’t even see 1m 34s. My last lap was a 1m 36s. The engine started missing really bad off the bottom, and got progressively worse from the first lap on. I couldn’t do anything to keep up with them. It got slower and slower.” Mika Kallio (KTM) won the 250cc race from Alex de Angelis with Alex Debon third (both Aprilia). With Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) already crowned World Champion, this was perhaps a race where Kallio established himself as one of the new front men in the class. Lorenzo got the holeshot and as the order settled down he was followed by Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda RS250RW) and Alex de Angelis (Aprilia). But is was soon de Angelis who then made the running by mid-race distance of this 27-lapper with Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) hounding him. When Bautista crashed out on lap 20, Kallio had entered the fray and he timed his charge to the front to perfection taking the lead on the penultimate lap and holding it resolutely until the flag from de Angelis. And Alex Debon (Aprilia) denied Dovizioso as the pair fought to the finish for third. Dovi said: 4th “My position is better than I expected before the race but not what I expected as the race went on even though my race pace was good/ My start was unbelievable and I was with Lorenzo very quickly and just sat behind him waiting but I saw he was not so fast. When De Angelis passed us and went away I realised it was not possible to follow him so I waited for Bautista and Kallio to do the same and tried to stay with them. But coming off the last corner onto the straight they just pulled away from me it is very frustrating to have to race under those conditions. The chassis suspension and tyres were great its just the lack of power that causes the problem for us. I am very unhappy with the way things have gone this season. But now we go to MotoGP where we will have plenty of power but I know this year could have been very different.” Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW) finished sixth and said: “Not so bad in the end. My start was not so good the worst of this year and I apologise to the team for that. But I worked hard after the slow start and pushed really hard and caught the group and was able to stay with them till the end. The bike was good, chassis, engine and suspension, even in T13 where I was having trouble in qualifying. I’ve enjoyed this season and thank my team for everything. Now we get ready for next year and I hope to improve again and get on the podium.” Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda RS250RW) was eighth. He said: “I made a very bad start and at the first corner I braked too late, so many riders passed me. Then I tried to recover position but from the middle of the race on I maintained a fast pace but wasn’t able to reach the front because of the start error. Anyway I’m satisfied about the progress and I’m optimistic for next season.” Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) in 17th said: “Very bad race for me my worst overall performance. Yesterday I had a big crash and hurt my leg and hand. I took painkillers before the start, but not enough of them, and my hand was painful in the race. My start was not too bad and I could follow Julian (Simon) Takahashi san and my brother Hiro but on lap three I ran off track. When I rejoined the race I was almost last. I pushed again but finally I could only make 17th place.” Hector Faubel won the 125cc race from his team-mate Gabor Talmacsi with the third member of this three-rider Aprilia team, Sergio Gadea, in third. But it was the Hungarian Talmacsi who secured the World title here today. Talmacsi started from pole but it took him until the second lap to gain control of this race from the front of the field. Faubel, who had to win here with Talmacsi finishing fourth or lower, for the Spaniard to take the title, took a while to get on terms with Talmacsi. But on lap nine of this 24-lap contest, he was ahead of his rival. But Faubel ran wide at turn one several laps later and lost touch with Talmacsi until the closing laps when the duo swapped places with mesmerizing frequency and then were joined by a three-rider group headed by Gadea in the final two laps. But Gadea was never going to interfere in the intense fight between Talmacsi and Faubel and although Faubel took the win Talmacsi knew he had done enough to become the first ever Hungarian to win a World Championship in any motorsport discipline. Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda RS125R) finished sixth and said: “I got a terrible start and had to push really hard to make up places. I passed many riders but when I got on to the back of the last group I had to follow them. After about mid-race the rear tyre performance dropped off but only slowly and I could stay with them. But when Gadea caught and passed Pablo (Nieto) I could not get passed and lost ground. The only problem I had today was at T11 where the engine was not picking-up, I don’t know why but anyway it wasn’t a big problem. Thanks to my team who’ve given me their best every week we were the best Honda today.” His team-mate Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) was eighth and said: “My start was awesome. I was third at the end of lap one. I just tried to hang in there and had a good pace and it was only down the straight that they could pass me on power. I’ve had two top 10 finishes in the last two races and 10th in the World Championship so I have to be happy with that. Thanks to the team for everything they’ve done for me it’s been great working with them.” Honda riders quotes, GP Valencia, race November 4, 2007. MotoGP. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st “I’m very happy with this result. I really wanted to win this race very much and so actually achieving it feels fantastic. The race was very tough and I had to push at the maximum from start to finish. In the early laps I was struggling a little with grip from the front tyre but then in the second half of the race is was very good. The pace today was really fast and Casey was chasing hard so there was no moment to relax or back off. Towards the end of the race I was sliding in some of the left-handers but I was still able to push hard. I must say thanks to the team because they have worked very hard for me this weekend and all year and the bike was perfect today. Also I must thank Michelin too because the tyres were very good today. I didn’t know until I arrived in the parc ferme that I had second in the world championship and this was nice surprise. I didn’t expect this because there was only a very, very slim chance of doing this coming into this weekend. After quite a difficult season second place is better than third and gives the Repsol Honda Team some reward for sticking with it and never giving up this year. It will give us even more motivation for winter testing because we must now take another step forward so that we can arrive at the first race of 2008 with the best possible package. I think the crowd has enjoyed this weekend and I’m very proud to have given my fans a great result at my home circuit it’s a great feeling!” Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 4th “I knew that it a would be a tough race, but today was much harder than in practice. I made a good start to gain five places but I lacked feeling in the front end and the bike was moving around a lot. I fought with Hayden for fourth and was looking for Hopkins, but it wasn’t possible on this occasion. It’s disappointing because I wanted a podium and I’ve missed out on fourth place in championship by two points to John. I wanted a better result but thanks to Fausto and the team for all their hard work.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 8th “Well, we knew all weekend that we were on the back foot and the race proved it. We made a lot of changes for warm-up this morning and the package felt a bit better, but still we didn’t have the pace we needed for the race. I got a pretty good start but there were a few places on the lap where I was too weak and this made it quite a difficult race for me. I got past Melandri and held on to fourth for as long as I could but then to lose four places in the last five or six laps was tough to take. Still, the season’s in the books and we’ll start all over with testing on Tuesday. It’s been a tough year so now we’ll go back to work. Thanks to the team for all their hard work this year – everybody at Honda, Michelin, my mechanics and everyone who’s been behind me this year. We’re going to keep working hard so we can do a lot better next year.” Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 10th “I made a good start, but I struggled a lot in the first ten laps with a full tank, and was not getting enough grip. Once my pace improved I went after Vermeulen, De Puniet and Capirossi but couldn’t catch them. It’s a shame because I wanted to end the season with a better result. I want to thank the team and Fausto for the two last years. They have been like a family to me and they helped me get my first MotoGP win.” Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 12th “I’m a little emotional because I still have a great feeling for this fantastic sport, although I have been very sick this weekend. My aim was just to finish the race as a way of saying good-bye to my fans and friends and seven laps from the finish I started to have a lot pain in my stomach. But I enjoyed the battle with group of Tamada, Edwards and briefly Rossi. In the end I was ahead of them but unable to catch Guintoli. I was not aggressive from ninth position at the start, but as the feeling came to me I started to push hard to the finish. Grand prix racing has been a great part of my life but now I start a new adventure in Superbikes.