FIM MotoGP World Championship Catalunya, Spain June 8, 2008 Race Results: 1. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 25 laps, 43:02.175 2. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Bridgestone, -2.806 3. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, -3.343 4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), Michelin, -10.893 5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, -16.426 6. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), Michelin, -21.482 7. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -21.548 8. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, -22.280 9. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Bridgestone, -22.375 10. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -46.835 11. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -57.991 12. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -59.168 13. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -60.779 14. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), Michelin, -14 laps, DNF, crash 15. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), Bridgestone, -15 laps, DNF, crash 16. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -15 laps, DNF, crash 17. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), Bridgestone, -25 laps, DQ, jump start/ride-through penalty/black flagged FIM MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (After 7 of 18 races): 1. Rossi, 142 points 2. Pedrosa, 135 3. Jorge Lorenzo, 94 4. Stoner, 92 5. Edwards, 69 6. Dovizioso, 57 7. Toseland, 53 8. Capirossi, 51 9. Hayden, 48 10. Nakano, 42 11. Vermeulen, 40 12. Hopkins, 32 13. Melandri, 29 14. TIE, De Angelis/Elias, 24 16. De Puniet, 18 17. Guintoli, 15 18. West, 10 19. Okada, 2 More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEERLESS PEDROSA PILES ON THE PRESSURE Repsol Catalan Grand Prix, Catalunya Race day, Sunday June 8 2008 Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa stormed to a stunning runaway victory at Catalunya today, cheered all the way by more than 113,000 adoring fans. The Spaniard’s start-to-finish win was his second of the year and completed a hat-trick of home-tarmac successes at Valencia last November, Jerez in March and now Catalunya. Team-mate Nicky Hayden had another tough one, coming in eighth after running sixth. Pedrosa rode a perfect race, showing matchless speed and relentless pace that put him 0.658 seconds ahead after the first lap, 3.9 seconds in front at one-quarter distance and 7.2 seconds ahead midway through the race. He had stretched his advantage to more than eight seconds before he eased off, crossing the line 2.8 seconds ahead of Valentino Rossi. Pedrosa’s 29th GP win (all achieved on Honda machinery) closes the points gap on series leader Rossi to just seven points as the 18-race 2008 MotoGP series approaches half-distance. Hayden had an altogether more difficult afternoon. The American looked strong in the early stages but set-up issues prevented him from holding a consistent fast pace. Today’s record crowd showed their enthusiasm for MotoGP by making it into the track despite traffic jams caused by a transport strike. Dani Pedrosa, race winner, 2nd in World Championship “I’m very happy about this win, my thanks to all the people around me. Today was also very important for the championship, I am now five points closer to the lead, but there are still many races ahead of us, so we need to keep pushing and be consistent. We had a few issues in practice here, so my team was thinking what they could do and they made a small adjustment before the race that improved the bike and helped me to run that pace. Once again, a big thanks to them. I couldn’t believe the fans, it seems like every year there are more and more. I’m very happy they were here because I know it was difficult to get into the track today. I was all alone, pushing to go faster and faster and I could see everyone cheering me on. At one point I lost a bit of concentration, but I got my focus back and kept pushing. Now we have two days of tests which will be very important for the next few races.” Nicky Hayden, 8th place, 9th in World Championship “We knew the race was going to be tough. Our bike has worked quite well when we had grip but something with the set-up right now we’re not getting the tyre life we need. It was okay in the beginning but I couldn’t maintain the pace. Something in the set-up is hurting the tyre life, it’s quite frustrating. We were in there early and thought we might be on for a good result and then we lost touch and went backward. The rear brake went out towards the end which didn’t help things. Eighth place is not what we want. We’ve got a really important two days of testing which we need. I’m certainly looking forward to it, hopefully we can get a couple of things sorted out.” “That was a fantastic job from Dani. It’s been a very exciting day for us, everybody in the team, from riders to mechanics, has done a good job. Thanks also to everyone who supports us, like Michelin whose tyres were so consistent today. This is a very tough season, so we will keep fighting and working hard. Nicky had a difficult race, we are now going to sit down and see what happened. Next we have two days of tests during which we will try the pneumatic-valve-spring engine as well as working on other aspects of the machine. When we try the engine we will be looking for overall machine performance, not just straight-line performance.” Kazuhiko Yamano – Team Manager “That was a fantastic job from Dani. It’s been a very exciting day for us, everybody in the team, from riders to mechanics, has done a good job. Thanks also to everyone who supports us, like Michelin whose tyres were so consistent today. This is a very tough season, so we will keep fighting and working hard. Nicky had a difficult race, we are now going to sit down and see what happened. Next we have two days of tests during which we will try the pneumatic-valve-spring engine as well as working on other aspects of the machine. When we try the engine we will be looking for overall machine performance, not just straight-line performance.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI RACES THROUGH THE FIELD TO TAKE VALUABLE MONTMELO PODIUM Valentino Rossi put yesterday’s poor qualifying behind him today with a characteristic charge through the field from ninth on the grid to take second in the Grand Prix of Catalunya. By the time Rossi made it through the pack the race-winner Dani Pedrosa was already some way off in front, but Rossi had a lively battle with Casey Stoner over the last few laps, a replay of last year’s race but with the Italian prevailing this time. After some hard work by his team and engineers overnight, it was clear from this morning’s warm-up that Rossi was in better shape and the Italian began his race with the podium as his target. Starting form ninth, he gained one place on the first lap when he passed James Toseland and then made his way steadily through the field, out-braking several riders into turn one on consecutive laps and eventually passing first Andrea Dovizioso and then Stoner to take second on lap nine. Rossi tried to leave Stoner behind but the Australian remained in touch and passed him back on lap 17, sparking an entertaining battle for second spot over the closing stages of the race. Rossi eventually made the decisive move at the start of the penultimate lap and held on to cross the line just over half a second ahead of his rival, with Pedrosa 2.806 seconds in front. An important 20-point haul sees Rossi hang on to his championship lead, seven points ahead of Pedrosa, whilst Lorenzo is still just ahead of Stoner in third despite having to miss today’s race while he recovers from Friday’s crash. It was another double top-six finish for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team meanwhile, with Colin Edwards and James Toseland finishing in their grid spots of fifth and sixth. Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: +2.806 “I think that this was quite a good race! It’s a long time since we’ve had a good fight for the top positions like that and today it was like last year with Stoner, but for second instead of first place! I was able to come out on top this year and I am honestly very happy with today’s result. After three almost perfect races, yesterday was a very hard day for us but last night we had a very good meeting and today we were able to be much more competitive. My target was the podium so to come second is excellent. I want to watch the race on TV now because I had a lot of fun today and made some good overtakes, with my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres working very well to the end. Once I passed Stoner I tried to go away from him but it wasn’t possible, so then I knew it would be a great battle to the end. Pedrosa was incredibly strong today and I think it’s impossible to say whether or not I could have gone with him even if I had started from the front. As it was we were penalised by our grid position and, with Pedrosa as fast as this, from the third row it was impossible. In these circumstances I am very happy that we only lost five points to him, we’re still leading the championship and I had a great race, so I am content! Tomorrow we will have a test and I think it will be quite interesting to see what we can find out about what happened this weekend and how we can improve for Donington. Thanks to all my team and congratulations to Dani.