2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Phillip Island, Australia October 14, 2007 Race Results: 1. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 27 laps, 41:12.244 2. Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -6.763 seconds 3. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Michelin, -10.038 4. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, -11.663 5. Alex BARROS (Ducati), Bridgestone, -19.475 6. Randy DE PUNIET (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -27.313 7. John HOPKINS (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -29.243 8. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -34.833 9. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, -35.073 10. Marco MELANDRI (Honda), Bridgestone, -36.971 11. Carlos CHECA (Honda), Michelin, -37.721 12. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -38.426 13. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Michelin, -47.430 14. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Yamaha), Dunlop, -54.324 15. Toni ELIAS (Honda), Bridgestone, -70.471 16. Makoto TAMADA (Yamaha), Dunlop, -72.904 17. Kurtis ROBERTS (KR-Honda), Michelin, -73.020 18. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, -15 laps, DNF, retired 19. Chaz DAVIES (Ducati), Bridgestone, -15 laps, DNF, retired 2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 16 of 18 races): 1. Stoner, 322 2. Rossi, 230 3. Pedrosa, 201 4. Hopkins, 165 5. Vermeulen, 160 6. Melandri, 154 7. Capirossi, 150 8. Edwards, 115 9. Nicky Hayden, 112 10. Barros, 102 11. TIE, Elias/De Puniet, 88 13. Alex Hofmann, 65 14. Checa, 59 15. West, 58 16. TIE, Guintoli/Nakano, 45 18. Tamada, 37 19. Kurtis Roberts, 10 20. TIE, Roger Hayden/Michel Fabrizio, 6 22. Fonsi Nieto, 5 23. TIE, Olivier Jacque/Kenny Roberts, Jr., 4 25. Shinichi Ito, 1 More, from a press release issued by Team Roberts: GOOD FIGHT BUT NO POINTS FOR ROBERTS IN AUSTRALIA Phillip Island, Australia – October 14, 2007: Kurtis Roberts had one of the best races since stepping in to his father’s team mid-season, fighting to the finish. But a top-15 points-scoring result was just out of his reach, after losing out at the end to Yamaha-mounted Makoto Tamada. The younger son of racing legend Kenny Roberts finished 17th, less than three seconds from the points. Roberts, who qualified 19th, was barely a tenth of a second behind the Yamaha after 27 laps of the 4.448-km seaside circuit a couple of hours from Melbourne, after getting overtaken just a few corners from the finish. The race was run in mild, sunny conditions, after rain and freezing wind had been a constant problem throughout two days of practice and qualifying. It left all riders short of crucial machine set-up time. Kurtis had another difficulty: it is ten years since he last saw the sweeping and highly technical circuit, and he was short also of time to regain familiarity with the subtle high-speed sweeps and swoops. The Californian had qualified 19th, and held the position in the early laps. As the race wore on, he found he was closing on not only Tamada, but also Toni Elias (Honda) a couple of seconds ahead. With five laps to go Roberts took 16th from former GP winner Tamada, but instead of being able to close on Elias, difficulties with his sliding tyres meant he instead succumbed to Tamada’s attack on the last lap. The race was won by new World Champion Casey Stoner, with Ducatiteam-mate Loris Capirossi second, and former champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) third. KURTIS ROBERTS – 17th Position This weekend’s been tough just because of the weather conditions. Andit’s the first time I’ve been here in ten years. We had as good a set-up as we could get, with only one session and today’s warm-up without any rain in the middle of it. We did as much as we could. I probably could have ridden a bit better, but I tried my hardest and ended up just losing out to Tamada and Elias right at the end. I’d got ahead of Tamada, but I just left the door open coming down the hill on the last lap. He pulled alongside and I went round the corner right with him. I thought I could out-drive him on the way out, but he had more grip. My bike was spinning there the whole race. I tried again in the last corner, but I went sideways. CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager It’s a decent result from where we started the weekend, so we have to be happy with that. Kurtis and the team worked hard to make the best job we could. We didn’t make many changes from this morning – just got into race mode, and Kurtis rode better as the temperature increased and he got more comfortable. That and time on the race-track helped him as well. He did a good job again. More, from a press release issued by Konica Minolta Honda: KONICA MINOLTA Honda take 13th place at Australian Grand Prix Shinya Nakano and his KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team took 13th place at today’s Australian Grand Prix. The 30-year-old Japanese rider made a good start from eighth position on the grid and managed to get into a good rhythm while inside the top ten, but from the middle of the race Shinya began to experience some front-end chatter from his RC212V in Phillip Island’s slower corners and dropped back through the pack to 13th position at the flag. The Team now immediately travels to Malaysia and the Sepang circuit for next weekend’s penultimate race of the 2007 MotoGP calendar. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Today the result is similar to others we’ve had this year but at least we took some more points. We would have wished for a better result after such a good grid position, but this is the way racing is sometimes. Shinya decided to use a softer tyre as he got good feeling from it, but from the middle of the race he lost a little confidence and began to lose his rhythm. I think the weather conditions and cool temperatures over the weekend meant that it was difficult for all the riders to choose the right tyre. At the beginning Shinya made a pretty good start but from the middle of the race he lost a few tenths of a second per lap compared to the front group when he encountered a chattering problem. We now go straight to Sepang and hope that the winter tests will give us a good basis for machine set-up for the weekend. Our target is to get a better result and try to improve our final World Championship ranking.” Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda (13th) “My start wasn’t too bad it’s nice to start from the third row for a change. Initially I found I could stay with the middle group at the start of the race. My pace at the start wasn’t too bad I was actually faster than during practice so I was enjoying myself. Unfortunately from the middle to the end of the race I couldn’t keep my rhythm going. Our problem was chattering from the front-end of the RC212V when under hard braking for the two hairpin corners. I think what we need to do is start Friday with a faster lap-time and then make changes from there to find a setting that works better when we’re going faster in the race. That’s what I want to do next weekend in Sepang. I like the track a lot and want a good result for the Team and myself.” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Conditions today were much drier and warmer than earlier this weekend, but the temperature was still not so high, 34-35 degrees of ground temperature. This morning we finalised the tyre choice for the race. We tried a hard compound but it seemed not to work for Shinya so we went with a softer tyre, which seemed like the best compromise for our technical package today. Our main problem was that from the middle of the race Shinya had some chattering problems in both the hairpins and in the second hairpin he lost two or three positions and found he couldn’t overtake other riders going into that corner, so he decided to keep position and get to the flag and score some more points.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki scores stunning top-eight finishes after tough weekend down under Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen produced two fantastic race performances at the Australian Grand Prix today, to leave Phillip Island still in fourth and fifth places respectively in the Riders’ Championship. Hopkins got off to one of his now customary flying starts and was up into eighth place from 14th on the grid by the end of lap one. He continued to chase down other riders in front of him and although he dropped back a place as he tried to conserve his Bridgestone race tyre, the Anglo-American battled back to seventh place at the end of the race to record his best-ever result at an Australian GP. Vermeulen also provided a tremendous racing performance as he followed his team-mate home to claim eighth place, after starting from 16th on the grid. He got off to a solid start and made up a couple of places early on before getting involved in a four-way battle with Carlos Checa, Colin Edwards and Anthony West, eventually coming out on top at the end of the 27-lap race. Today’s race was held in dry and sunny conditions and the 50,425 fans at trackside were treated to a home win as new World Champion Casey Stoner crossed the line first on his factory Ducati, giving Bridgestone its first-ever Grand Prix victory at Phillip Island. