FIM MotoGP World Championship Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca July 25, 2010 Provisional Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Yamaha), 32 laps, 43:54.873 2. Casey Stoner, Australia (Ducati), -3.517 seconds 3. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), -13.420 4. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Honda), -14.188 5. Nicky Hayden, USA (Ducati), -14.601 6. Ben Spies, USA (Yamaha), -19.037 7. Colin Edwards, USA (Yamaha), -40.721 8. Marco Melandri, Italy (Honda), -47.219 9. Mika Kallio, Finland (Ducati), -52.813 10. Loris Capirossi, Italy (Suzuki), -52.814 11. Roger Hayden, USA (Honda), -74.089 12. Alex DeAngelis, San Marino (Honda), -74.666 13. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Ducati), -4 laps, DNF, crash 14. Marco Simoncelli, Italy (Honda), -14 laps, DNF, crash 15. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), -21 laps, DNF, crash 16. Hector Barbera, Spain (Ducati), -29 laps, DNF, mechanical 17. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Suzuki), -30 laps, DNF, crash World Championship Point Standings (after 9 of 18 races): 1. Lorenzo, 210 points 2. Pedrosa, 138 3. Dovizioso, 115 4. Stoner, 103 5. Rossi, 90 6. Nicky Hayden, 89 7. Spies, 77 8. De Puniet, 69 9. Melandri, 53 10. Simoncelli, 49 11. Edwards, 48 12. Barbera, 41 13. Capirossi, 36 14. Kallio, 31 15. Espargaro, 28 16. Bautista, 25 17. Hiroshi Aoyama, 18 18. De Angelis, 8 19. Roger Hayden, 5 20. Kousuke Akiyoshi, 4 21. Wataru Yoshikawa, 1 More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki riders Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista both had frustrating races at Laguna Seca today, but for very different reasons. Capirossi brought his Rizla Suzuki home in 10th position after initially being given ninth in the classification. Video evidence was used to show that Mika Kallio crossed the line just in-front of Capirossi by only 0.001 seconds. Capirossi had battled hard through the whole race to preserve his position after a poor first few laps had cost him dearly in the standings, but unfortunately lost out on a hard-fought ninth in the final metre. Bautista was yet again the victim of another incident as Aleix Espargaro knocked Suzuki’s Spanish rider out of the race at the start of the third lap. Bautista had already got into a good rhythm and had passed a couple of other riders before Espargaro’s intervention bought his race to an abrupt end for the second week in succession. Over 51,000 people filled the hillsides around the Laguna Seca circuit to see Jorge Lorenzo record his sixth victory of the season and further strengthen his position at the head of the World Championship standings. The whole MotoGP paddock will now have a short mid-season break, before re-grouping for the next round of the championship at Brno in the Czech Republic on Sunday 15th August. Loris Capirossi: “I think we did our job today because our rhythm is about half-a-second slower than qualifying and that’s where we were. I tried to do a different line on every one of the 32 laps to try and improve my time in the third section, but I struggled with front feeling. The race was quite tough and at the end I got in a fight with Kallio and Espargaro. On the last lap I tried to close the door to protect my place, but it seems he got me right on the line. I thought I was in front but the video shows he beat me. I don’t really care whether it was ninth or tenth because it’s not good enough and we have to go up the leader-board!” Álvaro Bautista: “I had a poor start because the bike wheelied too much and I lost some positions, but in the first couple of laps I felt good and was able to pass some other riders. I felt good on the bike and at the start of the third lap I passed Espargaro on the first corner and as I made the normal line to the second turn, which is two consecutive corners, he was in the middle of the last turn and hit me in the body and I crashed. This is very disappointing because I felt really very good and had been able to overtake other riders quite easily. It has been a bad start for me here in Laguna Seca, but we must make sure we keep the hard work going at the next races.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “It was obviously disappointing that Álvaro got tangled up with Espargaro and knocked off the track so early on in the race especially as his potential had picked up so consistently over the course of the weekend. That’s the last two Grands Prix that have ended with him on the floor through no fault of his own – we just have to hope his luck changes very quickly. “Loris’s start wasn’t too bad, but the first couple of laps didn’t go to plan and a decent gap opened up to the group in front. After that it was a question of fighting as hard as he could and it was a shame to lose ninth right on the line. Brno’s a track that the bike’s gone well at in the past and a track that Loris loves, so we’re looking forward to the race there and a very important test on the Monday afterwards.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Lorenzo victorious as asymmetric rear tyres quicken pace in USA Round 9: United States GP Race Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Sunday 25 July 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric) Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo won the United States Grand Prix today, setting an impressive pace throughout on harder front and softer asymmetric rear Bridgestone slicks to record a new fastest total race time at Laguna Seca. In response to rider requests made last season, Bridgestone brought their asymmetric rear slicks to Laguna Seca this year. The performance improvement provided by these tyres was also highlighted by a new lap record set by Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner, who finished second, whilst a resurgent Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi grabbed the final step of the podium from Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso. Every rider favoured the softer option asymmetric rear slick tyre which featured the improved-for-2010 medium compound rubber to offer better warm-up performance. Its increased level of performance at higher temperatures was the reason it was sufficiently durable for race distance even as the track temperature reached 44 degrees. Last year the top five riders used the harder rear, but this year all riders used the softer option which is a good comparison of the improved durability of this improved medium compound. As a further performance indicator, during the morning’s warm-up session when the track temperature was just 21 degrees Celsius, Lorenzo and Stoner both went quicker using the asymmetric rears than last year’s fastest race lap. Hiroshi Yamada Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “I am happy with the overall result here as it shows that we have a good process of turning rider feedback into positive action, the results of which have been very good here this weekend. I’d like to congratulate Jorge for his sixth win of the season, and also to Casey for setting a new lap record here. It is great to see Valentino back on the podium again too.” Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “The consistency and level of performance of our softer asymmetric rear slick tyres was good this weekend so I am very happy. Not only did Casey set a new lap record, but his fastest lap was more than 0.5seconds quicker than the best lap from last year’s race and the total race time was over six seconds faster, both of which are good indicators of the improved performance provided by our asymmetric slicks here at Laguna.” Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team Race Winner “This is very special. I made a good start but was overtaken on the outside into turn one. I tried to overtake as soon as possible and once I was in third I thought ‘now we are here and can push’. This track was very painful for me last year so for this it was important to finish, and we won so now I have more points for the gap in the championship which is so nice. Now I holiday and relax, draw away the tension and the pressure before Brno.” Top ten classification (Sunday 14:03 GMT-7) Pos. Rider Team Race time Gap Front spec Rear spec Tyres 1 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 43m54.873s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 2 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 43m58.390s +3.517s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 3 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 44m08.293s +13.420s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 4 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 44m09.061s +14.188s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 5 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 44m09.474s +14.601s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 6 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 44m13.910s +19.037s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 7 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 44m35.594s +40.721s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 8 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 44m42.092s +47.219s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick 9 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing Team 44m47.686s +52.813s Medium Medium Bridgestone slick 10 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 44m47.687s +52.814s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick Weather: Dry. Ambient 19-20°C; Track 44°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Interwetten Honda: INTERWETTEN HONDA MotoGP TEAM – 12th position finishes difficult weekend for De Angelis With the race of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, a difficult weekend finished for Alex de Angelis and the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team. Already since the first free practice the 26 years old from San Marino had technical problems with the set up of the bike and after a quite positive warm up session this morning, also the race in the afternoon didn’t go any better. After 12 laps De Angelis had a good pace and it went okay for him, but then the performance dropped and Roger Lee Hayden, who was replacing the injured Randy de Puniet this weekend, overtook him. The 12th position gives De Angelis and the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team four points on the way into a short but well deserved summer break and concludes a more disappointing than satisfying weekend for rider and team on Cal ifornian sole. Alex de Angelis, 12 – 44’14.666: “This was a very difficult race. We don’t know what was the reason for the problems as yesterday at the end it went quite well. Especially with the tyres we had problems and I was sliding around all the time. The first 10 laps were okay, but then my time dropped. In the last lap the marshals started to wave blue and green flags at me, so I closed the throttle, because I didn’t know what was going on, but I guess this was not meant to be for me. I think the first rider crossed the finish line and they started to wave the flags. This was a mistake and it took my pace away and I could not attack Hayden anymore.” Tom Jojic, Crew Chief: “This was not a good day. It looked much better this morning than it did in the afternoon. The first 12 laps Alex could go with Espargaró, but then the lap time dropped and he could not stay with him anymore. I don’t know what the problem was at the end. We have to work on the set up before Brno for sure, but we have to know in which direction. This was a disappointing weekend and did not meet the expectations that we had of this Grand Prix.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: DOVIZIOSO FOURTH AT LAGUNA AS PEDROSA FALLS FROM THE LEAD Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso finished in fourth place in today’s U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca and retained his third position in the world championship as MotoGP heads into a short summer break. The Italian held third place for 15 laps of the race and finished less that a second from the podium after losing a place to Valentino Rossi six laps from the end. His team-mate Dani Pedrosa looked on course for a carbon copy of his stunning Laguna victory from last year and led for the first 11 laps, but the Spaniard was unfortunate to a hit a bump on the way into Laguna’s turn seven and crash out on lap 12. From third on the grid – his best ever MotoGP qualifying position – Dovizioso slipped back to fifth on the first lap behind Ben Spies and lost some time behind the American. He climbed to fourth on lap three when Spies ran wide and was then elevated to third after Pedrosa’s fall. Looking comfortable, Dovizioso eased op en a gap of 2.5s to Valentino Rossi behind him, but as the chequered flag drew near Rossi closed him down again and passed Dovizioso