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 14th “Another very difficult race and one which has basically summed up the whole season. My start was so-so, but I found that I could overtake some riders going into turn two. At the beginning my pace wasn’t so bad, but from the middle of the race I found that I couldn’t improve my lap times. It was another big battle from 16th to 12th with riders like Carlos Checa, Colin Edwards and myself. Eventually I finished in 14th place. This year we’ve struggled with front-end feeling from the RC212V, which has been a big problem, as my style needs this. I’ve crashed a few times this season because of this, but I’m pleased to be ending the year without any injuries. I would like to thank Luca and Giulio for always supporting me and keeping me motivated during this difficult year and also the rest of the team. This is an excellent team but unfortunately the results haven’t been there for us this year.” Kurtis Roberts, KR212V: Technical problem. “The thing just never worked right. We did 1’34 lap times pretty easily in practice, and a 1’33 to qualify. I was riding just the same in the race and we couldn’t even see 1’34. My last lap was a 1’36. The engine started missing really bad off the bottom, and got progressively worse from the first lap on. I couldn’t do anything to keep up with them. It got slower and slower, which is pretty bad for the slowest thing out there. Honda did a good job on their bikes obviously, but not ours.” Chuck Aksland – Team Manager, Team Roberts: “That wasn’t exactly what we hoped for, but there’s nothing you can do when the thing’s not running right. It just got worse with each lap. It was very inconsistent, and just got impossible to ride. It’s a shame because this morning’s warm-up went great, Kurtis has been riding hard and well all weekend, and could have had a good race. Anyway, that’s that – we go on to better things, hopefully. We need to thank all the fans who supported us and showed interest in the project this year, and to all our suppliers and technical staff for assisting as they could. And the team: they worked hard and never gave up. I think it is one of the strongest teams in the paddock. Hopefully we can get the programme together to get our results back where they should be”. 250cc: Andrea Dovizioso, Kopron Scot Honda: 4th “My position is better than I expected before the race but not what I expected as the race went on. My start was unbelievable and I was with Lorenzo very quickly and just sat behind him waiting but I saw he was not so fast. When De Angelis passed us and went away I realised it was not possible to follow him so I waited for Bautista and Kallio to do the same and tried to stay with them. But coming off the last corner onto the straight they just pulled away from me it is very frustrating to have to race under those conditions. The chassis suspension and tyres were great its just the lack of power that causes the problem for us. I am very unhappy with the way things have gone this season. But now we go to MotoGP where we will have plenty of power but I know this year could have been very different.” Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 6th.”Not so bad in the end. My start was not so god – the worst of this year and I apologise to the team for that. But I worked hard after the and pushed really hard and caught the group and was able to stay with them till the end. The bike was good, chassis, engine and suspension, even in T13 where I was having trouble in qualifying. I have enjoyed this season and thank my team for everything. Now we get ready for next year and I hope to improve again and get on the podium.” Yukio Takahashi, Kopron Scot Honda: 8th.”I made a very bad start and at the first corner I braked too strong, so many riders passed me. Then I tried to recover position but from the middle of the race on I maintained a fast pace but I wasn’t able to reach the front because of the error at the start. Anyway I’m satisfied about the progress I have made and I’m optimist for the next season. From now on I can just grow.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 15th.”It was important to be back in top 15, but a mistake at the start and another at the end of race prevented me to secure a better result. Anyway I think I had a good race, I was on the pace and I could fight with Baldolini until the end. It’s the end of the season and I’d like to thank the team and our sponsors for their support throughout the year, helping me in my debut. I’m very thankful to them and I hope to keep progressing like this in the future.