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now travels north to Sepang in Malaysia for the penultimate round of the 2007 World Championship next weekend, on Sunday 21st October. John Hopkins: “We did exactly what we wanted to do today – obviously I would have liked to have finished higher – but to get seventh from where we started is a good result. I got a great start and made a couple of places up round the outside and from there I just rode my own race. I lost a bit to the front group and tried to conserve the tyre a bit because we had chosen one of the softer compounds from our allocation. De Puniet came by me, but I then latched on to him and used him as a windbreak. It was good to see Melandri come back to us because I know how close we are in the championship so it was good to get past him later on and make up some more points. I tried to make a move on De Puniet on the last lap but made a mistake in turn one and that ruined any chance of getting past him. I really want to thank all my crew here at Suzuki as they worked their butts off this weekend to give me the best possible package for the race!” Chris Vermeulen: “It’s not great to finish in eighth, but it is a very good result from the weekend we’ve had. We’ve really struggled here both last year and this, but this year we have taken a big step and it’s great to see that we have a direction to head in. If we improve the same next year we will be pushing for the front. Full credit to all my guys; Tom, Simon, Mats, Ray and Penny, they did a great job all weekend and worked their little hearts out! They gave me a great bike to race and now I can’t wait to get to Malaysia.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “I am really happy with the performance of the team and the riders today. A reasonable result looked like a lost cause at the end of yesterday, but the crew worked tirelessly to improve the settings of the bike, and hats off to Tom, Stuart, Sahara san and our factory engineers for getting the best out of the package today. But especially thanks to John and Chris who provided a performance today that, whilst we wouldn’t normally shout about seventh and eighth, was a fantastic effort! The steps we’ve taken today allow us to leave Australia with an element of respect and some optimism that we are going to be able to challenge right at the front again over the final two events.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: A triumphant homecoming for Casey Stoner at Phillip Island, at the head of a Ducati one-two with Loris Capirossi, gave the Italian factory the Constructors and Teams World Championship in perfect fashion at the GMC Australian Grand Prix. In his first race since clinching the riders World Championship at Motegi from outside the podium spots, Stoner was able to start the celebrations in earnest with victory number nine of his flawless 2007 season. The Australian joins the likes of Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner in winning his home race after taking the premier class title, and did so by storming away from the pack right from the off. Given some early trouble by World Championship predecessor Nicky Hayden, once the American had been eliminated from the equation with a mechanical problem Stoner could go about his business without needing to look over his shoulder too frequently. He eventually took victory by nearly seven seconds. Following on from his own 2007 highlight at Motegi his only win to date with an 800cc machine- Loris Capirossi ensured his presence at the forefront of the Ducati celebrations by bursting through the field and taking second place. The Italian, who has been one of the key factors behind Ducati’s success since the creation of the MotoGP project, battled with old rival Valentino Rossi and Honda rider Dani Pedrosa for the podium place and continued his recent resurgence of form. Rossi, never off the podium in his seven visits to Phillip Island in MotoGP, completed the rostrum places and all but confirmed his second place in the 2007 standings. The Yamaha factory man was eventually too much for poleman Pedrosa, whose strange crash in the morning warmup when undertaking a practice start may have been the cause of a nervous opening for the Spaniard. Alex Barros took fifth from his highest grid placing of the season, ahead of Randy de Puniet, whilst the Suzuki duo of John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen sneaked up the standings from lowly qualifying positions. The two remain virtually inseparable in the battle for fourth place in the overall classification, experiencing their best ever seasons in MotoGP. Colin Edwards and Marco Melandri completed the top ten, with the latter making an unfortunate drop down the placings after providing much excitement in the early going. 250cc A dominant win for Jorge Lorenzo in the 250cc category, nearly 20 seconds ahead of his nearest rival in the race, took the Spaniard one step closer to retaining his quarter litre title. As with all his victories this year, the Aprilia rider took the triumph from pole position, and never looked to be in trouble en route to win number nine of the 2007 season. Alvaro Bautista’s last gasp move to snatch second, at the scene of his 2006 125cc world title victory, further helped out his countryman Lorenzo. The Aspar rider’s relegation of Andrea Dovizioso to third place stretches the gap between the Italian and the current series leader to 45 points with only 50 more up for grabs. The final two rostrum places could have been anybody’s in a closely packed top six, with Hiroshi Aoyama, Thomas Luthi and Julian Simon all battling amongst themselves and with the duo of Bautista and Dovizioso. Alex de Angelis’ slim chance of becoming World Champion was put to rest following his ninth place finish, behind Marco Simoncelli and Shuhei Aoyama. Yuki Takahashi completed the top ten. 125cc Thrust back into the limelight after a string of disappointing races, Lukas Pesek took the second win of his career in the 125cc race at Phillip Island. The Czech rider had his hands full as part of a top eight separated by less than 1.5 seconds, holding off Joan Olive and World Championship contender Hector Faubel in the final dash for the line. Pesek’s win is his first since his maiden victory in China, and the Derbi racer has been off the podium and outside the top ten since his home podium at Brno after the summer break. He had established a small gap at the midway point of a frantic shootout, but was caught by his pursuers and had to go through it all again in the final few laps. Olive returns to the rostrum for the first time since Turkey, and amongst those pleased with the Spaniard’s demoting Faubel to third will be Gabor Talmacsi, the current World Championship leader who maintains his top spot by a solitary point. The Hungarian himself could only manage an eighth place finish at Phillip Island, and the battle between himself and team-mate Faubel will now almost certainly go right down to the wire and the Spaniard’s home race in Valencia. Simone Corsi took fourth after a late surge, ahead of an impressive Esteve Rabat who was the bravest on the brakes all afternoon onboard the Repsol Honda. Tomoyoshi Koyama was unable to bounce back from his Motegi disappointment in sixth, ahead of poleman Mattia Pasini, Talmacsi, Sergio Gadea and Sandro Cortese. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Ducati takes momentous 1-2 as Stoner storms the island Round 16 Australia – Race Phillip Island Circuit – Sunday 14 October 2007 The Bridgestone-shod Ducati Corse team took a spectacular 1-2 at Phillip Island this afternoon as 2007 MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner took his ninth won of the season at his home grand prix ahead of team-mate Loris Capirossi who took his fourth podium of the year. Stoner’s success today makes it the eleventh win by a rider on Bridgestone tyres this season and the first ever in MotoGP at the technically challenging Phillip Island circuit. Pramac d’Antin’s Alex Barros made it three Ducati bikes in the top five with a competitive fifth place ahead of Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet, and the Suzuki duo of John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen. Honda Gresini’s Marco Melandri was the seventh Bridgestone-equipped rider to claim a top ten result. Bridgestone’s range of tyres performed well over the 28 lap event in spite of increased track temperatures after a weekend hit by cool and often wet conditions. All riders opted for a softer specification front tyre since the demands of the 4.428km track do not place the front tyre under too much stress, while riders were split between medium and hard specification rear tyres. Across the range, the performance was consistently competitive and the tyres coped well with the stresses placed on the left-hand side of the tyre, especially through the final left hander where tyre temperatures can reach in excess of 120 degrees Celsius for a prolonged period of time. Hiroshi Yamaguchi Bridgestone Corporation Vice President and Officer, Motorsport “I would like to