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “We’re very happy about this result today because we struggled a lot over the weekend. The team and the engineers did a great job however to find a way to improve the setting in such a short amount of time, and we could see from the warm-up this morning that we had a chance to be competitive. Of course our starting position left us with a hard job to do and, with Pedrosa as fast as he was today, we are just happy to have taken 20 points! We only gave away five and the championship is long; our target is to be on the podium every time and today we’ve done that. Tomorrow we have a test and we will analyse the data from this weekend and try to learn more about our Yamaha-Bridgestone package, so that we can try to go one better in Donington. It was sad to make today’s race with half of our team missing and one side of the garage empty, and on behalf of all the team I would like to wish Jorge all the best and we look forward to having him back very soon.” Masahiko Nakajima Team Director “This is a satisfying result for all of the team and Yamaha staff because we had a problem to find the right set-up here all weekend. Last night the engineers were working until midnight to try to fix the problem and their hard work paid off because the bike felt much better this morning. Of course we’re always disappointed not to win but in the circumstances this is a very good result for us.” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO ON THE MEND AFTER ANOTHER DAY’S REST Two days after the accident that forced him to miss today’s Catalan Grand Prix at Montmelo, Jorge Lorenzo’s recovery is progressing well at the Institut Dexues in Barcelona. The 21-year-old sustained head trauma and damage to his right hand in Friday’s crash but is improving, although Dr. Xavier Mir confirmed tonight that he will need a small skin graft to replace the skin he has lost on his hand. “After further observation we are pleased to say that the cranial trauma that Jorge suffered on Friday has improved without any further complications,” commented the Doctor. “This still needs to be verified with another CAT scan, however, and for this reason we have moved Jorge to another part of the hospital this afternoon. Regarding other injuries, we have evaluated the abrasion on his right hand and we can confirm that he has more than two centimetres of skin missing from his fourth finger. For this reason we have decided that it will be necessary to make a skin graft, which will probably take place tomorrow morning.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: A breakaway plan from Dani Pedrosa worked to perfection in the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, as he took the holeshot at his home race and never looked back. The win ended a long premier class run without a local winner in Barcelona, stretching back to 1999 and a popular triumph for Alex Criville. Keen to avoid a battle between himself and predicted podium finishers Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi, the Repsol Honda rider burst out of the blocks and set about putting space between himself and the rest of the field. A new circuit record was made by Pedrosa by the second lap, and he kept the pace up throughout the 25 lap race. A fourth consecutive win proved a wish too far for Fiat Yamaha star Rossi, who nonetheless fulfilled expectations by fighting his way up from ninth on the grid. A penultimate lap slipstream of Stoner gave him second place, a sixth consecutive podium and, most importantly, the advantage necessary to maintain the lead in the MotoGP World Championship. Andrea Dovizioso was spot on in his Saturday prediction, having noted that all three of last year´s rostrum finishers would repeat their form in 2008. What the JiR Team Scot rider was not so sure about was his own form, but a fourth place -equalling his previous best MotoGP finish from Qatar- was a remarkable performance for the highest placing satellite rider. As in qualifying, the Tech 3 Yamaha pairing of Colin Edwards and James Toseland took fifth and sixth place, respectively, with the latter holding off Rizla Suzuki´s Chris Vermeulen. In a sprint to the line. Nicky Hayden, Shinya Nakano and John Hopkins completed the first ten past the chequered flag. The race was littered with retirements at the midway point, with Alex de Angelis, Loris Capirossi and Randy de Puniet all crashing out in quick succession. Toni Elias had just a few laps earlier been shown the black flag for not obeying an order for a ride-through penalty. Dani Pedrosa Race Winner “I don’t know where the pace came from. It was a fantastic race, amazing to win. I won in 125cc and 250cc here, so now to win in MotoGP is great. The other two were pushing hard. I went to a different setting than yesterday, and it worked.” 250cc Marco Simoncelli cut the lead in the 250cc World Championship to just three points with his second consecutive race victory, which came after a thrilling last lap battle with Alvaro Bautista. Whilst there may have been controversy surrounding his Mugello maiden win, the Metis Gilera rider´s latest triumph was inarguably a clean one. Bautista had just to hold Simoncelli off on the 23rd and final lap, but found himself experiencing yet more bad luck as the in-form Italian pressured him into running wide. Attempting to make up ground, Mapfre Aspar rider Bautista could not close Simoncelli down on the final corners, and had to settle for second place in a race that by all accounts should have been his. The previous man to lose out to Simoncelli, Hector Barbera completed the podium places at his home race. The Team Toth Aprilia rider had been fighting early on with the leading duo, but could not avoid a breakaway and had simply to keep his cool and round off the rostrum. Alex Debon came in fourth, continuing his assault on the title, whilst Thomas Luthi and Mattia Pasini also featured in the top six. Hiroshi Aoyama was the highest placing KTM rider in seventh, with teammate and World Championship leader Mika Kallio forced into retirement with a mechanical failure for the first time this season. Hector Faubel, Julian Simon and Lukas Pesek were the final threesome in the top ten. 125cc A Mike di Meglio victory and crashes for two home favourites spoiled the expected Spanish 125cc fiesta in Catalunya, as Ajo Motorsport´s French star held his nerve for a second win of 2008 and the leadership of the World Championship. Di Meglio started from second on the grid, and was the only rider to stick with the local stars in the early stages. His toughest challenge for victory came from Nico Terol, but when the Spaniard crashed on the penultimate lap -shortly after a fall from fellow countryman Joan Olive- the new series leader could breathe a little easier before passing the chequered flag. In second place with the best result of his career to date, poleman Pol Espargaro was under two-tenths of a second behind Di Meglio, holding off World Champion Gabor Talmacsi and taking his second consecutive podium. The Belson Derbi rider made a late push after stalking the leaders, avoiding a Talmacsi slipstream on the final straight. Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing´s Stefan Bradl showed his experience of the Catalunya Circuit with fourth place, having learned the intricacies of the track through his time racing in Spain, whilst previous World Championship leader Simone Corsi had a respectable fifth place finish that allowed him to pick up more valuable points. Scott Redding, Stevie Bonsey and Sandro Cortese also featured in the top ten, ahead of Sergio Gadea in ninth. The Mafre Aspar rider had to come back through the field after being forced wide by Nico Terol on lap eight. Marc Marquez completed the top ten with the best result of his rookie season, onboard the Repsol KTM. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: INJURED HOPKINS FIGHTS FOR TOP TEN John Hopkins demonstrated true grit and determination today at the Grand Prix of Catalunya to bring his Ninja ZX-RR home in 10th position, despite carrying a back injury sustained in Friday’s practice. Hopkins got a steady start to the 25-lap race and pushed as hard as possible, despite being unable to move around easily on his race machine, to make up positions around the 4.727km circuit. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot settled into a rhythm and circulated on his own for most of the race, riding through the pain barrier, to cross the line with a very creditable top ten finish. Teammate Anthony West, who set his fastest lap of the entire weekend in the opening stages, endured a hard, race long fight with Marco Melandri to finish in a points-scoring 12th position. The Australian switched positions with Melandri throughout the race in a nail-biting battle, but despite his persistence the 26-year-old was just beaten to the flag. West was upbeat about the result and he can now look forward to racing at Donington Park, which was where he made his premier class debut aboard the Kawasaki last season. Depending on his condition, Hopkins will ride during tomorrow’s valuable post-race test to further develop his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR, whilst West will fly to Japan for a two-day test aimed at improving the power delivery of his machine. John Hopkins #21 – 10th Position “I’m in a lot of pain right now with my injury and that was a really hard race. I tried to pass a few people at the start, but I got boxed out and I lost some ground. I pushed as hard as I could to stay with the group ahead of me, but the pain set in and I had to really focus on settling into a rhythm. It was then a case of finding a way to ride without moving around too much on the machine to finish the race, and although tenth isn’t where I want to be, in this situation I’m pleased we managed to achieve that. We still have a lot of work to do with the bike, and hopefully we can be in a good condition for the next race in Britain.” Anthony West #13 – 12th Position “I rode as hard as I possibly could today and I fought hard with Marco for the entire race. I passed him into the turns on many occasions, but his machine was a bit stronger on the straights and it just meant I had a lot of work to do each time he came by. The tyre went off a little in the last few laps, which meant I just didn’t quite have enough to re-take him before the finish. I’m happy we had a good race, but we still need to make big improvements to the set-up of the bike. I’m going to Japan for a test where I hope we can try to resolve the rear traction issues I’ve been suffering, then we’ll be back in Europe preparing for Donington Park and, hopefully, we can make another step forwards there.” Michael Bartholemy Kawasaki Competition Manager “Hopefully this is a new start for us and I am happy that both riders finished the race today, as the last few rounds have been difficult. We need to concentrate on making improvements to the performance of the bike before the next race to provide the riders with the best package possible. Anthony will now spend some time testing in Japan where we have better resources to focus on improving the power delivery of his machine. John rode a hard race today with his injury and we are unsure yet if he’ll be able to complete many laps during tomorrow’s test. I hope he will be fit to ride and we can continue making steps forward, so that we can be even more competitive at Donington Park.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: DANI DESTROYS OPPOSITION TO CLOSE TITLE GAP Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) was in a class of his own here in Barcelona winning by 2.8 seconds from Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) second and Casey Stoner (Ducati) who was third. His margin of victory, however, understates the crushing nature of this triumph on home soil. The Spanish sensation has now won here on a 125cc machine, a 250 and now in MotoGP. He’s also wrapped up wins in two of the three Spanish races this year and remains Honda’s most reliable points finisher this season he’s never been out of the top four in seven races now. Pedrosa scorched off the line and led the pack into turn one, Stoner behind him and the lightning-starting Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) now running third from seventh on the grid. When Stoner ran wide on lap one Dovi pounced on second place. He was in peak form and the ace rookie would eventually finish fourth. By lap two Dani’s lead was a staggering 0.7 seconds as he headed Dovi, Stoner, Colin Edwards (Yamaha), Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) and Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V). Rossi lay eighth at this point but he was on the move. Dani fired in a fastest lap on the third tour of this 4.727km Montmelo track. His 1m 42.617s time an early indicator that he was the man to beat. By the time lap four rolled around he was a full three seconds ahead of Stoner who had regained second spot. Barring error or disaster Pedrosa was unstoppable. Rossi had moved up to fourth by lap seven of this 25-lap affair and Dovi had retaken Stoner for second at precisely the same point on track the Aussie World Champion had made the mistake on lap one. Dani was blissfully unaware of all this, now more than five seconds clear of his rivals. Dovi was slipping slightly off the pace now on lap eight and Rossi soon overhauled him for third, taking second off Stoner that same lap. Dovi would lose touch with the duo dicing for second but his mature ride to fourth signaled he will be a podium proposition in this class very shortly. As mid-race distance approached Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) crashed out in an incident involving Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) too. The San Marinese man looked capable of a mid top-ten finish. De Puniet’s race would be cut short on the next lap when he crashed while defending sixth spot. The Stoner/Rossi battle was the main event with Dani disappearing over the horizon, but down the order there were several spirited disputes for the points places and with just 13 riders remaining in the race after that rash of crashes, all places were worth points. James Toseland (Yamaha) was working on Hayden for sixth and Stoner had shot past Rossi on the main straight to retake second on the brakes into turn one. Dovi held fourth ahead of Edwards and Dani was long gone, nearly nine seconds in front of the field. The end of this race was in sight now with five laps to go and with Dani so far ahead, Rossi and Stoner locked in combat, and fiery disputes for sixth between Toseland and Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) and for eighth between Hayden and Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V), round seven of this 18-race series had everything. Dani and Dovi had every reason to be delighted with their day’s work. Nicky remains shy of his best with an eighth place and Nakano, who finished ninth, made the top ten, but not the top six as he wished. The crashers, all uninjured, will nurse wounded pride and look forward to Donington Park in two weeks time. The World Championship points table look like this: Rossi 142 points, Pedrosa 135, Lorenzo (who did not race after a heavy fall in practice) 94 and Stoner on 92 points. Dani said: “Today was also very important for the Championship, I am now five points closer to the lead, but there are still many races ahead of us, so we need to keep pushing and be consistent. We had a few issues in practice here, so my team was thinking what they could do and they made a small adjustment before the race that improved the bike and helped me to run that pace a big thanks to them. Now we have two days of tests which will be very important for the next few races.” Fourth-placed Dovi said: “Dani was incredibly fast today, but I was able to stay with Valentino and Casey and was able to keep that pace. The level of competition was very high but when Vale passed Stoner I lost half a second and sadly I was not able to regain this time. Fourth is the same result as Qatar, but the value of this race is different: that was my first MotoGP race but now I have more experience, so this is why I’m looking at improved race-by race results. If I hadn’t lost that half-second I could have fought for the podium and the final satisfaction could have been even bigger.” Nicky, in eighth, said: “Something in the set-up is hurting tyre life, it’s quite frustrating. We were in there early and thought we might be on for a good result and then we lost touch and went backward. The rear brake went out towards the end which didn’t help things. Eighth place is not what we want. Now we’ve got a really important two days of testing. I’m certainly looking forward to it, hopefully we can get a couple of things sorted out.” Nakano, 9th in this, the Gresini Team’s 200th Grand Prix, said: “Yet another difficult race and I cannot be satisfied with it, despite coming out of it with some decent points and a good lap time. It was clear the result wasn’t going to be much better from the opening laps, when the riders immediately in front of me quickly began to escape. I need to be able to ride with more aggression so that I can be fast from the opening laps and stay in touch with the riders in front.” His team-mate De Angelis crashed out and said: “I’m disappointed with the way the race has finished today. I was making up positions after a bad start and had closed in on Capirossi. Loris went too deep into the first corner and ran a little wide, so I tried to get up the inside of him. Unfortunately he closed the door on the exit of the corner and we hit each other and crashed. It’s a shame because I think today was a race where we could have picked up some important points. Despite that, in general it has been a good weekend.” De Puniet, another crasher, said: “I’m very disappointed because I qualified well best of this season so far and got a very good start. On lap one I was fifth and could keep my position easily because my pace was consistent and fast. I knew I could overtake Edwards and was waiting for the correct moment but, at turn one on lap twelve, I lost the front and crashed out. I suffered the same crash on Friday in the free session but don’t understand why because the bike set-up was good and in the previous laps I didn’t feel any particular problem with the front-end.” 250cc Grand Prix As if to emphasise the utter unpredictability of motorcycle racing, this race provided a timely reminder that the only lap that really counts is last one. Marco Simoncelli (Gilera) won this race from Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) after the Spanish rider made an error on the final left-hander on the last lap. Hector Barbera (Aprilia) was third. Bautista led from the off with Simoncelli pushing hard to stay with him throughout this 23-lap encounter. Barbera was on their pace too until the closing laps when he dropped off to finish more than 11 seconds shy of the lead pair at the flag. Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW) was in the thick of the early action until he tangled with Roberto Locatelli (Aprilia) on lap one and ran into the gravel, staying aboard to rejoin and finish a fighting 12th behind Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG RS250RW) who rode to 11th. World Championship points leader Mika Kallio (KTM) suffered a breakdown while lying sixth four laps from the finish and Mattia Pasini (Aprilia), his immediate title rival, inherited that place and held it to the flag. Kallio still leads the series on 106 to Simoncelli with 103 now and Pasini holding third on 98. Takahashi said: “I want to thank the team for the great job they did this weekend and I’m sad I was not able to give them a great result that was in our grasp. I started very well, fourth at the first corner but coming into a corner Locatelli was just a little bit wide from his normal line and I saw a space to make an overtake but when I was very near to him he recovered his position and regained the line for the corner and it was impossible to avoid him. Now we have to look to Donington Park.” Wilairot said: “I’m really pleased with my race today. I got a good start and could run a good pace in the early stages racing with Pesek and Hiro Aoyama. We were passing each other quite a lot but at the half-way point I did something to hurt my back again it was very painful to move about on the bike, worse when I was flat on the tank. After that it was not possible to fight with Aoyama and he pulled away from us.” 125cc Grand Prix Mike Di Meglio won this 22-lap race from local hope Pol Espargaro (both Derbi) with defending World Champion Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia) third. This is Frenchman Di Meglio’s second win of the season so far and he has now established a 14 point lead over Simone Corsi (Aprilia), who finished fifth today, in the title standings. Espargaro led into turn one from pole and but was unable to make any escape from the pursuing pack. By mid-race distance a seven-rider lead group had established itself with Di Meglio making the running at the front. As the final laps approached this became a five man affair and when Joan Olive slid off Derbi two laps from the end followed by NicolasTerol abandoning his Aprilia on the penultimate lap the three podium finishers were left to slug it out on the last lap. Louis Rossi (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) finished 25th and said: “The outcome of the weekend is a little mixed. It started well with steady progress until I fell in the last qualifying session. I had a good start to the race and led my pack for a few laps. We then fought hard but I wasn’t able to overtake Muresan who was ahead of me during the last laps. On the whole we’ve progressed, even if our race results don’t necessarily reflect it.” Honda rider quotes. GP Catalunya race. June 8, 2008. MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st. “I’m very happy about this win, my thanks to all the people around me. Today was also very important for the championship, I am now five points closer to the lead, but there are still many races ahead of us, so we need to keep pushing and be consistent. We had a few issues in practice here, so my team was thinking what they could do and they made a small adjustment before the race that improved the bike and helped me to run that pace. Once again, a big thanks to them. I couldn’t believe the fans, it seems like every year there are more and more. I’m very happy they were here because I know it was difficult to get into the track today. I was all alone, pushing to go faster and faster and I could see everyone cheering me on. At one point I lost a bit of concentration, but I got my focus back and kept pushing. Now we have two days of tests which will be very important for the next few races.” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 4th. “This was a great race which gave me a lot of satisfaction. Since practice I tested many starts to be ready to go when the red lights went off which is why I had such a good start so I was able to be fast to be able to gain some positions. This is why at the end of lap one I was second. Dani was incredibly fast today, but I was able to stay with Valentino and Casey and was able to keep that pace. The level of competition was very high but when Vale passed Stoner I lost half a second and sadly I was not able to regain this time. Fourth is the same result as Qatar, but the value of this race is different: that was my first MotoGP race but now I have more experience, so this is why I’m looking at improved race-by race results. If I hadn’t lost that half-second I could have fought for the podium and the final satisfaction could have been even bigger. Either way, I’m very happy as even when I was alone I was able to maintain a good rhythm and this is good. I want to thank the team for the excellent technical package we had today!” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 8th. “We knew the race was going to be tough. Our bike has worked quite well when we had grip but something with the set-up right now we’re not getting the tyre life we need. It was okay in the beginning but I couldn’t maintain the pace. Something in the set-up is hurting the tyre life, it’s quite frustrating. We were in there early and thought we might be on for a good result and then we lost touch and went backward. The rear brake went out towards the end which didn’t help things. Eighth place is not what we want. We’ve got a really important two days of testing which we need. I’m certainly looking forward to it, hopefully we can get a couple of things sorted out.” Shinya Nakano, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 9th. “Yet another difficult race and I cannot be satisfied with it, despite coming out of it with some decent points and a good lap time. It was clear the result wasn’t going to be much better from the opening laps, when the riders immediately in front of me quickly began to escape. We clearly need something to help us towards better results and I think the answer could like in changing some aspects of the bike set-up so that it is more suited to my style of riding. I need to be able to ride with more aggression so that I can be fast from the opening laps and stay in touch with the riders in front.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: dnf crash. “I’m disappointed with the way the race has finished today. I was making up positions after a bad start and had closed in on Capirossi. Loris went too deep into the first corner and ran a little wide, so I tried to get up the inside of him. Unfortunately he closed the door on the exit of the corner and we hit each other and crashed. It’s a shame because I think today was a race where we could have picked up some important points. Despite that, in general it has been a good weekend.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: dnf crash. “I am very disappointed because I made a very good qualifying, the best of this season so far, and got a very good start. On lap one I was fifth and could keep my position easily because my pace was consistent and fast. When I got the sixth place I knew that I could overtake Edwards and was waiting for the correct moment but, at turn one on lap twelve, I lost the front and crashed out. I suffered the same crash on Friday in the free session but do not understand why because the bike set-up was good and in the previous laps I did not feel any particular problem in the front-end. Honestly I do not make any mistake and will check the data to understand what happened”. 250cc: Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT SAG: 11th. “I am really pleased with my race today. I got a good start and could run a good pace in the early stages racing with Pesek and Hiro Aoyama. We were passing each other quite a lot but at the half way point I did something to hurt my back again it was very painful to move about on the bike, worse when I was flat on the tank. After that it was not possible to fight with Aoyama and he pulled away from us. The bike was running really good today chassis tyres suspension, everything, if I had a problem it was the rear end sliding late in the race but that was the same for all of us.” Yukio Takahashi, JiR Scot Honda: 12th. “I want to thank the team for the great job they did this weekend and I’m sad I was not able to give them a great result that here at Barcelona was in our grasp. I started very well, fourth at the first corner but coming into a corner Locatelli was just a little bit wide from his normal line and I saw a space to make an overtake but when I was very near to him he recovered his position and regained the line for the corner and it was impossible to avoid him. I went off the track without falling and I got back into the race but I was last and it was difficult! I rode well but my rhythm could have been better if I was with the leaders. The bike was well prepared so thank you to the team once more. After the race I went to see Roberto to apologise because hefell and couldn’t continue the race. Now we have to look to Donington Park.” 125cc: Louis Rossi, FFM Honda: 25th. “The outcome of the weekend is a little mixed. It had started well with steady progress until I fell in the last qualifying session. I had a good start to the race and led my pack for a few laps. We then fought hard but I wasn’t able to overtake Muresan who was ahead of me during the last laps. It’s a shame, especially as I like this track, even if it doesn’t favour our bike with its long and fast curves. We’ll be more comfortable on tracks like Donington. Despite all this, we’ve gathered good momentum and on the whole we’ve progressed, even if our race results don’t necessarily reflect it.