on lap 27 of the 32-lap race. The Repsol Honda rider didn’t give up and was right on Rossi’s tail for the last two laps, without being able to find a way past. With the 13 points he earned today, Dovizioso has closed the gap to Pedrosa in the world championship to 23 points. Pedrosa looked at his formidable best for the first part of the race, making one of his demon starts from fourth on the grid to lead into the first corners. Riding his RC212V at a blistering pace, he edged away from his pursuers Casey Stoner and then Jorge Lorenzo and the race win looked a distinct possibility. However, while pushing at 100 per cent to maintain his lead he lost the front end and his U.S. Grand Prix was over. Obviously disappointed with the way the weekend finished, Pedrosa has taken encouragement from his continued front-running pace in th e race and will come back fighting at the next race – the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic in three weekends’ time on August 15. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 4th World Championship position 3rd 115 points “I cannot be happy about this result because the podium was so close. I made a good start on the inside, but then got a little bit trapped going through turn one and lost positions. I really wanted to get away with the front riders but in the first three laps I lost time behind Spies, and because of this I lost contact with the leaders. I was lapping with a pace of 1m 22.5 and the middle of the race was going well, but in the last laps Valentino began to go faster and I couldn’t lap at the low 1m 22s pace he was able to achieve. When he came past me I did everything I could to take him back but I was not fast enough – especially in T3 and T4. I didn’t have the performance on the brakes to make a move – so I couldn’t overtake him again. The result is not what we wanted and so we have to keep working hard so that we can challenge for race wins – that’s the target.” DANI PEDROSA DNF World Championship position 2nd 138 points “At the time I that I crashed I was pushing hard to maintain the gap to Lorenzo and my rhythm was good. Unfortunately though I hit a bump on the way into the corner and I couldn’t do anything – I was down. It’s very very disappointing obviously but this can happen when you’re trying everything to win. You have to push as much as you can and take risks – and I really wanted to win this race. The one thing we can do now is to remember that we were having a good race until this moment, and we were leading the race – this is what I want to take from the weekend. You cannot sit there with your arms crossed thinking about what could have been. For the whole weekend me and the team were working well and we put ourselves in a winning position. It hasn’t worked out for us but we’ll come back fighting at the next one.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “This has been a tough race for the Repsol Honda Team today because we had high hopes here and it hasn’t worked out for us as we wanted. Andrea’s fourth place is a respectable finish of course but he will be the first to say that he wanted more today. He rode hard and challenged for the podium but in the end it wasn’t to be. Dani made a great start and looked very strong with race winning pace. But he was unlucky to crash and this can happen when you’re going all out for victory. The Repsol Honda Team has shown unfulfilled potential today and we’ll do all we can to make good on that potential at the next races.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Jorge Lorenzo’s Championship lead was stretched to 72 points at Laguna Seca as the Fiat Yamaha rider won the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix ahead of Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi, in a round nine race that saw Dani Pedrosa crash out while leading. A trademark lightning start from Pedrosa saw him lead into turn one of the first lap and the Spaniard appeared to be making a similar break for victory as he had done last time out at Sachsenring, as he set a fierce pace at the front of the race. However, on Lap 11 and with Lorenzo pressuring him for the lead the Repsol Honda rider crashed out at turn five, leaving his fellow Spaniard to take his M1 to a sixth win of the season as he tasted victory at the Californian circuit for the first time. In second place, 3.517s behind Lorenzo’s Fiat Yamaha, Ducati’s Casey Stoner scored his best result of the season so far his fourth podium in a row and a comfortable finish with a distance of almost ten seconds back to third place. That was taken by Valentino Rossi, the reigning World Champion achieving a superb podium finish in only his second race back from injury and one in which he worked hard throughout the race. There were early ends to the race for Spanish rookies Álvaro Bautista and Héctor Barberá, the former crashing whilst the latter retired, with neither making it past the fourth lap. By that stage Pedrosa was already away at the front with Stoner matching him for pace, but on lap five Lorenzo who had dropped to fourth at the start managed to pass the Australian who ran wide at turn three. Then the drama really kicked in as Pedrosa crashed, leaving Lorenzo first with Stoner not far behind, and Andrea Dovizioso in third with a two-second margin over his pursuers. However, Rossi quickly closed the gap on his compatriot, eventually passing the Repsol Honda rider for third place with five laps to go. As the tyres started to go off towards the end there were changes further down the order, as Ben Spies and Nicky Hayden fought for the honour of finishing as the highest placed American, a duel that presented plenty of enthralling moments of its own. Lorenzo eventually crossed the line with a comfortable margin over his pursuers, to take his sixth win of the season. “This track has been a painful one for me in the past, which was why it was important to come here, finish the race and win,” said Lorenzo. “I was sat in third place after the start and I said ‘okay, we’re here and it’s time to push now’. Casey made a mistake and I got past him and I could see that Dani was riding at 110% and could crash. And he did.” “Now I can go on my holiday and relax; throw away all the tension and pressure and comeback ready to continue the season at Brno,” added the Championship leader. Stoner brought his Ducati Desmosedici home in second place to secure the best result of his 2010 campaign thus far. “Everything seemed to