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 17th.”Very bad race for me my worst overall performance. Yesterday I had a big crash and hurt my leg and hand I had took painkillers before the start but not enough and my hand was painful in the race. My start was not too bad and I could follow Julian (Simon) Takahashi san and m brother Hiro but on lap three I ran of the track. When I rejoined the race I was almost last. I pushed again but finally I could only make 17th place.” Eugene Laverty, LCR Honda: 21st. “It’s been a tough year but I’ve learnt a lot. On the first lap Fabrizio Lai crashed in front me and I ran wide into the gravel but it’s disappointing that we could not find the set-up to go faster. I was having huge slides.” 125cc. Tito Rabat, Repsol Honda: 6th “I got a terrible start and had to push really hard to make up places. I passed many riders but when I got on to the back of the last group I had to follow them. After about mid-race the rear tyre performance dropped off but only slowly and I could stay with them But when Gadea caught and passed Pablo (Nieto) I could not get passed and lost ground. The only problem I had today was at T11 where the engine was not picking-up, I don’t know why but anyway it wasn’t a big problem. I have to thank my team for the way they have helped me develop and given me their best every week we were the best Honda today.” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 8th “My start was awesome I was third at the end of lap one! I just tried to hang in there and had a good pace and it was only down the straight that they could pass me on power. After about 10 laps the rear started to slide badly on the left hand corners and I was lost the slipstream of the guys in front. After that they could run high 39 lap times while I could only run low 40s. I have had two top 10 finishes in the last two races and 10th in the championship so I have to be happy with that. I just wish to thank the team for everything they have done for me its been great working with them.” Alexis Masbou, FFM Honda: 14th “I had quite a good start but after that I was a little too fast entering the corners, with too much machine angle on the exit to accelerate well, and that¹s why the fast pack were able to move away early in the race. Then Juan Olive passed me, and I was able to catch a good pace again with better cornering lines. The lap times just followed and I was able to catch up. I finished the race on the side of Ranseder with whom we exchanged positions quite a few times. I thought I could pass him in the last straight line before the flag, but we touched in the last few hundred meters and the slipstreaming effect wasn¹t enough for me to pass him on the line. Once again, we saw today that finishing in the points is far from easy, but we made it.” Danny Webb, Molenaar Honda: 21st.”That was a brilliant race I really enjoyed it. I got a good start and was with a good group of about seven and we were chasing the last championship point. I would gain some places and then get re-passed. But after about 17 laps my rear tyre started to slide badly but I had a good lead over the next group so I decided not to take any risks and finish the race.” Mike Di Meglio, Kopron Scot Honda: 23rd.”Not a good race for me. I crashed in the warm up this morning the front end closed on me just like yesterday. Two crashes in two days is not so good and I raced with a sore back and right forearm and hand. I just could not concentrate my hand was too painful.” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 24th.”Not a good race for me at all! I crashed in practice and hurt my shoulder and that mad braking very difficult for me. I had a lot of pain and it affected my concentration I made too many silly little mistakes. Pity because my bike was really very good all weekend.” Results MotoGP Race Classification MotoGP : (30 laps = 120.15 km) Pos/ Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap 1 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 46’43.533 / 154.283 / 2 / Casey STONER / AUS / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 46’48.980 / 153.984 / 5.447 3 / John HOPKINS / USA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 47’03.937 / 153.169 / 20.404 4 / Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Honda Gresini / HONDA / 47’08.360 / 152.929 / 24.827 5 / Loris CAPIROSSI / ITA / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 47’09.337 / 152.876 / 25.804 6 / Chris VERMEULEN / AUS / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 47’09.395 / 152.873 / 25.862 7 / Alex BARROS / BRA / Pramac d’Antin / DUCATI / 47’13.003 / 152.678 / 29.470 8 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 47’13.866 / 152.632 / 30.333 9 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 