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER PICKS UP ANOTHER PODIUM IN CATALUNYA, MELANDRI ELEVENTH Casey Stoner picked up his second podium in seven days at Barcelona after a hard fought battle with Valentino Rossi for second place in the Grand Prix of Catalunya. Stoner once again showed the class and determination that make him the reigning MotoGP World Champion as he came through a severe test in the most demanding of circumstances. Despite not feeling as comfortable with his bike as he had done during practice, Stoner carried the fight to Rossi until the final lap, after the pair lost touch with Dani Pedrosa in an electric start to the race by the Spaniard. Stoner was unable to triumph in the battle with the Italian but third place was enough for another precious podium that brings him to within two points of third in the overall championship standings. Marco Melandri was unable to find a good feeling or set-up for his Desmosedici GP8 all weekend and the Italian could manage no higher than an eleventh place finish. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd “Looking at the race set-up from yesterday we were confident that we could do some pretty good times today and I felt it was a race we could win but for some reason from the first lap I kept losing the rear on entry into the corners. That made me lose confidence because at this circuit there are a lot of places where you need to brake and enter at the same time so I missed a lot of braking markers, made some mistakes and lost too much ground to Dani. I managed to work a way around it and in the last part of the race we started to do some reasonable lap times again, but at at that point it was a straight battle with Valentino. There was some pretty close passing with him, at times I could almost feel him next to me, but I knew there were some sections where under normal circumstances I could have been faster. Unfortunately when you are racing somebody of that quality you need everything to be working well and that wasn’t the case for us today. It hasn’t been a good day and I wasn’t too pleased with the way I rode but at the end of the day you can’t complain too much about a podium. Now we’ve got an important test to work out why we had this problem today.” MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 11th “It’s fair to say that things went as well as could be expected after practice. I got a decent start considering how far back I was and ended the first lap in ninth or tenth place, but I couldn’t hold on to it. There wasn’t much I could do because I was losing so much time in the long corners and it was easy for the other riders to pass me. Now we have two days of tests to see if we can take any steps forward but we need to make a massive change. We’ll keep trying.” FILIPPO PREZIOSI General Director Ducati Corse “It was a good race to watch because Casey never gave up, even when Valentino passed him. He recovered, got the position back, kept his pace high and even produced two of his best splits on the final lap. Even though he finished third he once again showed his great determination and desire to keep fighting until the finish line. Casey has nothing to prove – you only have to look at what he did in qualifying yesterday. It shows that we have to keep working on our bike and make sure it is in the right shape to allow Casey to use his outstanding talent in race conditions. We’re not far off but we have to make that small step to be at our maximum. Marco is clearly in a difficult situation. There are a lot of things to work on – some problems have been ironed out but obviously there are plenty that haven’t.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Rossi and Stoner take Catalan podiums with 2nd and 3rd Round 7: Catalunya Race Circuit de Catalunya – Sunday 8 June 2008 Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi and Ducati Corse’s Casey Stoner both claimed podium results at the Circuit de Catalunya this afternoon after a gruelling 25-lap race which was won in dominant fashion by Spanish Honda rider Dani Pedrosa. Rossi, starting from ninth on the grid, made his way up through the field in the first third of the race and enjoyed a close battle with Stoner for the rest of the event. Both riders took turns to hold second place, setting consistent and quick lap times, but it was Rossi who ultimately took the runner-up position behind Pedrosa, sneaking past Stoner on the penultimate lap of the race. Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen was involved in a battle for sixth place on the final lap but lost out to James Toseland by less than one-tenth-of-a-second. Eight-tenths further adrift was Honda Gresini’s Shinya Nakano who finished ninth for the third race in a row. Kawasaki’s John Hopkins completed the top ten with a heroic display following his accident in Saturday morning free practice. Second place marks Rossi’s sixth consecutive podium on Bridgestone tyres and consolidates his lead of the world championship, albeit by a reduced margin of seven points. Stoner’s third place represents his fourth trip to the podium this season and also boosts his fourth place in the championship by an additional 16 points. Most Bridgestone riders opted for the harder specification rear tyre this afternoon to combat the aggressive nature of the Catalan track. Podium men Stoner and Rossi were able to set quick times right up to the chequered flag, demonstrating an encouraging consistency. Rossi set the second quickest lap of the race, 1m42.555s, seven-tenths-of-a-second from last year’s race best. Stoner was third in the fastest lap classification ahead of Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi. Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “I am very happy that Valentino and Casey were able to enjoy a competitive fight for the podium this afternoon. Both riders demonstrated a good consistency over the race distance, and were able to set times in the final couple of laps that were just a tenth-of-a-second from their race best. In preparing for this event, we always had consistency and durability at the front of our minds, so in this regard, I think we can be quite satisfied. However, we did not have the grip to match Dani. His performance, especially in the early stages of the race, was really impressive. With two more podiums, as well as the pole position achieved by Casey yesterday, I think we can be reasonably content with the results, but we have two days of testing here in Catalunya tomorrow and Tuesday which, if the weather stays dry, we will use to better understand our weaknesses around this track, as well as to continue our development items for the forthcoming races.” Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 2nd Place and Championship Leader “I’m very happy with the result and I had great fun during the race. I did a lot of overtaking, like in the old times. My target was the podium, but in the end I was able to battle with Casey, and we had a great, great battle with a lot of overtaking. I enjoyed it a lot. This second place and the twenty points are very important for my championship. We lost five points to Dani today, but we know that to beat Dani we have to start in front and yesterday was a bad day for us, so second place is a great achievement.” Bridgestone-shod Riders’ Race Results and Tyre Choices at Race Start Pos. Rider Team Race Time Gap Front Tyre (all 16.5”) Rear Tyre (all 16.5”) P2 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 43m04.981s +2.806s Slick-Medium Slick-Hard P3 Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 43m05.518s +3.343s Slick-Medium Slick-Hard P7 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43m23.723s +21.548s Slick-Hard Slick-Hard P9 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 43m24.550s +22.375s Slick-Hard Slick-Hard P10 John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 43m49.010s +46.835s Slick-Medium Slick-Hard P11 Marco Melandri Ducati Corse 44m00.166s +57.991s Slick-Hard Slick-Hard P12 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 44m01.343s +59.168s Slick-Medium Slick-Hard P13 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 44m02.954s +1m00.779s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium NC Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 17m23.460s +15 laps Slick-Hard Slick-Hard NC Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 17m23.501s +15 laps Slick-Hard Slick-Hard DSQ Toni Elias Alice Team Excluded from the race Slick-Medium Slick-Medium Weather: Dry Air 23°C, Track 40°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen raced to a close seventh place finish at the Catalan Grand Prix near Barcelona today, as team-mate Loris Capirossi’s race came to an abrupt end when another rider crashed into him. Vermeulen got a solid start from the third row of the grid, but was hit on the first lap by Alex de Angelis and relegated down to 14th place. He fought his way back through the field and was closing in on sixth place on the last lap, missing out on a top-six finish by 0.066 seconds at the chequered flag. Capirossi made a good start from 12th and was up into eighth place by lap two, before disaster struck for the experienced Italian on the 11th lap. Capirossi was hit from behind by – also by de Angelis – causing him to crash at high speed and injure his hand in the process. He was immediately taken the trackside clinic where he was found to have a dislocated fracture of the fifth right metacarpus and a deep wound with loss of skin to his fifth right finger. He will not be able to ride in tomorrow’s test, but hopes to be back to fitness as soon as possible. A record-breaking crowd at the Circuit de Catalunya of over 113,000 enjoyed warm sunshine and a comprehensive start to finish victory by local hero Dani Pedrosa on his factory Honda. Valentino Rossi on his Bridgestone-shod Yamaha was second and stays on top of the World Championship classification. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now stay in Catalunya for a two-day test, when Vermeulen will be joined by Team Test Rider Nobuatsu Aoki. The team will next be in competitive action at its ‘home’ Grand Prix at Donington Park in England on Sunday 22nd June. Chris Vermeulen: “I made a reasonable start and had good first and second corners, but then I was hit by de Angelis and I lost few positions. I got myself back together but with everybody being so quick and close on lap-times it made it very difficult to pass. I got through the field and up to seventh, but I feel if I had had a better start I could have been in the top-five. I really want to pass on a lot of thanks to the team because they gave me a great bike for here and it was very consistent all weekend. I have to work on my qualifying and there is still a little area of the bike where we are struggling with grip and the way it uses the tyre, so hopefully in the next two days of testing we can work on that. I hope Loris is going to be alright soon, because he is a big part to our development and I wish him all the best.” Loris Capirossi: “It has been a really bad end to the weekend, because I felt that everything was working well on the bike and I felt good. I think I could have fought with Chris and James Toseland, but de Angelis tried a bit too hard and put me out of the race. But this is racing and sometimes things like this happen. Now I have to be careful because I have an injury and it will not be so easy for me to recover for the two races in one week. We will see, but I will certainly try to recover as quickly as I can!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “MotoGP is not an easy sport but we weren’t done any favours today! When de Angelis rammed Loris off the track in turn three the result was a fracture of his right hand. The dislocated fracture has been put back into position very skilfully by Dr. Costa, and the bone has been set in a cast. The normal recovery time for that injury is some weeks, but Loris seems keen to try and be fit for Donington in 12 days time. Whether that is realistic or not, the next few days will tell! Loris gave everything as always and deserved a lot better for all his efforts. “Chris rode a very strong race after a difficult first lap that saw him a long way down the field. His recovery into the top-10 was excellent and with a better start he had the pace today to fight for fifth. Unfortunately the guys at the front had more pace than us and as we have said in recent weeks it is important to try and improve the bike’s performance over race distance. “Clearly Loris won’t be able to test here over the next two days, so his duties will now be undertaken by Nobuatsu, and Chris’s crew and the factory will be evaluating all the possibilities of getting the GSV-R as competitive as we can possibly make it for Donington and Assen in a couple of weeks time.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Rossi races through the field to take valuable Montmelo podium Valentino Rossi put yesterday’s poor qualifying behind him today with a characteristic charge through the field from ninth on the grid to take second in the Grand Prix of Catalunya. By the time Rossi made it through the pack the race-winner Dani Pedrosa was already some way off in front, but Rossi had a lively battle with Casey Stoner over the last few laps, a replay of last year’s race but with the Italian prevailing this time. After some hard work by his team and engineers overnight, it was clear from this morning’s warm-up that Rossi was in better shape and the Italian began his race with the podium as his target. Starting form ninth, he gained one place on the first lap when he passed James Toseland and then made his way steadily through the field, out-braking several riders into turn one on consecutive laps and eventually passing first Andrea Dovizioso and then Stoner to take second on lap nine. Rossi tried to leave Stoner behind but the Australian remained in touch and passed him back on lap 17, sparking an entertaining battle for second spot over the closing stages of the race. Rossi eventually made the decisive move at the start of the penultimate lap and held on to cross the line just over half a second ahead of his rival, with Pedrosa 2.806 seconds in front. An important 20-point haul sees Rossi hang on to his championship lead, seven points ahead of Pedrosa, whilst Lorenzo is still just ahead of Stoner in third despite having to miss today’s race while he recovers from Friday’s crash. It was another double top-six finish for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team meanwhile, with Colin Edwards and James Toseland finishing in their grid spots of fifth and sixth. Valentino Rossi 2nd +2.806; “I think that this was quite a good race! It’s a long time since we’ve had a good fight for the top positions like that and today it was like last year with Stoner, but for second instead of first place! I was able to come out on top this year and I am honestly very happy with today’s result. After three almost perfect races, yesterday was a very hard day for us but last night we had a very good meeting and today we were able to be much more competitive. My target was the podium so to come second is excellent. I want to watch the race on TV now because I had a lot of fun today and made some good overtakes, with my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres working very well to the end. Once I passed Stoner I tried to go away from him but it wasn’t possible, so then I knew it would be a great battle to the end. Pedrosa was incredibly strong today and I think it’s impossible to say whether or not I could have gone with him even if I had started from the front. As it was we were penalised by our grid position and, with Pedrosa as fast as this, from the third row it was impossible. In these circumstances I am very happy that we only lost five points to him, we’re still leading the championship and I had a great race, so I am content! Tomorrow we will have a test and I think it will be quite interesting to see what we can find out about what happened this weekend and how we can improve for Donington. Thanks to all my team and congratulations to Dani.” Davide Brivio Team Manager; “We’re very happy about this result today because we struggled a lot over the weekend. The team and the engineers did a great job however to find a way to improve the setting in such a short amount of time, and we could see from the warm-up this morning that we had a chance to be competitive. Of course our starting position left us with a hard job to do and, with Pedrosa as fast as he was today, we are just happy to have taken 20 points! We only gave away five and the championship is long; our target is to be on the podium every time and today we’ve done that. Tomorrow we have a test and we will analyse the data from this weekend and try to learn more about our Yamaha-Bridgestone package, so that we can try to go one better in Donington. It was sad to make today’s race with half of our team missing and one side of the garage empty, and on behalf of all the team I would like to wish Jorge all the best and we look forward to having him back very soon.” Masahiko Nakajima Team Director; “This is a satisfying result for all of the team and Yamaha staff because we had a problem to find the right set-up here all weekend. Last night the engineers were working until midnight to try to fix the problem and their hard work paid off because the bike felt much better this morning. Of course we’re always disappointed not to win but in the circumstances this is a very good result for us.” Jorge Lorenzo on the mend after another day’s rest Two days after the accident that forced him to miss today’s Catalan Grand Prix at Montmelo, Jorge Lorenzo’s recovery is progressing well at the Institut Dexues in Barcelona. The 21-year-old sustained head trauma and damage to his right hand in Friday’s crash but is improving, although Dr. Xavier Mir confirmed tonight that he will need a small skin graft to replace the skin he has lost on his hand. “After further observation we are pleased to say that the cranial trauma that Jorge suffered on Friday has improved without any further complications,” commented the Doctor. “This still needs to be verified with another CAT scan, however, and for this reason we have moved Jorge to another part of the hospital this afternoon. Regarding other injuries, we have evaluated the abrasion on his right hand and we can confirm that he has more than two centimetres of skin missing from his fourth finger. For this reason we have decided that it will be necessary to make a skin graft, which will probably take place tomorrow morning.” Top six finish for both Tech3 riders Colin Edwards and James Toseland handed the Tech 3 Yamaha squad a well deserved second successive double top six finish in today’s Catalunya MotoGP race. A fantastic start thrust Edwards right into the heat of the battle for second in the early laps as he pursued reigning world champion Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso. He managed to hold off Valentino Rossi until lap eight, and proving he is one of the most consistent performers in 2008, he comfortably scored a third successive top five finish. Fifth place equalled his previous best result at the Montmelo circuit as the Texan maintained his best start to a season in his MotoGP career. James Toseland treated a record crowd of 113,150 to another stunning exhibition of overtaking after he dropped to 11th on lap eight. Once he’d got comfortable with a revised front-end setting, Toseland passed Chris Vermeulen, Nicky Hayden, Alex de Angelis and Loris Capirossi.Only Valentino Rossi made more passes in the 25-lap encounter, and Toseland’s fourth top six finish in just seven races drew special praise from the seven-times world champion, who has been impressed with the British rider’s rapid progress in his rookie campaign. Colin Edwards 5th +16.426; “I got a fantastic start and thought ‘brilliant here we go.’ But from the second corner I had a problem and to be honest we are scratching our heads a little bit. I struggled because early on I was doing low 43s but then I just couldn’t maintain that pace. I’d throw the bike in on the brakes but it would be sideways and I found myself having to change my style like I did in Mugello to help. I’d stop it hard on the brakes, turn it into the corner and then pick it up to accelerate, but in some places where I would normally use second gear I was using third to baby it out of the corners. I did everything I could possibly do too hang in with the group but Andrea just seemed to have a bit more grip than me on the rear. He was able to pull away a little bit on every lap. I could catch him on the brakes but then I’d lose that crucial bit of time on the exit. What we ran in the warm-up was going to be too soft for the race with the temperature but I’m still happy with fifth. It’s one of the best results I’ve had here and now we go to Donington and Assen. They are two tracks I love and I’m sure I’m going to be fighting for the podium again. We kept third in the team championship, which is great for the Tech 3 team, Yamaha and Michelin. James Toseland 6th +21.482; “I’m a little bit mad with myself because like in Mugello, I believe there was a fourth here. I got an okay start and was about seventh but Valentino came by in the first corner. It was a clean move but he left it late, so we were side-by-side going in and there was no way I could turn in because he was there. There was nothing wrong with the pass but I had to go straight on and that lost me the gap. Whether you are doing the same times as the rest of them or not, you can only pull back small amounts of time. We changed the bike this morning and it took a couple of laps to get used to the feel of it. I’d been running soft tyres most of the weekend doing good lap times but going a bit harder for the race, I just didn’t have as much grip at the start and it took me a couple of laps to get used to it and I didn’t push it hard enough. At this point I’m content with where I am but I’m getting impatient because I feel I can do better, so that’s why I’m a bit disappointed with sixth. If I finish sixth and know I couldn’t do anymore I’m happy, but now I feel there is more in the bag. But we have really got this new setting working well and it will be a really good package at Donington where I can’t wait to go. It’s my first home Grand Prix and it feels a long time since I’ve been to a track I know. I’m getting regular top six finishes but the target at Donington will be to finish much higher and I’m confident with Tech 3, Yamaha and Michelin I can do it.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager; “After the warm-up, if somebody said we would be fifth and sixth I’d have said we were looking for better based on practice, but looking at the race that was a very positive result and I’m very happy. Once again Colin and James put in their maximum effort and both have finished in the top six. Dani was on another planet today so congratulations to Michelin, but in the early laps Colin was able to run a strong pace and was right in contention, but at one stage he decided to secure a well deserved fifth place. James lost quite a lot of ground at the start but as usual, once he found his pace he was as quick as the group in front of him and was able to fight his way back. Mugello and Barcelona are two very difficult tracks but Colin and James have scored top six finishes in both, so a big thanks to Yamaha and Michelin. We have scored another big haul of points to keep Tech 3 third in the team world championship, and that is a great achievement after seven races. Now we go to James’ home race with a strong and positive feeling, confident we can continue this good run of results. Donington and Assen are also good tracks for Colin, so we have a lot to look forward to.” More, from a press release issued by Michelin: PEDROSA THE MAIN MICHELIN MAN AT CATALUNYA Michelin man Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) left the rest of the pack racing for second place at Catalunya this afternoon, the local hero smashing lap and race records during his awesome start-to-finish victory. Pedrosa was Michelin’s top performer in a great day for the French tire brand, four of the first six finishers using Michelin tires. Local hero Pedrosa – who grew up in Sabadell, less than 20km from the track – chose hard-compound front and rear Michelins for this aggressive track and yet was able to set a stunning pace from the very beginning that quickly left his pursuers behind. At one point he had built an eight-second advantage, finally crossing the line 2.8 seconds ahead after easing his pace during the final laps. Nonetheless Pedrosa broke the Catalunya race record by more than 14 seconds. His performance was particularly impressive because the track has not been in great shape this weekend with riders complaining of a lack of grip. Lap records were not broken in the 125 and 250 GPs. Impressive MotoGP rookie Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot Honda RC212V-Michelin) equaled his best MotoGP result with a fine ride to fourth, seven seconds off the podium. The Italian was followed over the line by teammates Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin) and James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin). “Dani was fantastic today, he rode very fast lap times from the early laps, which was very impressive to see,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “We felt quite confident he would be very strong today and when we saw the lap times he was doing we were certain that the tires he had chosen would allow him to be consistently fast to the end of the race. It’s great when a rider can choose hard tires that still allow him to be fast at the start, because that way you know you will have a good pace to the finish, which is the most important thing. We are also very happy with the speed of our other riders. Andrea rode a brilliant race and thanks once again to the Tech 3 guys who were great, just like they were at Mugello last weekend. It was a shame that Nicky (Hayden, Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) couldn’t keep running strong over race distance and it was unfortunate that Randy (de Puniet. Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) crashed. Now we look forward to two important days of testing with our riders.” Pedrosa’s second win of the year moved him to within seven points of the World Championship lead. “I’m very happy about this win, my thanks to all the people around me: the team, Honda, Michelin, everyone,” he said. “Today was also very important for the championship, I am now five points closer to the lead, but there are still many races ahead of us, so we need to keep pushing and be consistent.” After back-to-back races at Mugello and Catalunya the MotoGP circus now heads north for the British GP on June 22 and the Dutch TT on June 28. More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: MotoGP RACE REPORT: GRAND PRIX OF CATALUNYA Pedrosa halts Rossi’s win streak at home, closes on points lead INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, June 8, 2008 Dani Pedrosa came home and returned to the top of the podium June 8, winning the Catalunya Grand Prix to stop Valentino Rossi’s hot streak and edge closer to the top of the MotoGP point standings. Spaniard Pedrosa earned his second victory in as many races on home soil this season by winning at the Catalunya circuit near Barcelona, Spain. He also won the Spanish Grand Prix on March 30 at Jerez. “I couldn’t believe the fans,” Pedrosa said of the throng at Catalunya. “It seems like every year there are more and more. I’m very happy they were here because I know it was difficult to get into the track today. I was all alone, pushing to go faster and faster, and I could see everyone cheering me on.” Pedrosa, who started second, rode his Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin to a 2.806-second victory over Rossi, who entered this event on a three-race winning streak. Pedrosa passed pole sitter Casey Stoner before the first corner of the 25-lap race after a strong start and never trailed thereafter. Stoner ended up third after a spirited duel with Rossi for second for most of the race. Stoner suffered from low rear-tire traction throughout the race on his Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati/Bridgestone and couldn’t beat Rossi, who made a strong climb from a disappointing qualifying performance of ninth on his Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone. “I want to watch the race on TV now because I had a lot of fun today and made some good overtakes,” Rossi said. Pedrosa’s victory helped him climb to within seven points