be working perfectly at the start,” explained Stoner. “I wanted to close on Dani to put in a pass, but I lost the front a couple of times trying to reduce the gap. The third time the front closed on me Jorge came past. I was lucky to keep the bike on two wheels today; with a bit more confidence in the front I might have been able to close the gap on Jorge, and I did try, but today I had to settle for second place.” “Jorge is riding well; he’s very fast, very consistent and, at this point, he’s a worthy champion,” concluded the Australian. Rossi managed to hold off a late charge from Dovizioso, retaining third place at the chequered flag and finishing on the podium just seven weeks after breaking his leg in practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. “It was a good result for us and very important to come back on the podium so soon after the crash,” declared Rossi. “It’s been a difficult weekend for us, with problems in every session, but this morning we found a good set-up for the race. It took me a few laps to find my rhythm and I had a great battle with Dovizioso at the end. After Casey beat me last week I was determined not to make the same mistake and I rode a very good last lap.” Hayden edged out Spies for fifth place, with the latter’s teammate, Colin Edwards, seventh. The top ten was completed by Marco Melandri, Mika Kallio and Loris Capirossi. The remaining two riders to finish the race in 11th and 12th were Roger Lee Hayden, a temporary replacement for the injured Randy de Puniet on the LCR Honda and Alex de Angelis, who was standing in for Hiroshi Aoyama on the Interwetten Honda for the second time. Marco Simoncelli suffered the disappointment of crashing out two-thirds of the way through the race when battling with teammate Melandri for eighth, whilst Aleix Espargaró fell three laps from the end when in a top ten position. Lorenzo now has 210 points, with Pedrosa remaining second in the standings on 138 and Dovizioso third on 115. More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FLAWLESS LORENZO ROMPS TO VICTORY AS ROSSI MAKES TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO PODIUM Jorge Lorenzo took a brilliant sixth victory of the season at Laguna Seca today, romping home to win by over three seconds from Casey Stoner. His team-mate Valentino Rossi made a triumphant return to the podium just seven weeks after breaking his right leg, overhauling Andrea Dovizioso during a thrilling last ten laps to finish third. Starting from pole for the fifth time in a row, Lorenzo lost ground to his rivals at the fearsome downhill turn one and was relegated to third first time around. For the first few laps there was little he could do except hang on behind Pedrosa and Stoner but on the sixth lap Stoner ran wide and Lorenzo stormed through to take second. By now Pedrosa was nearly a second clear but Lorenzo’s pace had begun to improve and he started to push as hard as he could and exert some pressure on his fellow Span iard. On lap twelve, with the gap now narrowed to half a second, Pedrosa crashed out and left Lorenzo in the lead and from then on it was plain sailing for the 23-year-old as he expertly controlled his advantage over Stoner to bring it home and take his second win on US soil. Today’s victory was his 11th in MotoGP, his 32nd in all classes and his 10th successive podium. Rossi had suffered all weekend with pain in both his leg and his shoulder and today looked like it was going to be a tough day for the reigning champion, unable as he was to make any further headway after passing Nicky Hayden for fifth position. Once Pedrosa had crashed out however and with Ben Spies exerting pressure on him from behind Rossi’s fighting instinct kicked in as he spied a podium possibility, gradually closing down a two second gap to Dovizioso to come within striking distance with six laps remaining. On the 27th lap he made his move and passed his countryman, managi ng to hold him off over the last couple of laps to make a popular return to the podium. With exactly half of the season gone Lorenzo heads the championship with an impressive 72-point lead over Pedrosa, whilst Rossi is 120 points adrift of his team-mate in fifth position. Both riders will enjoy a two and a half week holiday now and the Italian will be more glad than anyone for the time off, during which he will be working on his fitness in an effort to be back to his best next time out in Brno. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 1st Time: 43.54.873 “I am so happy to win here at Laguna Seca, it’s something I’ve always dreamed of. I rode so well today, right on the limit and I had to push very hard to stay in touch with Dani. He is always so strong on race day but I knew if I kept the pressure on him then there was a chance he would make a mistake and I would be able to catch him. I’m sorry he crashed but from then on it was very easy for me because I had a big gap from Casey. I really enjoyed riding my M1! I have a big lead in the championship but there is half of the season left and it wouldn’t be the first time a rider has lost the title with such a big lead, so we can’t take anything for granted. I am really looking forward to some time to relax now after two very busy months. Thanks to everyone in my team for doing a brilliant job.” Valentino Rossi Position: 3rd Time: +13.420 “The start of the race was very hard for me because I had a lot of pain and I was far from the podium. But then I saw Pedrosa on the gravel and I just had to try to catch Dovizioso! I just pushed as hard as I could for a few laps and that brought me closer to him and then I couldn’t give up, somehow I caught him and it was a great feeling to pass him to take third. It’s a great result after my injury and it felt so good to be back on the podium in front of the fans. There are so many people I have to thank who have helped me to get back to this position. I am very happy that we have some time off now because I have a lot of work to do on my body to try to be back to my best for Brno, which I love. Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “This was a fantastic ride from Jorge. It was clever to push Dani to the limit but not easy as well because Jorge is the championship leader and he had the most to lose, he really had to ride at the maximum to do this. We’re happy Dani isn’t hurt and now we have an amazing 72-point lead as we break for the half-way point of the championship. Six victories and three seconds is brilliant, thanks to Jorge for doing such a great job but also to all of the team, everyone deserves their holidays! Davide Brivio Team Manager “This was a great race and the result is so much more than we expected today. These were supposed to be the two ‘rehabilitation’ races for Valentino after his big injury while he just got used to being back on the bike, but he’s come fourth and then third which has amazed us all. This track was very demanding on his body and he had a hard time all weekend but he was still able to battle for the podium. It was brilliant and we’re so happy now. Everyone is looking forward to a break but also to coming back strongly in the second half of the season.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: HAYDEN SCORES POINTS AT LAGUNA SECA GP Monterey, 25 July: On a near perfect summer’s day LCR Honda MotoGP Team American racer Roger Lee Hayden gained a thrilling 11th place riding the Honda RC212V in today’s U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. The youngest of the racing Haydens, who’s currently racing in World Superbike, improved his lap time by 1.668s over the course of practice and yesterdays qualifying. The two areas he found most challenging were the carbon front brakes-he uses metal in World Superbike-and the control Bridgestone tyres, which he was careful to get up to proper operating temperature. The 27-year-old started from the 17th spot on the grid and put in a maximum effort over the 32-lap race scoring 5 points finishing his second MotoGP race behind Capirossi. MotoGP next round will take place in Czech Republic on the 15th of August. Hayden 11th Hayden: “This was a very good race for me! After the start I got boxed in at the first corner and after that it took me a few laps to find my pace. The rest of the guys had taken a few seconds on me but I started to pull them back in and I did my fastest lap of the whole week end in doing so. I charged hard and caught De Angelis with 2 laps to go I passed him and took 11th place. At the start of the week I really did not think I could have taken 11th place. I really really want to thank LCR Team for this fantastic opportunity. Everybody in the Team has bent over backwards to help me in every way. The guys worked really hard on the bike and made it very comfortable for me to ride. They put absolutely no pressure on me this week end for a result but this is the American GP and all my friends, family and fans are here so I wanted to give them all a good result. I would love a chance to ride for this Team again as they are a fantastic bunch of guys and the machine they gave me was perfect”. Lucio Cecchinello: “First I want to wish Randy a very quick recovery and want to thank the Team for their great work this week end. Despite the bad luck we have decided to come here and do our best as always. We are pleased with Roger’s today result because he improved his feeling on the bike session by session and during the race he was focused and tough especially when he passed De Angelis at 2 laps to go. Now we aim to have Randy back in Brno but we must wait for the response of the Medical Commission first”. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER SECOND AT LAGUNA SECA, POSITIVE FIFTH PLACE FOR HAYDEN Ducati Team rider Casey Stoner continued his recent podium streak with a solid second place in the USGP, whilst Nicky Hayden claimed local honour as the first American across the line in fifth after a breathtaking challenge for the podium. Stoner started well from the front row of the grid and was running in second place behind Dani Pedrosa when he set the fastest lap of the race on lap four, breaking his own circuit record from 2008 with a stunning 1’21.376. A little problem saw the Australian concede a place to Jorge Lorenzo on the fifth lap but he benefited from a crash for Pedrosa six laps later and was unchallenged from that point onwards, securing his best finish of the season so far and his fourth rostrum in succession. Hayden started from seventh on the grid and eventually overcame his compatriot Ben Spies after a race-long battle that had the raucous crowd on their feet, chasing down Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso for a podium finish over the final few laps but missing out by just 1.2 seconds. CASEY STONER (Ducati Team) 2nd “The bike felt good at the start of the race but at this circuit you always have to wait for a lap, a lap and a half for the tyres to warm up. As soon as everything felt alright I thought I’d try to push and make a pass on Dani for the lead but I immediately lost the front. I pulled myself back together and tried to hunt him down again but made another little mistake. Another lap or two later I closed the front again and ran well wide, I was almost off the track. At that point I decided just to gather myself, ride smooth and consistent and try not to lose too much time to the two guys in front of me. I started to pull them in but lost the front again. It was a shame because the bike felt good around most of the circuit, we just struggled with the front in a couple of corners. Having said that I’m happy and thankful to my guys because we were able to put up more of a fight this weekend.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Team) 5th “We had a little problem with the bike when I did my practice start this morning and it happened again in the race but we put up a fight as best we could. The last five laps I was over my head, doing my fastest laps of the weekend almost because I thought there was a chance we might be able to get on the box if the guys in front made a mistake. I dug as deep as I could but it wasn’t enough today. My first two years here at Laguna Seca were much more fun, that’s for sure, but hopefully we can be back here fighting for the win next year that’s the goal. I want to say thanks to all my guys for their hard work this weekend and to all the fans here at Laguna, their support is incredible I’m just sorry I couldn’t be on the podium for them.” Vittoriano Guareschi, Team Manager “Casey scored his fourth consecutive podium today and this time he was a step higher up, having set the fastest lap of the race and also starring in qualifying. Altogether it was a good weekend for him because he confirmed his constant progress from recent weeks and showed that the team are doing a good job with the bike. His result was complemented by fifth place for Nicky, who was just over a second off the podium. I think he had a good race because he was under more pressure than usual and didn’t have an exceptional qualifying. He didn’t get a great start either but he put a good pace together and his lap times at the end showed that the package underneath him is good. Now we want to win a race and we’ll try to do that at Brno, but for today I am happy with our result as a team.