47’14.428 / 152.602 / 30.895 10 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / Honda Gresini / HONDA / 47’14.563 / 152.594 / 31.030 11 / Sylvain GUINTOLI / FRA / Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 47’22.296 / 152.179 / 38.763 12 / Carlos CHECA / SPA / Honda LCR / HONDA / 47’26.039 / 151.979 / 42.506 13 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 47’30.105 / 151.762 / 46.572 14 / Shinya NAKANO / JPN / Konica Minolta Honda / HONDA / 47’33.753 / 151.568 / 50.220 15 / Makoto TAMADA / JPN / Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 47’40.412 / 151.215 / 56.879 Pole Position: Dani PEDROSA 1’31.517 157.544 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Dani PEDROSA 1’32.748 155.453 Km/h Lap 5 Circuit Record Lap: Loris CAPIROSSI 1’32.924 155.159 Km/h 2006 Circuit Best Lap: Valentino ROSSI 1’31.002 158.436 Km/h 2006 Final World Championship Positions: 1 STONER 367, 2 PEDROSA 242, 3 ROSSI 241, 4 HOPKINS 189, 5 MELANDRI 187, 6 VERMEULEN 179, 7 CAPIROSSI 166, 8 HAYDEN 127, 9 EDWARDS 124, 10 BARROS 115, 11 DE PUNIET 108, 12 ELIAS 104, 13 HOFMANN 65, 14 CHECA 65, 15 WEST 59. Final Constructors standings 1 DUCATI 394, 2 HONDA 313, 3 YAMAHA 283, 4 SUZUKI 241, 5 KAWASAKI 144, 6 KR212V 14. 250cc Race Classification 250cc: (27 laps = 108.135 km) Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap 1 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Red Bull KTM 250 / KTM / 43’28.349 / 149.246 / 2 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / Master – Mapfre Aspar / APRILIA / 43’28.720 / 149.224 / 0.371 3 / Alex DEBON / SPA / Aprilia Racing / APRILIA / 43’35.146 / 148.858 / 6.797 4 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Kopron Team Scot / HONDA / 43’35.229 / 148.853 / 6.880 5 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Team Toth Aprilia / APRILIA / 43’41.116 / 148.519 / 12.767 6 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Repsol Honda 250cc / HONDA / 43’41.379 / 148.504 / 13.030 7 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Fortuna Aprilia / APRILIA / 43’43.100 / 148.406 / 14.751 8 / Yuki TAKAHASHI / JPN / Kopron Team Scot / HONDA / 43’44.786 / 148.311 / 16.437 9 / Thomas LUTHI / SWI / Emmi – Caffe Latte Aprilia / APRILIA / 43’44.900 / 148.305 / 16.551 10 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Red Bull KTM 250 / KTM / 43’48.572 / 148.097 / 20.223 11 / Marco SIMONCELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera / GILERA / 43’51.975 / 147.906 / 23.626 12 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Blusens Aprilia Germany / APRILIA / 44’00.154 / 147.448 / 31.805 13 / Roberto LOCATELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera / GILERA / 44’02.659 / 147.308 / 34.310 14 / Alex BALDOLINI / ITA / Kiefer – Bos – Sotin Racing / APRILIA / 44’27.174 / 145.954 / 58.825 15 / Ratthapark WILAIROT / THA / Thai Honda PTT-SAG / HONDA / 44’27.194 / 145.953 / 58.845 Pole Position: Mika KALLIO 1’35.166 151.503 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Mika KALLIO 1’35.659 150.722 Km/h Lap 20 Circuit Record Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1’35.792 150.513 Km/h 2005 Circuit Best Lap: Hiroshi AOYAMA 1’35.109 151.594 Km/h 2006 Final World Championship Positions: 1 LORENZO 312, 2 DOVIZIOSO 260, 3 DE ANGELIS 235, 4 BAUTISTA 181, 5 BARBERA 177, 6 AOYAMA 160, 7 KALLIO 157, 8 LUTHI 133, 9 SIMON 123, 10 SIMONCELLI 97, 11 TAKAHASHI 90, 12 AOYAMA 90, 13 LOCATELLI 59, 14 LAI 49, 15 ESPARGARO 47. Final Constructors standings 1 APRILIA 387, 2 HONDA 275, 3 KTM 226, 4 GILERA 116, 5 YAMAHA 4. 125cc: Race Classification 125cc (24 laps = 96.12 km) Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap 1 / Hector FAUBEL / SPA / Bancaja Aspar / APRILIA / 40’14.228 / 143.330 / 2 / Gabor TALMACSI / HUN / Bancaja Aspar / APRILIA / 40’14.413 / 143.319 / 0.185 3 / Sergio GADEA / SPA / Bancaja Aspar / APRILIA / 40’14.514 / 143.313 / 0.286 4 / Mattia PASINI / ITA / Polaris World / APRILIA / 40’15.054 / 143.281 / 0.826 5 / Lukas PESEK / CZE / Valsir Seedorf Derbi / DERBI / 40’15.106 / 143.278 / 0.878 6 / Esteve RABAT / SPA / Repsol Honda 125cc / HONDA / 40’20.078 / 142.983 / 5.850 7 / Pablo NIETO / SPA / Blusens Aprilia / APRILIA / 40’23.266 / 142.795 / 9.038 8 / Bradley SMITH / GBR / Repsol Honda 125cc / HONDA / 40’27.262 / 142.560 / 13.034 9 / Tomoyoshi KOYAMA / JPN / Red Bull KTM 125 / KTM / 40’34.962 / 142.109 / 20.734 10 / Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Belson Campetella Aprilia / APRILIA / 40’35.230 / 142.094 / 21.002 11 / Nicolas TEROL / SPA / Valsir Seedorf Derbi / DERBI / 40’35.574 / 142.074 / 21.346 12 / Simone CORSI / ITA / Skilled Racing Team / APRILIA / 40’46.306 / 141.450 / 32.078 13 / Michael RANSEDER / AUT / Ajo Motorsport / DERBI / 40’53.770 / 141.020 / 39.542 14 / Alexis MASBOU / FRA / FFM Honda GP 125 / HONDA / 40’53.776 / 141.020 / 39.548 15 / Randy KRUMMENACHE / SWI / Red Bull KTM 125 / KTM / 40’53.934 / 141.011 / 39.706 Pole Position: Gabor TALMACSI 1’39.029 145.593 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Hector FAUBEL 1’39.380 145.079 Km/h Lap 7 Circuit Record Lap: Hector FAUBEL 1’39.574 144.796 Km/h 2006 Circuit Best Lap: Gabor TALMACSI 1’39.029 145.593 Km/h 2007 Final World Championship Positions: 1 TALMACSI 282, 2 FAUBEL 277, 3 KOYAMA 193, 4 PESEK 182, 5 PASINI 174, 6 CORSI 168, 7 GADEA 160, 8 OLIVE 131, 9 ESPARGARO 110, 10 SMITH 101, 11 RABAT 74, 12 RANSEDER 73, 13 KRUMMENACHER 69, 14 CORTESE 66, 15 NIETO 57 Final Constructors standings 1 APRILIA 410, 2 DERBI 199, 3 KTM 196, 4 HONDA 146. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: CHAMPIONSHIP ENDS AT VALENCIA The 2007 MotoGP World Championship drew to a close at Valencia today after eight months and 18 punishing rounds and, for the Kawasaki Racing Team, it proved to be a tough race. Randy de Puniet got off to a bad start from a promising fourth on the grid, losing five places by the end of the first lap, but was soon fighting back as the field tore around the Ricardo Tormo circuit in front of an enormous crowd. The 26-year-old Frenchman was back up to seventh by the start of lap nine, having overtaken Makoto Tamada and Alex Barros during a blaze of personal best laps. He then closed in on Loris Capirossi, and passed the Italian who immediately moved back in front on lap 12. De Puniet held his position until problems with his tyres started to make maintaining ultimate speed through corners too difficult and he subsequently lost out to Chris Vermeulen, then Barros. As his last race for Kawasaki, and after a weekend full of promise, it wasn’t the end he was hoping for. However, he finishes the season with 108 points under his belt (very considerably more than the 37 he scored in his 2006 rookie season), a podium finish at Motegi and a very proud crew. Team mate, Anthony West, had a tougher battle from 16th on the grid. Having struggled all weekend to find his form at the 4km track, he made it up to 14th in the early stages but soon felt unable to keep with the pack. The 26-year-old Australian, who has been competing in MotoGP for only five months, now relishes the challenge of the forthcoming winter testing schedule, optimistic, as are his crew, that he will be able to further grasp the workings of his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR and come back next year a stronger, more consistent premier class contender. Kawasaki did head the tables in one significant area at Valencia today: de Puniet and West recorded the two fastest speeds of the race at 298.8kmh and 297.8kmh respectively. Just one pointer that Kawasaki, and the Ninja, are moving towards an ever stronger season next year. Randy de Puniet Position 9th “I’m disappointed because I used a harder rear tyre, thinking that after ten or 15 laps it would prove a good choice, but I got the opposite performance. It dropped down a lot on the left hand side and the rear was locking at every corner. When I opened the throttle, I didn’t find enough grip. It’s a big shame because I never felt any of that during the practice sessions. It was a tough race and hard work but I rode as hard as I could to finish with as good a result as possible.” Anthony West Position 16th “The race, for me, was terrible and very long. But the good thing is I realised what my problem’s been all weekend and I’ve been chasing the wrong issues. I thought it was all about the rear grip but actually I’ve just been lacking confidence in pushing the front. Now I realise that’s what I should have been working on all weekend. Thirty laps around here taught me that! I’m glad winter testing’s coming up and this result is going to make me more determined to do everything I can for next season. I’m going to spend the next few months training and trying to get this bike working for me so I can get faster and more consistent at every track.” Michael Bartholemy Kawasaki Competition Manager “I believe both our riders gave their best in this race, in the circumstances. Randy had a bad start but was making some excellent lap times, on a par with the riders in front of him. Anthony has not had a good weekend and we need to work with him to iron out the difficulties he’s had. We now have two days testing here so he can come back to Valencia more confident next year but basically, I’m happy to finish the season as we have. I think we will come back in 2008 ready and stronger. It’s been an amazing year for Kawasaki in MotoGP and we’ve moved forward so much. I want to thank everybody involved in making that happen. I’d also like to say that we’ve had a great two years with Randy and wish him very well for his future.”