of leader Rossi in the series standings. Rookie sensation Jorge Lorenzo kept third place in the points despite missing this event due to injuries to his head and hand in a practice crash June 6. Lorenzo remains hospitalized and will undergo a skin graft on his finger June 9. American riders Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden and John Hopkins suffered from a variety of physical and mechanical problems during the race. Edwards finished fifth, Hayden eighth and Hopkins 10th. Edwards, from Houston, qualified fifth. But his Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin started suffering from a mysterious traction problem on the first lap. Hayden, from Owensboro, Ky., qualified third but slipped back during the race due to excessive tire wear on his Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin. Hopkins, from Ramona, Calif., struggled during the race with a painful back injury suffered in a crash during practice Friday on his Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone. The next race is the Grand Prix of Great Britain on June 22 at Donington Park, England. The inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. RESULTS BARCELONA, Spain Results of the 25-lap Grand Prix of Catalunya MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle/tire, time behind winner: 1. Dani Pedrosa Spain Honda/Michelin 2. Valentino Rossi Italy Yamaha/Bridgestone +2.806 seconds 3. Casey Stoner Australia Ducati/Bridgestone +3.343 4. Andrea Dovizioso Italy Honda/Michelin +10.893 5. Colin Edwards United States Yamaha/Michelin +16.426 6. James Toseland Great Britain Yamaha/Michelin +21.482 7. Chris Vermeulen Australia Suzuki/Bridgestone +21.548 8. Nicky Hayden United States Honda/Michelin +22.280 9. Shinya Nakano Japan Honda/Bridgestone +22.375 10. John Hopkins United States Kawasaki/Bridgestone +46.835 11. Marco Melandri Italy Ducati/Bridgestone +57.991 12. Anthony West Australia Kawasaki/Bridgestone +59.168 13. Sylvain Guintoli France Ducati/Bridgestone +1:00.779 14. Randy De Puniet France Honda/Michelin +14 laps 15. Alex De Angelis San Marino Honda/Bridgestone +15 laps 16. Loris Capirossi Italy Suzuki/Bridgestone +15 laps Toni Elias Spain Ducati/Bridgestone Excluded Fastest lap: Pedrosa, 1:42.358, Lap 4 Pole lap: Stoner, 1:41.186 POINTS Riders: Rossi 142, Pedrosa 135, Lorenzo 94, Stoner 92, Edwards 69, Dovizioso 57, Toseland 53, Capirossi 51, Hayden 48, Nakano 42, Vermeulen 40, Hopkins 32, Melandri 29, De Angelis 24, Elias 24, De Puniet 18, Guintoli 15, West 10, Tadayuki Okada 2. Manufacturers: Yamaha 160, Honda 135, Ducati 97, Suzuki 63, Kawasaki 35. PODIUM QUOTES DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, winner): “I’m very happy about this win. My thanks to all the people around me. Today was also very important for the championship. I am now five points closer to the lead, but there are still many races ahead of us, so we need to keep pushing and be consistent. We had a few issues in practice here, so my team was thinking what they could do, and they made a small adjustment before the race that improved the bike and helped me to run that pace. Once again, a big thanks to them. I couldn’t believe the fans. It seems like every year there are more and more. I’m very happy they were here because I know it was difficult to get into the track today. I was all alone, pushing to go faster and faster, and I could see everyone cheering me on. At one point I lost a bit of concentration, but I got my focus back and kept pushing.” VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, second): “I think that this was quite a good race. It’s a long time since we’ve had a good fight for the top positions like that, and today it was like last year with Stoner, but for second instead of first place. I was able to come out on top this year, and I am honestly very happy with today’s result. After three almost-perfect races, yesterday was a very hard day for us, but last night we had a very good meeting and today we were able to be much more competitive. My target was the podium, so to come second is excellent. I want to watch the race on TV now because I had a lot of fun today and made some good overtakes. Once I passed Stoner, I tried to go away from him, but it wasn’t possible. So then I knew it would be a great battle to the end. Pedrosa was incredibly strong today, and I think it’s impossible to say whether or not I could have gone with him even if I had started from the front. As it was, we were penalized by our grid position and, with Pedrosa as fast as this, from the third row it was impossible. In these circumstances, I am very happy that we only lost five points to him. We’re still leading the championship, and I had a great race.” CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati/Bridgestone, third): “Looking at the race setup from yesterday, we were confident that we could do some pretty good times today, and I felt it was a race we could win, but for some reason from the first lap I kept losing the rear on entry into the corners. That made me lose confidence, because at this circuit there are a lot of places where you need to brake and enter at the same time so I missed a lot of braking markers, made some mistakes and lost too much ground to Dani. I managed to work a way around it, and in the last part of the race we started to do some reasonable lap times again, but at that point it was a straight battle with Valentino. There was some pretty close passing with him. At times I could almost feel him next to me, but I knew there were some sections where under normal circumstances I could have been faster. Unfortunately when you are racing somebody of that quality you need everything to be working well, and that wasn’t the case for us today. It hasn’t been a good day, and I wasn’t too pleased with the way I rode, but at the end of the day you can’t complain too much about a podium.” AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES COLIN EDWARDS (Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin, fifth): “I got a fantastic start and thought, ‘Brilliant, here we go.’ But from the second corner, I had a problem, and to be honest, we are scratching our heads a little bit. I struggled because early on I was doing low 43s, but then I just couldn’t maintain that pace. I’d throw the bike in on the brakes but it would be sideways, and I found myself having to change my style like I did in Mugello to help. I’d stop it hard on the brakes, turn it into the corner and then pick it up to accelerate, but in some places where I would normally use second gear I was using third to baby it out of the corners. I did everything I could possibly do too hang in with the group, but Andrea just seemed to have a bit more grip than me on the rear. He was able to pull away a little bit on every lap. I could catch him on the brakes, but then I’d lose that crucial bit of time on the exit. What we ran in the warmup was going to be too soft for the race with the temperature, but I’m still happy with fifth. It’s one of the best results I’ve had here, and now we go to Donington and Assen. They are two tracks I love, and I’m sure I’m going to be fighting for the podium again.” NICKY HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, eighth): “We knew the race was going to be tough. Our bike has worked quite well when we had grip, but something with the setup right now “¦ we’re not getting the tire life we need. It was OK in the beginning, but I couldn’t maintain the pace. Something in the setup is hurting the tire life; it’s quite frustrating. We were in there early and thought we might be on for a good result, and then we lost touch and went backward. The rear brake went out toward the end, which didn’t help things. Eighth place is not what we want. We’ve got a really important two days of testing which we need. I’m certainly looking forward to it. Hopefully we can get a couple of things sorted out.” JOHN HOPKINS (Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone, 10th): “I’m in a lot of pain right now with my injury, and that was a really hard race. I tried to pass a few people at the start, but I got boxed out and I lost some ground. I pushed as hard as I could to stay with the group ahead of me, but the pain set in, and I had to really focus on settling into a rhythm. It was then a case of finding a way to ride without moving around too much on the machine to finish the race, and although 10th isn’t where I want to be, in this situation I’m pleased we managed to achieve that. We still have a lot of work to do with the bike, and hopefully we can be in a good condition for the next race in Britain.” MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS 250cc: Marco Simoncelli, Italy, Metis Gilera 125cc: Mike Di Meglio, France, Ajo Motorsport Derbi. American Stevie Bonsey placed seventh and is 11th in series points. NEXT RACE Grand Prix of Great Britain, Donington Park, June 22. Round 8 of 18. Red Bull Indianapolis GP tickets: Tickets are on sale for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14, 2008. Tickets can be purchased either online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time; on the phone by calling (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or (317) 492-6700 locally between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office on the first floor of the IMS Administration Building at 4790 W. 16th St. in Indianapolis from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. All tickets for this event are three-day tickets, with both reserved and general admission seating available.