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Super sixth for Spies, seventh for Edwards at Laguna Seca Ben Spies had a big home crowd on the edge of their seats at the spectacular Laguna Seca track today after the Texan produced a brilliant podium challenge in the American MotoGP race. The 26-year-old made a fantastic start from the second row and instantly gained three places by the first corner. Spies lost a few places as the frantic pace increased in the early laps, but gradually building his confidence with his rear Bridgestone tyre, he started a rousing fightback in front of a passionate home crowd of 51,436 fans in California. Spies was over half-a-second adrift of an intense battle involving compatriot Nicky Hayden and fellow Yamaha YZR-M1 rider Valentino Rossi shortly before the halfway stage. Reeling off a series of impressive fast laps, Spies was able to hunt down Hayden and expertly pass the 2006 world champion on lap 21. Next in Spies’ sights was reigning world champion Rossi, who was himself honing in on Italian Andrea Dovizioso in an exciting battle for the podium. But just as Spies was preparing to make a decisive move on Rossi, he made a small mistake in the braking zone for the final corner on lap 25. Spies lost over three seconds and despite a heroic effort in the closing stages he was unable to regain the fifth place lost to Hayden. Spies though was still satisfied with his performance, his pace as the race reached its climax undoubtedly good enough to have put him in podium contention. Colin Edwards produced his best result of the season in front of his home crowd to score a thoroughly deserved seventh position. The 36-year-old showed all of his experience to patiently stalk Marco Simoncelli and Marco Melandri in the opening laps as the trio became embroiled in a thrilling fight for seventh. Edwards passed Melandri on lap 10 exiting the spectacular Corkscrew section and he grabbed seventh from Simoncelli on lap 15. Edwards’ superior pace saw him immediately pull away from the Italian duo to secure a seventh that puts him on the fringes of the top ten in the overall standings. Ben Spies 6th – 77 points “I got a really good start and was third but then for the next couple of laps I just couldn’t get my speed up fast enough. The group in front pulled a bit of a gap on me but once I found my rhythm I caught Nicky and Valentino pretty quickly. I passed Nicky and got right on the back of Valentino and it was a good fight with him. I was actually going to attack him on the next lap when I had a problem entering the final corner on lap 25. I ran wide and lost out and although it wasn’t the podium I wanted in front of my home crowd, I’m happy because I had the speed to come through the field and I had the speed to be on the podium. I couldn’t quite finish the job and that was down to me. But I’d rather leave here knowing I could have been on the podium rather than leave here in eighth place and not on the pace. I can’t ask for a lot more because I’m in the top six again, leading non-factory rider in the race again and putting up a strong fight, so I’m not too upset.” Colin Edwards 7th 48 points “I’m really happy with the way I rode all weekend and there was nothing more I could have done. Fighting for seventh is not really where I wa nt to be in my home race, but compared to where I have been recently it is a big improvement and thanks to all my guys at the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew for all their effort. I had a good early battle with Melandri and Simoncelli and that was fun and I made a couple of good moves on them because I was quite a bit faster. Once I got by Simoncelli I put my head down to see if I could break them and that’s what I did. But I couldn’t even see the group in front of me and I just slowed my pace up a little bit because it made no sense to crash out of my home race when I was never going to catch them up. I was pretty much stuck in seventh all weekend and I never really had the pace of the leading group. But I’m closer to where I know I should be and the upgrades from Yamaha were a help and I can look forward to a good break confident of a strong second half of the season.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “We can’t deny that we leave for the well earned summer break with a small amount of disappointment because Ben was looking really strong and I think he had a great chance of claiming the home podium he desperately wanted. He got a great start and it took him a few laps to find his best rhythm like a few times this season. But then he was able to set some really fast lap times and he was able to pass Nicky and close right on Valentino. We were hoping for a podium at that stage though we know it would not have been easy because Valentino was riding at an incredible level. Ben was right behind him and looking strong for the last few laps and the home fans were super excited by his attacking riding. Unfortunately Ben ran wide in a couple of places and lost crucial time and that was something out of his control. He is a little disappointed and I understand that because he couldn’t fight right to the end. But we’re happy with his performance because his spe ed was undoubtedly good enough for the podium. I’m really happy with Colin’s performance and I think it was easily his best weekend of the whole season. He was pushing at his maximum every lap of every session and he was strong in the race, passing Melandri and Simoncelli, who don’t just lie down and make it easy. A sixth and seventh is a decent result for us and helped us consolidate our fourth position in the Team World Championship, so we can return refreshed and ready for a strong second half of the season in Brno. More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: A TOP TEN POSITION REGAINED FOR KALLIO IN THE U.S. GRAND PRIX, NINTH. ESPARGARO’ SLIPPED THREE LAPS FROM THE END OF THE RACE. The white line that demarcates the asphalt did not allowed, with three laps to go, the Pramac Racing Team to see both riders finishing the race in the top ten. During the third last lap Aleix