congratulate the Ducati Corse team for an outstanding performance at Phillip Island this afternoon and on securing the teams’ championship title. It was especially pleasing for us to see Ducati take a 1-2 result with Casey’s excellent home victory and Loris’s equally competitive second place. All of our teams were able to achieve top ten results today and we can celebrate the first ever Australian MotoGP win on Bridgestone tyres. Finally, I would like to send thanks to all of our five teams for their hard work this weekend in often difficult and changeable weather conditions.” Hirohide Hamashima Bridgestone Corporation Director of Motorsport Tyre Development “I am very pleased with the performance of our tyres this weekend in a variety of track conditions. We have experienced cold, wind and rain this weekend, but today we could enjoy a dry, warm day and some competitive racing. All of our riders opted for the soft specification front tyre because the circuit characteristics allow us to run softer fronts, but there were some different rear tyre choices, with either medium or hard specifications being used. This was the first time that a rider on Bridgestone tyres wins in Phillip Island, one of the toughest tracks on the calendar for rear tyres, so I am very satisfied with the grip and performance of the tyres over the full race distance, especially with the increased track temperatures today.” Casey Stoner Ducati Corse Australian GP Winner and 2007 MotoGP World Champion “After winning the championship in Motegi, one of our goals for the rest of the season was to win this GP because we have been trying for a lot of years. I always believed we had the speed to win this race. To come out in front of such an impressive crowd and to change history, it is just an unbelievable feeling. This season has been magical for us and to stand on top of the podium this afternoon, I have never felt anything like it. I got one of my best starts of the season, very clean and we knew we had the first corner to ourselves. This was my best victory so far and I have to thank all the Australian fans for coming down here to see us.” Bridgestone Race Results Front Rear P1 Casey Stoner Ducati 41m12.244s Winner Slick Soft Slick Hard P2 Loris Capirossi Ducati 41m19.007s +6.763s Slick Soft Slick Hard P3 Alex Barros Pramac d’Antin 41m31.719s +19.475s Slick Soft Slick Hard P6 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 41m39.557s +27.313s Slick Soft Slick Hard P7 John Hopkins Suzuki 41m41.487s +29.243s Slick Soft Slick Hard/Medium P8 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 41m47.077s +34.833s Slick Soft Slick Medium P10 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 41m49.215s +36.971s Slick Soft Slick Medium P12 Anthony West Kawasaki 41m50.670s +38.426s Slick Soft Slick Hard (16”) P15 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 42m22.715s +1m10.471s Slick Soft Slick Medium (16”) DNF Chaz Davies Pramac d’Antin 18m45.841s +15 laps Slick Soft Slick Medium Weather: Dry. Air 20°C, Track 31°C, Humidity 47% More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: SIXTH AND TWELFTH FOR KAWASAKI DUO DOWN UNDER Today’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island turned out to be a nail-biting battle for Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet and Anthony West, with their final placements being sixth and 12th respectively. Having started from sixth on the grid after a healthy qualifying session yesterday, de Puniet lost places as the race began, finding himself in 10th position by the end of lap one. He was then relegated to 11th when he was overtaken by his team mate, Anthony West, but the Frenchman soon fought back, taking West and Shinya Nakano to move up to ninth. From there, he overtook John Hopkins and everybody moved up a place when Nicky Hayden dropped out on lap 13. Then, he passed Marco Melandri, all the while holding off the efforts of John Hopkins, who was unable to move past the 26-year-old Ninja ZX-RR rider. Finally finishing in a comfortable sixth, de Puniet succeeded in surpassing Kawasaki’s previous best premier class result at Phillip Island, which was Shinya Nakano’s 7th, back in 2005. West, meanwhile, struggled to maintain his positive early momentum. From his starting position of 10th, he changed places a number of times and ended up fighting hard in a group consisting of himself, Carlos Checa, Chris Vermeulen and Colin Edwards. Much overtaking and re-taking took place, making for some great racing, until the 26-year-old Australian went over the line in 12th. It was a disappointment for West, who had hoped for more at his home round but, yet again, he battled well and continued his run of bringing home championship points at every round since he joined the championship in June: no mean feat for a rider in their rookie year. Both riders and the team will travel to Malaysia this week for next Sunday’s race at Sepang. There, they hope to continue to improve on their results at what will be the penultimate round of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship. Randy De Puniet 6th Position “Unfortunately, like many for me this year, my start was bad, so I still need to work on those. I got behind Nakano and tried to pass but I made a mistake, losing the rear, and nearly went into the gravel at turn four. I lost another place and was behind Shinya and Anthony, and then it was impossible to overtake, so I waited four or five laps and went for it. Then I got Hopkins and Melandri, who I think had a tyre problem or something, and I finished sixth. It’s not a bad result but sure, after the practices, I expected to do better in the race.” Anthony West 12th Position “My start wasn’t that great but I started to work my way through and did okay; I was feeling good. I tried to push as much as I could until I’d pretty much destroyed the rear tyre. I couldn’t keep my speed up through the corners and, as has been the case over the past day or so, it was particularly difficult to feel comfortable when the bike was leaned over on the left hand side. I was working to stay at the front of my group but by the last few laps I don’t think the tyre had anything left. I’m not very happy about my result but the fans here have been really supportive so hopefully, by the time we come back here next year, I can give them some more to cheer about.” Michael Bartholemy Kawasaki Competition Manager “I’m feeling pretty happy, over all. Randy’s sixth is a good result and, while I’m a bit disappointed that Anthony wasn’t able to finish a bit higher by the end of the race, it looks like he may have had a few problems with his tyres. This seems to have made him lose some places at the end of the race, which is a shame, but at the end of the day, both riders rode well for us today and kept fighting until the end. We can now look forward to Sepang: we test a lot there and know the ZX-RR is well-suited to it, so we’ll see what happens next weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI KEEPS ISLAND PODIUM RUN INTACT WITH THIRD IN AUSTRALIA Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi claimed his tenth consecutive career podium at Phillip Island today, taking third place and clocking the fastest lap of the race in the process. Team-mate Colin Edwards finished ninth in a race that was won by Casey Stoner, with Loris Capirossi second. Starting second on the grid, Rossi slipped to fourth but passed Dani Pedrosa on lap two, only to make a small mistake at the end of the lap, briefly touching the grass at the start of the main straight and letting Pedrosa back past. On lap four of 27 he managed to get in front of the Spaniard once again and he then set off after Nicky Hayden, who was running second behind Stoner. Despite setting the fastest lap on lap seven, Rossi was unable to make much headway until lap 11, when he passed Hayden for second. As Stoner gradually extended his advantage in front however it became clear that Rossi’s fight would be for the runner-up spot as he became embroiled in a three-way battle with Capirossi and Pedrosa. After several changes of position between the trio Pedrosa tailed off and it briefly looked like another being another vintage Rossi-Capirossi showdown, but with little grip left in his tyres Rossi was unable to keep pace with his compatriot and he eventually crossed the line three seconds adrift, with Stoner several seconds ahead of Capirossi. After failing to find a comfortable setting throughout the practice sessions, Edwards made a change to his setting for the race and, although it took him some laps to adapt and he dropped a few positions early on, he kept pushing throughout and was able to peg back several places. He finished ninth and claimed seven points, which moves him up one place in the championship to eighth. Rossi’s 16-point haul meanwhile sees him move 29 points clear in second place, ahead of Pedrosa. The team now heads directly to Sepang for the Malaysian Grand Prix in just seven days time. Valentino Rossi Position: 3rd Time: +10.038 “Honestly I’m not too disappointed today because I know I did everything I could have possibly done. I started okay and in the opening laps I felt like I could go quite fast and have the chance