Espargarò was in ninth position with more than a second from his immediate follower Capirossi, unfortunately while breaking in turn five the young Spaniard stepped with the front on the white lines that mark the track and his bike slipped away. Too bad because despite a poor start that saw him lose several positions at once, Aleix had consistently turned much faster than the riders ahead of him. He had recovered at first three seconds from his teammate, and once passed Mika, had begun to reduce the gap from Capirossi that was in the ninth position with three seconds gap. In less than five laps he managed to reach the Italian rider and overtaken him with four laps remaining. Mika has instead made a great start in which he has earned four positions after the first lap. In the first lap Cap irossi struggled with him for the twelfth position but the greater experience of the Italian rider didn’t allowed to Mika to maintain the gap. Mika was then overtaken by Aleix that was riding nearly half a second faster than him. Thanks to its rhythm Mika has lowered his lap times and decreased the gap from the tenth position. Thanks to an excellent last lap Mika has taken full advantage of the slipstream overtaking Capirossi on the line with just a millisecond and conquered the ninth position. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “Too bad for the occasion lost three laps from the end. I think that if Aleix had not fallen and that if Mika had entered the race with the mill metric overtake on Capirossi, we’ll be celebrating now the top ten for both riders. We are very happy that Mika that, on a difficult track like this, has gained a good position. We have worked hard these days to allow both rider to be very fast and competitive in every section of the track. Now we’ll have three weeks off holidays to relax and to come back more competitive than ever in the next race in Brno, where we know that we can aspire to a good result with both riders. ” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team – 9th in the race – 14th in the World Championship “Finally, a good result after so many bad races. I had a very good start which allowed me to find myself in eleventh position after the first lap. I struggled with Capirossi to maintain this position, but unfortunately he was much faster than me. Thanks also to Aleix that has reached and overtake me, I was able to lower my pace lap and together we took Capirossi. I could be very close to Loris in some parts of the circuit and I studied its trajectories to see where I was able to try to overcome him. Three laps from the finish I saw my teammate slipping after touching the white line with the front. I’ve not lost my concentration and I tried in every way to stay as close as possible to Loris. In the last corner exit I made my best to try to use as much I can his train and thanks to the higher top speed I managed to get ahead of him be one-thousandth the finish line. It been a very tiring weekend for me that I had never race on this track, I hope this result will serve to make a change in my season so far for poor of results. ” Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing Team – DNF the race – 15th in the World Championship “What a shame! As usual I had some starting problems, I have lost just a couple of positions in the first turn, but I had recovered the thirteenth position from which I started in less than one lap. In the third lap Bautista tried to overtake me and we touched. I apologize for the accidental contact with him and his fall, I know how important it is for all the rookie to score points on all the tracks. The contact has made me lose few positions and I found myself struggling with De Angelis and R.L. Hayden in the fifteenth position. My pace allowed me to be faster than them, I have overcome them and in a few laps I had reduced the gap I had from my teammate. Once I overtake Mika, I had Capirossi ahead of my with a gap of more than three seconds. Form the box my technician have reported that my detachment was decreased and in five laps I was able to close the gap. Among the twenty-second and twenty-fourth lap I struggled with Capirossi for the ninth position. With three laps I o vertake the Italian rider and tried to keep my pace constantly to put a little gap between me and him. During the third last lap I slightly touched the white line that demarcates the track and I lost the front of my bike. Too bad because I would have easily finished the race in the top ten, that on a so difficult track would be a good result at the debut. ” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Results Laguna Seca United States Grand Prix, Monterey MotoGP race July 25 2010 Weather: Hot and sunny Track temperature: 40 degrees Ambient Temperature: 23 degrees Crowd: 51,436 DOVIZIOSO FIGHTS FOR PODIUM AT LAGUNA SECA Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) finished less than a second off the podium before a crowd of 51,436 on a warm and sunny day at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, site of today’s United States Grand Prix. The race was won by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) from Casey Stoner (Ducati), with Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) just holding off Dovizioso in his second race since returning from a leg injury, sustained during last month’s Italian GP. The race had begun strongly for the Honda side, with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) jetting into the lead in front of Stoner and Lorenzo. Lorenzo passed the Australian on the sixth of 32 laps of the 3610m circuit in the hills outside of Monterey, California and began to chase Pedrosa. The two Spaniards quickly pulled out and threatened to make the race a runaway. Then, on the 12th lap, Pedrosa had the front end slide away when he hit a bump while entering the left-hand turn five, a corner that would claim two more riders. That put Dovizioso into third, where he’d remain until the 27th lap when Rossi attacked on the brakes into the final corner, the hard braking left-hand turn 11. The Repsol Honda rider came back at Rossi closing tight into the signature Corkscrew turn and pressuring him into the final bend. But Dovizioso had been having braking issues and a small mistake sent him wide and allowed Rossi to claim the final podium spot. Despite difficult afternoons, Pedrosa and Dovizioso remain second and third, respectively, in the World Championship classification. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) finished alone in eighth place, while gathering important data as the team integrates its upgraded electronics package. The Italian spent much of the race battling with team-mate Marco Simoncelli, making his first visit to Laguna Seca, and veteran Colin Edwards (Yamaha). Melandri had been in ninth and just in front of Simoncelli when the rookie crashed on the 19th lap in turn five, the same corner that had claimed Pedrosa. Simoncelli was hopeful of a seventh place until encountering braking difficulties. He adjusted his riding style and was preparing a late race assault when he hit a small bump and the front end slid away. Melandri then lost touch with Edwards when he made his own mistake on the 22nd lap, after which he solidified his eighth-place position. The final two Honda finishers were the replacement riders, Roger Lee Hayden (LCR Honda) and Alex de Angelis (Interwetten Honda MotoGP). Hayden, riding on short notice in place of Randy de Puniet (injured during last weekend’s German GP), made steady progress throughout the weekend and would turn in his fastest laps during the race. De Angelis, who is filling the seat of the injured Hiroshi Aoyama, was making his second visit to Laguna Seca. The battle came down to the final laps, with Hayden making a pass on the penultimate lap and holding off a charging de Angelis on the run to the flag, the difference between them only 0.577s. Hayden picked up five valuable points for the team, which keeps them solidly in sixth in the team championship, an impressive feat for a one-rider squad. Now the series heads into the summer break, the battle to recommence at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno on the weekend of August 13-15. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V): 4th “I cannot be happy about this result because the podium was so close. I made a good start on the inside, but then got a little bit trapped going through turn one and lost positions. I really wanted to get away with the front riders but in the first three laps I lost time behind Spies, and because of this I lost contact with the leaders. I was lapping with a pace of 1m 22.5 and the middle of the race was going well, but in the last laps Valentino began to go faster and I couldn’t lap at the low 1m 22s pace he was able to achieve. When he came past me I did everything I could to take him back but I was not fast enough especially in T3 and T4. I didn’t have the performance on the brakes to make a move so I couldn’t overtake him again. The result is not what we wanted and so we have to keep working hard so that we can challenge for race wins that’s the target.” Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V): 8th “That was a really tough race for me. We thought we had found something good in the warm-up this morning but we made a couple more changes for the race and they didn’t have the effect we’d hoped. We also have a lot to learn about the new electronics package. The bike changed a lot as the race progressed and it was difficult for me to manage. After fifteen laps I was really struggling under braking, especially into the left-handers because I didn’t have any strength. It was important for me to get to the finish and gather as much data as possible.” Roger Lee Hayden (LCR Honda RC212V): 11th “This was a very good race for me! At the start I got boxed in at the first corner and after that it took me a few laps to find my pace. The rest of the guys had taken a few seconds on me but I started to pull them back in and I did my fastest lap of the whole weekend in doing so. I charged hard and caught de Angelis. With two laps to go I passed him and took 11th place. At the start of the week I really did not think I could have taken 11th place. I really really want to thank the LCR Honda team for this fantastic opportunity. Everybody in the team has bent over backwards to help me in every way. The guys worked really hard on the bike and made it very comfortable for me to ride. They put absolutely no pressure on me this weekend for a result but this is the American GP and all my friends, family and fans are here so I wanted to give them all a good result. I would love a chance to ride for this team again as they are a fantastic bunch of guys and the machine they gave me was perfect.” Alex de Angelis (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V): “This was a very difficult race. We don’t know what was the reason for the problems because yesterday went quite well. Especially with the tyres we had problems and I was sliding around all the time. The first 10 laps were okay, but then my time dropped. In the last lap the marshals started to wave blue and green flags at me, so I closed the throttle, because I didn’t know what was going on, but I guess this was not meant to be for me. I think the first rider crossed the finish line and they started to wave the flags. This was a mistake and it took my pace away and I could not attack Hayden anymore.” Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V): DNF “At the time that I crashed I was pushing hard to maintain the gap to Lorenzo and my rhythm was good. Unfortunately though I hit a bump on the way into the corner and I couldn’t do anything I was down. It’s very, very disappointing obviously but this can happen when you’re trying everything to win. You have to push as much as you can and take risks and I really wanted to win this race. The one thing we can do now is to remember that we were having a good race until this moment, and we were leading the race this is what I want to take from the weekend. You cannot sit there with your arms crossed thinking about what could have been. For the whole weekend, me and the team were working well and we put ourselves in a winning position. It hasn’t worked out for us but we’ll come back fighting at the next one.” Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V): DNF “Bad things usually come in threes and that proved to be the case for me this weekend. I crashed again in the race and it was a shame because I was running really well. I could have finished seventh, but in any case I was struggling more under braking today than yesterday and I couldn’t find my pace particularly over the opening few laps. I managed to ride around my problems and put together a decent pace but as soon as I pushed a tiny bit harder under braking I hit a bump and the front folded. Now we have to wait and see if we can make up for it at Brno.”