to fight at the front. I passed Pedrosa and at that stage I was quite close to Hayden and Stoner, but then I made a small mistake coming onto the straight and lost a bit of time. I managed to pass Pedrosa again but then I wasn’t able to close the gap to Stoner, even though I was riding at the maximum. In places I had fun and I made some good passes; at the end especially I was hoping for a great battle with Capirossi, like the old days, but by then the grip from my rear tyre was very poor and I had to slow down to make sure I would arrive to the end. I am very happy that I was on the podium because this is a special place and it’s always a big emotion to stand there with all the crowds in pit lane. Today with Casey I think it was a bit like for me in Mugello! Anyway, now we go straight to Malaysia, where our bike usually goes well, so once again we will do the maximum and try for the win.” Colin Edwards Position: 9th Time: +35.073 “After the problems we’d had all weekend we made a big change to the tyres and to our setting for the race, more towards what Valentino was running, so it was pretty different to what I’d been used to all weekend. I got pinched a bit at the start and had to go round the outside of a few people, and then I had a huge moment at the end of the first lap where it nearly flicked me off and I lost a few places. Once I’d got the measure of how to ride it though it actually felt okay and I did a 31.9 at one point, which I hadn’t been close to all weekend. I gave it everything I had today and, although I can’t be happy with ninth, after the nightmare I’d had all weekend I think it could have been worse. It’s been great to have so many family and friends here as ever and I want to say a huge thank you to my guys; they’ve had to work so hard changing the bike around so much and they’ve done a great job as always.” Davide Brivio Fiat Yamaha Team Director “At the beginning of the race Valentino was keeping the same pace as the riders in front and we were all hoping for a battle until the last corner. Unfortunately it was not possible because after some laps the grip went down and we had to settle for finishing third. We had hoped for a better result today and it’s a real pity because we all love this track; it’s a magic place for us. Colin made a big effort and did a very good job because he was able to climb some positions in the second half of the race. If he’d had a faster pace from the beginning, he could have made a very good race. Unfortunately we struggled a lot with his bike throughout the weekend and this was the best we could do with him. It was not a disaster today because we were able to confirm Valentino’s second place in the championship and we will keep on defending it in the last two races. Now we go to Sepang and we will be fighting for the win again.” More, from a press release issued by Malrboro Ducati: STONER & CAPIROSSI STORM THE ISLAND TO WIN CONSTRUCTORS’ & TEAMS’ WORLD TITLES Ducati Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi stormed Phillip Island today, scoring a stunning one-two result that secures the constructors’ World Championship for the legendary Italian factory and also the team’s World Championship for the Borgo-Panigale-based squad. Riding his first race as riders’ World Champion, Stoner led from start to finish while Japanese GP winner Capirossi fought through from fifth place on the first lap. It was an immaculate and dominant performance from Aussie Stoner who was cheered all the way by an ecstatic 50,000 crowd. At one point he led the pack by almost eight seconds, eventually crossing the line 6.763 seconds ahead of his team-mate. Stoner’s ninth victory of the year is also the team’s fifth win from the past six races and the Ducati’s tenth win of this season. Stoner, who topped all but one of the five pre-race track sessions here, celebrates his 22nd birthday on Tuesday. Ducati is the first non-Japanese manufacturer to win the premier-class constructors’ title since 1973, when MV Agusta were champions. CASEY STONER, winner, World Champion on 322 points “Being up on the podium was just unbelievable, I’ve never felt anything like it. I’ve been working very hard for a lot of years trying to win here. This whole season has been magical for us, we came here with a lot less pressure after winning the title in Japan, so I could really enjoy this race. It’s definitely my best victory so far. I have to thank the Australian fans, it’s good to see so many of them here and I hope they’ve had a lot of fun, I really appreciate it. I made one of my best starts, I had the first corner to myself so I could concentrate on getting the tyres warmed up and ready to go. Nicky [Hayden, who DNFed] was really pushing in the beginning, he was on my rear wheel for a while but I managed to get away. I was really hoping, more than ever, that Loris would get on the podium here, so it’s been another great weekend for the team and for Ducati.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 2nd place, 7th in World Championship on 150 points “My start wasn’t really good, so in the early laps I had to fight a lot with Marco [Melandri] and in my opinion he was little bit too aggressive. I had to push really hard to overtake him and then I said ‘please take it easy’. After that I tried to keep my pace and I finished second, so I’m really, really happy and a big thanks to my team who worked so hard all weekend. This is another great moment, especially after my win at Motegi. I am trying to end my five years with Ducati in the best way possible. Ducati has won everything this year – the riders’, constructors’ and teams’ championships, which proves that everything’s working 100 per cent at the factory.” GABRIELE DEL TORCHIO, CEO Ducati Motor Holding “Winning the constructors’ and teams’ titles confirms and strengthens the value of the goal conquered three weeks ago by Casey. We have a great team of men and women who, with courage and warmth, have made a dream come true.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA FOURTH AT PHILLIP ISLAND, HAYDEN FAST BUT OUT OF LUCK Dani Pedrosa rode his Repsol Honda RC212V to a gritty fourth place in the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island on Sunday. Starting from the pole position Pedrosa achieved with a brilliant lap yesterday, the 22-year-old Spaniard was in third place after the first corner and began an on-off duel with Marco Melandri that lasted for 16 laps. The pair traded places many times as they circulated the 4.448km (2.764-mile) circuit, with Pedrosa eventually making a decisive break. By lap 18 he had climbed to second place and looked on course for a strong podium finish. In a display of committed riding Pedrosa fought another intense battle, this time with Valentino Rossi. But with fading grip in the final ten laps he could do nothing to prevent first Rossi and then Loris Capirossi from coming past. Pedrosa brought his Repsol Honda home in fourth place, 11.663s behind today’s winner, home hero and new World Champion Casey Stoner. The result sees Pedrosa retain his third place in the MotoGP World Championship with two rounds remaining. Nicky Hayden had a frustrating end to his Australian Grand Prix after matching Stoner’s pace in the early laps. The American made a fast start from fourth on the grid and immediately latched onto the Australian’s tail, never allowing him to get away. Riding with aggression and confidence Hayden remained with Stoner for the first 12 laps, comfortably keeping the gap to under half a second. Then came the heartbreaking moment as a mechanical problem saw the 26-year-old 2006 World Champion slow suddenly and he was forced to retire from the race. Naturally bitterly disappointed, Hayden at least took some comfort that this had been the closest he had come to race-winning pace all season. From Australia the MotoGP paddock now flies to the Sepang circuit for the Malaysian Grand Prix which takes place next weekend. Dani Pedrosa Position: 4th Fastest lap: 1m 30.956s World Championship position 3rd 201 pts Front tyre: 16.0″ Michelin slick Rear tyre: 16.5″ Michelin slick “This weekend I actually felt very comfortable at this circuit which is positive because in the past it hasn’t been one of my favourite tracks. So having taken pole position yesterday of course this is not really the result we wanted here. We had an issue with the machine on my practice start in the warm-up this morning and so I was racing my second bike today. The feeling was not perfect but still I was able to push hard and fight for positions for most of the race. However in the last ten laps the grip from the tyres began to fall away quite quickly and I had a lot wheelspin and the machine was sliding when I tried to open the throttle. Casey was very fast again here and I don’t think we could have stayed with him today but it’s a shame not to be on the podium today. We’ve had two pole positions in a row and haven’t converted them into very good results so hopefully we can change this for the next race in Malaysia next weekend.” Nicky Hayden Position: Retired – Fastest lap: 1m 30.816s World Championship position 9th 112 pts Front tyre: 16.0″ Medium Michelin slick Rear tyre: 16.0” Hard Michelin slick “That’s a tough one to swallow. That hurts because we were having a really good race and the bike was feeling by far the best it has all season without a doubt. Stoner was setting a hot pace he was a little bit quicker in some places and I was quicker than him in a few places. I was trying to hang in there and rider smoothly and try not to preserve the tyres and not get too crazy too quickly. It’s easy to speculate on what would have happened at the end of the race”¦ After a few laps I was still right on him but all of a sudden the engine started to get tight and started slowing down. I was nervous but it kept running and I wasn’t going to pull over so I kept one hand on the clutch. Eventually she tied up and that was it another goose egg in the points column. It’s really frustrating it seems like the deck’s stacked against us at the moment, but we’ll hang in there and hopefully get a bit of luck going our way soon. We’ve got two more tries.” Makoto Tanaka Repsol Honda Team Manager “Nicky made a good start and at the beginning of the race he looked very fast and confident and was able to chase Casey Stoner. However an engine problem forced him out of the race which is a real pity for him and the team. Dani had big wheelie on his practice start in warm-up but still his start in the race was not bad and he recovered his position well. Unfortunately he began to lose grip from his tyres in the final laps and wasn’t able to battle for the podium at the end. So it’s been a frustrating race for us. Our rivals were strong again so we must continue to concentrate hard for the final two races of the season.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island Sunday October 14, 2007 Weather: fine and sunny. Temperature: Air 18 degrees, ground 29. Humidity: 50%. Crowd: 50,425. STONER WINS AT HOME IN HARD RACE FOR HONDA MEN World Champion Casey Stoner (Ducati) MotoGP emphasized his talent with a lights-to-flag win here at Phillip Island, with his team-mate Loris Capirossi second and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) third. This is Stoner’s ninth win of the season so far. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) rode as hard as he ever has to manage fourth place after his team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) was forced out of this 27-lap race on lap 13 with a mechanical problem. Stoner rocketed off the line to lead into the only turn one on the superb MotoGP circuit with a sea view. He was pursued by the fast-starting Hayden, who leapt from fourth to second in that short burst from the line. Poleman Dani Pedrosa lay third with Rossi on his tail. Dani and Rossi spent the first few laps juggling third place between them, while Nicky stalked Stoner. Both of those riders were desperate for victory, former World Champion Nicky to record the first win of his troubled title defence season, Stoner to win in front of his massed fans. Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) made a fantastic start to move up to fourth place from 12th on the grid and set a fastest lap of the race while doing it. As the field settled down to engage in the fastest race of the season, it was clear Stoner was unassailable here barring disaster. The fight would be for scraps behind the Aussie Champ. By mid-race Rossi had relieved Hayden of second, with Stoner already enjoying a 2.5 second lead. Dani held fourth, with Merlandri now fifth and Capirossi sixth. Here, from approaching mid-race distance, Capirossi would begin his charge. But mid-race too would spell disaster for Nicky and it was an angry Hayden who trudged back to his pit garage when his RC212V expired. Having qualified in the top four for six successive races, Nicky was again working hard for a result here. By lap 15 Stoner had put five seconds between himself and Rossi with Dani third and a determined Melandri fourth, but on the next lap Melandri ran wide and let Capirossi through to take his place. Dani took second back off Rossi on lap 17, but there was more action to come as the strain on tyres took its toll here. The three way dice for second, third and fourth places was a highlight of the race with Capirossi taking both Rossi and Dani’s places in the space of the final turn on lap 19 and the entry to turn one on lap 20 and racing doesn’t come much more spectacular than that. Rossi then stole third off Dani on the same lap. Stoner was well away by now and at the flag he was 6.763 seconds ahead of his team-mate. Dani in fourth was 11 seconds away from the Aussie victor. Melandri would drop to 10th at the flag as his tyres deteriorated towards the end of this gruelling race. Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) finished 11th, Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) 13th and Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) 15th. Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V) brought the KR machine home 17th. Dani, still fighting Rossi for second overall in the Championship with 201 points to Rossi’s 230, said: “This is not really the result we wanted here. We had an issue with the machine on my practice start in the warm-up this morning and so I was racing my second bike today. The feeling was not perfect but still I was able to push hard and fight for positions for most of the race. However in the last ten laps the grip from the tyres began to fall away quite quickly and I had a lot wheelspin and the machine was sliding when I tried to open the throttle. Casey was very fast again here and I don’t think we could have stayed with him today but it’s a shame not to be on the podium today.” Nicky said: “That’s a tough one to swallow. That hurts because we were having a really good race and the bike was feeling by far the best it has all season without a doubt. Stoner was setting a hot pace he was a little bit quicker in some places and I was quicker than him in a few places. I was trying to hang in there and ride smoothly and try to preserve the tyres and not get too crazy too quickly. It’s easy to speculate on what would have happened at the end of the race”¦ After a few laps I was still right on him but all of a sudden the engine started to get tight and started slowing down. I was nervous but it kept running and I wasn’t going to pull over so I kept one hand on the clutch. Eventually she tied up and that was it another goose egg in the points column.” Marco Melandri (10th) said: “Today we were in good shape to finish on the podium. After a good start from the fourth row I was able to battle virtually for the whole race in the top five. I had a good pace and the bike felt really good. I could have fought for second but unfortunately I had problems. I tried to finish the race as best as I could. I’m disappointed with tenth place because we had the potential for a much better result at a circuit I love and where I have already won in all three classes, as well as lifting the 250 title here.” Checa in 11th said: “The start and opening laps were the best for me and I did my fastest lap of the weekend on lap seven. I was still suffering from a lack of turning, especially in the very fast turn three, plus it was difficult to stay ahead on the front straight. I had a lot of fun in the fight with West, Vermeulen and Edwards, it is more enjoyable than riding alone. The team worked hard to improve the bike but this was the best result possible today.” Shinya Nakano (13th) said: “My start wasn’t too bad it’s nice to start from the third row for a change. Initially I found I could stay with the middle group at the start of the race. My pace at the start wasn’t too bad I was actually faster than during practice so I was enjoying myself. Unfortunately from the middle to the end of the race I couldn’t keep my rhythm going. Our problem was chattering from the front-end of the RCV211V when under hard braking for the two hairpin corners. I think what we need to do is start Friday with a faster lap-time and then make changes from there to find a setting that works better when we’re going faster in the race.” Toni Elias finished 15th and said: “It’s been a difficult weekend and today I suffered from a few different problems that prevented me from riding as I can. I had problems with the front tyre from the start, then at the halfway stage we developed a problem with the electronics and I just tried to finish the race. I want to put this behind me now and just think about Malaysia. Sepang is one of my favourite circuits so hopefully we can have a much better result there.” Kurtis Roberts said: “This weekend’s been tough just because of the weather conditions. And it’s the first time I’ve been here in ten years. We did as much as we could. I probably could have ridden a bit better, but I tried my hardest and ended up just losing out to Tamada and Elias right at the end. I’d got ahead of Tamada, but I just left the door open coming down the hill on the last lap. He pulled alongside and I went round the corner right with him. I thought I could out-drive him on the way out, but he had more grip. My bike was spinning there the whole race. I tried again in the last corner, but I went sideways.” The 250cc race was the domain of reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, who won from Alvaro Bautista (both Aprilia) with Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda RS250RW) third. Lorenzo was more than 19 seconds ahead of a gaggle of chasing riders fighting for the remaining podium places. Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW) finished sixth and Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) eighth while Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda RS250RW) stole in the top ten in tenth. Dovi said: “Lorenzo was impossible to catch, anyway I hoped to get second position, but instead Bautista beat me by a few thousandths of a second. I’m sorry because every earned point is important for us with two races to the end of the Championship. Lorenzo hasn’t won it yet and we can still fight in the last two races and this motivates me. To be sincere if I had to go in Malaysia with the Championship already ended I would have been very demoralized. It will be very difficult to make up 45 points though in two races.” Lukas Pesek (Derbi) won the 125cc race taking the second win of his career ahead of Joan Olive (Aprilia) and title contender Hector Faubel (Aprilia) third. Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda RS125R) rode a great race to fifth, less than a second off the winner’s pace at the flag. Mike di Meglio (Scot Honda) took 14th place while Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) finished 16th. Rabat said: “My start wasn’t too bad and I got myself into a good position on the first lap. When the group closed up it became a little difficult racing in the strong wind but the bike was good right from the first few laps to the end. The only small problem I had was in the last few laps with the rear end sliding on the long left corners before the finish line. I have to congratulate my team and thank them for giving me such a good bike, they have worked hard for me all the weekend.” The World Championship is a straight fight between Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia), who finished eighth here, on 237 points, with Faubel now on 236 with two round remaining. Honda riders quotes: Australian race MotoGP. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 4th. “This weekend I actually felt very comfortable at this circuit which is positive because in the past it hasn’t been one of my favourite tracks. So having taken pole position yesterday of course this is not really the result we wanted here. We had an issue with the machine on my practice start in the warm-up this morning and so I was racing my second bike today. The feeling was not perfect but still I was able to push hard and fight for positions for most of the race. However in the last ten laps the grip from the tyres began to fall away quite quickly and I had a lot wheelspin and the machine was sliding when I tried to open the throttle. Casey was very fast again here and I don’t think we could have stayed with him today but it’s a shame not to be on the podium today. We’ve had two pole positions in a row and haven’t converted them into very good results so hopefully we can change this for the next race in Malaysia next weekend.” Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 10th. “Today we were in good shape to finish on the podium. After a good start from the fourth row I was able to battle virtually for the whole race in the top five. I had a good pace and the bike felt really good. I could have fought for second but unfortunately I had a technical problem that I didn’t expect and it slowed me a lot. I tried to finish the race as best as I could. I’m disappointed with tenth place because we had the potential for a much better result at a circuit I love and where I have already won in all three classes, as well as lifting the 250 title here.” Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 11th. “The start and opening laps were the best for me and I did my fastest lap of the weekend on lap seven. I was still suffering from a lack of turning, especially in the very fast turn three, plus it was difficult to stay ahead on the front straight. I had a lot of fun in the fight with West, Vermeulen and Edwards, it is more enjoyable than riding alone. The team worked hard to improve the bike but this was the best result possible today.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 13th. “My start wasn’t too bad it’s nice to start from the third row for a change. Initially I found I could stay with the middle group at the start of the race. My pace at the start wasn’t too bad I was actually faster than during practice so I was enjoying myself. Unfortunately from the middle to the end of the race I couldn’t keep my rhythm going. Our problem was chattering from the front-end of the RCV211V when under hard braking for the two hairpin corners. I think what we need to do is start Friday with a faster lap-time and then make changes from there to find a setting that works better when we’re going faster in the race. That’s what I want to do next weekend in Sepang. I like the track a lot and want a good result for the team and myself.” Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 15th. “It has been a difficult weekend and today I suffered from a few different problems that prevented me from riding as I can. I had problems with the front tyre from the start, then at the halfway stage we developed a problem with the electronics and I just tried to finish the race. I want to put this behind me now and just think about Malaysia. Sepang is one of my favourite circuits so hopefully we can have a much better result there.” Kurtis Roberts, KR212V: 17th. “This weekend’s been tough just because of the weather conditions. And it’s the first time I’ve been here in ten years. We had as good a set-up as we could get, with only one session and today’s warm-up without any rain in the middle of it. We did as much as we could. I probably could have ridden a bit better, but I tried my hardest and ended up just losing out to Tamada and Elias right at the end. I’d got ahead of Tamada, but I just left the door open coming down the hill on the last lap. He pulled alongside and I went round the corner right with him. I thought I could out-drive him on the way out, but he had more grip. My bike was spinning there the whole race. I tried again in the last corner, but I went sideways.” Chuck Aksland – Team Manager Team Roberts. “It’s a decent result from where we started the weekend, so we have to be happy with that. Kurtis and the team worked hard to make the best job we could. We didn’t make many changes from this morning – just got into race mode, and Kurtis rode better as the temperature increased and he got more comfortable. That and time on the race-track helped him as well. He did a good job again.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: dnf mechanical problem. “That’s a tough one to swallow. That hurts because we were having a really good race and the bike was feeling by far the best it has all season without a doubt. Stoner was setting a hot pace he was a little bit quicker in some places and I was quicker than him in a few places. I was trying to hang in there and ride smoothly and try to preserve the tyres and not get too crazy too quickly. It’s easy to speculate on what would have happened at the end of the race”¦ After a few laps I was still right on him but all of a sudden the engine started to get tight and started slowing down. I was nervous but it kept running and I wasn’t going to pull over so I kept one hand on the clutch. Eventually she tied up and that was it another goose egg in the points column. It’s really frustrating it seems like the deck’s stacked against us at the moment, but we’ll hang in there and hopefully get a bit of luck going our way soon. We’ve got two more tries.” 250cc: Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda: 3rd. “We knew that for us it would have been a difficult race, probably it has been even more. Lorenzo was impossible to catch, anyway I hoped to reach second position, instead Bautista beat me by a few thousandths of a second. I’m sorry because every earned point is important for us with two races to the end of the championship. Anyway it is important and meaningful the fact that the championship is still open and we can still fight in the last two races and this motivates me. To be sincere if I had to go in Malaysia with the Championship already ended I would have been very demoralized, for sure it will be very difficult to make up for 45 points but it is not finished and the hope is always with us. We have to be happy for the improvements that we keep on making with my team and because we made a very hard race always in the lad group.” Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 6th. “My start was not so good, when I changed into second gear the revs dropped off and I was slow off the line. Then I pushed and pushed hard and caught the lead group. I was faster in the race than qualifying. The engine was not so bad today and the tyres good almost to the end of the race. I was just a little down on acceleration with the KTM. Congratulations to my team I have to thank them for a positive weekend. Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 8th. “My start was good and I had a very good feeling with the bike. I got up to second place by lap seven but the next lap I pushed the front tyre too hard and ran of the track. I thought I was going to crash but somehow I got it back onto the track but I was eleventh, I think, and had to work hard to catch the group in front of me. I tried very hard and took eighth place at the finish.” Yukio Takahashi, Scot Honda: 10th. “That was a very hard race for me. My start was not so bad and I was pushing hard but in the middle of the race my rear tyre was sliding really bad I was almost high-sided and I thought I would crash it was a difficult situation, so I took it a little easy after that. The engine was so-so today but my problem was the rear tyre.” Eugene Laverty, LCR Honda: 16th. “I’m happy with that result even though I’m just one place out of the points. I got to 15th passing guys through the fast corners and on the brakes at the hairpin but once as tyres dropped off it was difficult to keep that pace, plus I had some pain from my knee which I hurt in training.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 19th. “It was a pretty poor weekend. I knew Phillip Island was a challenging track and things only got worse when I crashed yesterday. My right hand bothered all through the race and the pain was increasing as the laps went by. This and a poor start prevented to get into the points. We have to think about what happened and focus on bouncing back next Sunday at Sepang.” 125cc. Tito Rabat, Repsol Honda: 5th. “My start was not too bad and I got myself into a good position on the first lap. When the group closed up it became a little difficult racing in the strong wind but the race was good right from the first few laps to the end. The bike worked good from the start but the engine slowed a little in the last few laps. The only small problem I had was in the last few laps with the rear end sliding on the long left corners before the finish line. I have to congratulate my team and thank them for giving me such a good bike, they have worked hard fr me all the weekend.” Mike Di Meglio, Scot Honda: 14th. “I didn’t get the good start I needed and from then on it was not possible to catch the leading group. The engine was fast but I was having problems on the last left corners because I chose to use a longer third gear ratio and that cost me some time coming onto the straight I could not get myself into a position to pass anybody down the straight. The tyres were sliding but that was controllable. Now we go to Malaysia and I hope I will ride as well at Sepang as here and the bike is just as fast.” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 16th . “I got a good start and in the firsts few laps I was in eighth place from 13th on the grid but I couldn’t find a way to stay with the top group. No way could I run the same pace as them. The front end was just the same as in qualifying I just don’t know what the problem is. We went with the H type front tyre and the same suspension settings, maybe that’s what is was we have to analyse the situation before Sepang next week. I eventually got to the front of the group I was racing with but putting in so much effort for 16th isn’t really what I wanted from this race. But I have to stay positive, I just hope we can find the solution for the problem we had this weekend.” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 17th. “A super race for me, everything was good. I got a fast start and made up places and was in a good fight with Danny (Webb) Smith and Zanetti. But Zanetti outbraked me at a very unusual place and we lost the slipstream of Smith and Bonsey. My engine was fast on top speed and the bike was steering rally good. Normally a few riders crash or fall out but today the only riders to stop were behind us. But still, I am happy with my best GP result to date.” Alexis Masbou, FFM Honda: dnf crash. “Indeed I had a poor start, which means I wasn’t in the right place for the first corner and got somewhat pushed around. I gave it all I had to recover and was able to move up to 16th position and lead the second group. Halfway through the race, Bradley Smith and Danny Webb slipstreamed past me and as I was about to pass Webb on the brakes he crashed right in front of me, forcing me out of my racing line. I lost ground on my opponents and was back down in 24th spot. As I was pushing to recover I lost the front end of my bike and crashed in the right hand hairpin. It¹s a pity because I could easily have scored some championship points. I tried as much as I could but it is difficult to move up the field when you¹re not in the good pack.” Danny Webb, Molenaar Honda: dnf crash. “I really enjoyed the race even if I did crash near the end I was racing with Joey (Litjens) Bradley Smith and Zanetti. We were making some serious moves on ach other out there. The bike was really good today, the suspension could have been a bit better but it wasn’t a big problem. My target was to get a good start and be with Joey because he always gets flying starts. I was not too good but I was fast in the first two corners and got with him. Normally a few guys drop out but not today. Pity because we could have been racing for points.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Media Service: DANI PEDROSA FOURTH IN THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX Tyre problems mean that Pedrosa could not fight for the podium. Nicky Hayden retired with mechanial problems when he was third The rain and cold gave way to sun and higher temperatures today at the Australian circuit of Phillip Island. The wind stayed however but fortunately the three races were held in normal conditions. The morning did not start especially well for Dani Pedrosa. At the end of the warm up, setting the sixth best time, the Repsol Honda Team rider had a setback when he was practising a start on one of the straights. He did an exaggerated wheelie and he fell off his bike, but he was not injured. In spite of the fall Pedrosa kept his cool and his concentration at the beginning of the race. After the first lap he was behind Stoner and Hayden, but the Spanish rider stayed close to his teammate Hayden on the first few laps whilst the American controlled Stoner who was setting a fast pace as leader. Rossi caught Pedrosa and got past him at the halfway stage, although a little later Pedrosa overtook him. On lap 13 Nicky Hayden was forced to retire with mechanical problems, he was third at the time behind Rossi and he had Pedrosa tucked in behind him. Meanwhile Rossi and Pedrosa fought for second place, Capirossi and his fast Ducati reached and overtook the two of them practically at the same time. In the end Pedrosa finished fourth with tyre problems just over a second behind Rossi, third. The race was won by the recently crowned World Champion and local hero Casey Stoner. In 250cc there were positive performances from the two Repsol Honda Team riders, Julián Simón and Shuhei Aoyama. The Japanese rider made a good start and was 7th at the end of the first lap, whilst Simón was 10th. Aoyama climbed little by little in the leading group whilst the overall championship leader, the Spaniard Lorenzo, got away from the rest of the group. The Repsol rider got into first position in the chasing group, second in the race, but on the 8th lap the steering on his Honda locked and he almsot fell. In the end he had to go off the track but was able to return in 11th position. In the end got a well-earned 8th place having overtaken three riders before the finish. At the same time that Shuhei lost time Simón made contact with the leading group and did some fantastic overtaking whilst braking. Julián got into a podium finish but in the end made a mistake when braking and trying to overtake Hiroshi Aoyama, he was 6th. A spectacular performance from Esteve Rabat in an exciting 125cc race, won by the Czech rider Lukas Pesek ahead of Olivé and Faubel. The Repsol rider, who started 11th on the grid, started well and on the first curve had moved up to 6th place. The Spaniard stayed among the leading group of eleven riders at some moments and he had to fight hard to stay there. As the race progressed Esteve even moved up to second position in a tight battle full of risky overtaking which in the end saw him finish fifth. His teammate Bradley Smith also started well, moving up to 8th after the first few curves. However, as he had hinted after the practice sessions, in a dry race he had the same problems as on the previous days and he could only watch as his rivals easily paased him. On one lap he lost five places and in the end the British youngster was 16th. Quotes MotoGP Nicky Hayden >> Retired. “That’s a tough one to swallow. That hurts because we were having a really good race and the bike was feeling by far the best it has all season without a doubt. Stoner was setting a hot pace he was a little bit quicker in some places and I was quicker than him in a few places. I was trying to hang in there and rider smoothly and try not to preserve the tyres and not get too crazy too quickly. It’s easy to speculate on what would have happened at the end of the race”¦ After a few laps I was still right on him but all of a sudden the engine started to get tight and started slowing down. I was nervous but it kept running and I wasn’t going to pull over so I kept one hand on the clutch. Eventually she tied up and that was it another goose egg in the points column. It’s really frustrating it seems like the deck’s stacked against us at the moment, but we’ll hang in there and hopefully get a bit of luck going our way soon. We’ve got two more tries.” Dani Pedrosa >> 4th at 11.663 secs. “This weekend I actually felt very comfortable at this circuit which is positive because in the past it hasn’t been one of my favourite tracks. So having taken pole position yesterday of course this is not really the result we wanted here. We had an issue with the machine on my practice start in the warmup this morning and so I was racing my second bike today. The feeling was not perfect but still I was able to push hard and fight for positions for most of the race. However in the last ten laps the grip from the tyres began to fall away quite quickly and I had a lot wheelspin and the machine was sliding when I tried to open the throttle. Casey was very fast again here and I don’t think we could have stayed with him today but it’s a shame not to be on the podium today. We’ve had two pole positions in a row and haven’t converted them into very good results so hopefully we can change this for the next race in Malaysia next weekend.” 250cc Julián Simón >> 6th at 21.645 secs. “The truth is that this was a shame. I started quite badly and I am sorry for the team because we had a good pace. I tried to go fast right from the start because I had the leading group in front of me. Lorenzo set an incredibly fast pace and got away at the start. I tried to keep up with the second group at all costs, where there were some fast riders. I did so and then I had to fight at my highest level and then even higher. Above all I really enjoyed overtaking some riders but when I was doing the same with Hiroshi Aoyama I got ahead of myself and I fell back. At that moment I lost some ground and it was on the final lap, and so I had to make do with 6th position. The truth is that this is not the result I wanted, but I am pleased with the race I did and for the team as we worked very well “ Shuhei Aoyama >> 8th a 33.043 secs. “I started well and I was fast at the beginning. But when I got into second place I put too much pressure on the front wheel and the steering locked, I almost fell. I went off the track but got back in the race in 11th position. I continued trying to attack as best I could and was able to finish 8th. I am not totally happy because I could have fought for second positionn. I am sorry for the whole team because it was me who made the mistake.” 125cc Bradley Smith >> 16th at 37.981 secs. “Obviously finishing 16th is not what I wanted. This is not my level nor that of the team’s either. We had some problems with the front wheel the whole weekend. I felt some vibrations and I was going off at the curves. As the race progressed I learnt how to deal with the problem, and so on the final few laps I was able to go faster. But halfway through the race when I was with the group, I did not have enough confidence to overtake because I thought that the bike would not be able to stay there and I thought I would fall. So in the end 16th, which is not very good but I hope that before the last couple of races we can analyse what was wrong and go to Malaysia at the level that I know I can ride at and on a competitive bike.” Esteve Rabat >> 5th at 0.915 secs. “The truth is that this weekend has been very complicated, with the rain in practice and with a front tyre for the race that we had not tried before on the two days but it was not too bad. On the first few laps I went carefully but then I felt better and I was able to overtake within the group. Towards the end the bike was sliding around, the fault of the rear wheel, and it was hard to keep up with the pace set by the leaders, but the result after all that has happened this weekend is not bad. It was quite windy and it was complicating things but on the final lap I got ahead and was able to fight better. Although I was 5th, with all the problems this weekend it is not bad. I want to thank the whole team and Repsol and everybody. Now we have a little rest before the next race.” More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing Honda: DISAPPOINTMENT FOR TEAM HONDA GRESINI AT PHILLIP ISLAND The Australian Grand Prix was an unlucky affair for Team Honda Gresini, who were unable to get the most out of their package at Phillip Island as a host of technical problems haunted Marco Melandri and Toni Elias. Melandri, who launched himself from twelfth on the grid up to seventh at the start, became embroiled in a spectacular battle with Pedrosa and Capirossi to put together an unlikely challenge for the podium. Marco, who had found an improved feeling with his bike after some changes to the geometry during warm-up, set an incredible pace for two thirds distance, even clocking the second fastest lap of the race with a time of 1’30″806. However, from the 18th lap he started to drop his pace due to a technical problem and could only fight to hang on to the best position he could manage. It was an equally tough race for his team-mate Elias, who started from the sixth row and struggled through a host of problems to pick up a single point down in fifteenth place. With a disppointing weekend in Australia now behind them, Team Honda Gresini are looking forward to getting back on track at the next round in just five days time at Sepang, Malaysia. MARCO MELANDRI (10th in the race, 6th in the championship): “Today we were in good shape to finish on the podium. After a good start from the fourth row I was able to battle virtually for the whole race in the top five. I had a good pace and the bike felt really good. I could have fought for second but unfortunately I had a problem with the rear tyre that we didn’t expect and it slowed me a lot. I tried to finish the race as best as I could. I’m disappointed with tenth place because we had the potential for a much better result at a circuit I love and where I have already won in all three classes, as well as lifting the 250 title here.” TONI ELIAS (15th in the race, 11th in the championship): “It has been a difficult weekend and today I suffered from a few different problems that prevented me from riding as I can. I had problems with the front tyre from the start, then at the halfway stage we developed a problem with the electronics and I just tried to finish the race. I want to put this behind me now and just think about Malaysia. Sepang is one of my favourite circuits so hopefully we can have a much better result there.” More, from a press release issued by Michelin: MICHELIN MAN ROSSI SETS FASTEST LAP, FINISHES 3rd, HAYDEN IMPRESSES WITH NEW 16-INCH REAR SLICK Michelin rider Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) took third place in today’s Australian GP to maintain his full house of podium finishes at Phillip Island, MotoGP’s fastest racetrack. The former World Champion battled hard for the result, setting the fastest lap of the race to claim the last podium place, just 1.6 seconds in front of fourth-placed Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin). Yesterday Pedrosa had claimed his second consecutive pole position, just ahead of Rossi. Rossi ended the race ten seconds behind winner Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici) and three seconds behind Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici). Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) showed strongly during the early stages, using a new 16-inch rear slick to chase Stoner, but the 2006 World Champion had a bike problem and didn’t finish. That was quite a tough race,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “When we saw our top guys fighting near the front in the early stages we were quite optimistic but after mid-race the potential of our tires went down for Valentino and Dani. Nicky was extremely fast using our new 16-inch rear. This was the first time we have raced with the 16 and it seemed to work well, the tire gave good performance and good handling, so that is very positive for us. Unfortunately Nicky didn’t finish the race, it would have been great to have the information from full-race distance. Nicky tested the tire after the race at Motegi and liked it; Dani wasn’t able to test it because he was hurt; while the Yamaha guys want some more improvements to the tire. The 16 certainly gives us an interesting direction in which we can work.” Top Michelin finisher Rossi said: “Finishing on the podium here is always a big pleasure because the crowd always makes a big party. The race was difficult and I tried very hard. Unfortunately I make a mistake exiting the last corner on the second lap and I lose contact with Casey and Nicky. After that I had a battle with Dani and my rhythm was not so bad because I made the fastest lap. I stayed quite close to the leaders and pushed very hard, but after a few laps I started to spin too much on the left of the tires. For a while I thought it might be possible to fight to the end with Loris, but I lose some more grip and third was all I could do.”