1. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha YZR-M1, Michelin, 27 laps 2. Dani Pedrosa, Honda RC212V, Michelin, -1.246 seconds 3. Colin Edwards, Yamaha YZR-M1, Michelin, -2.701 4. Toni Elias, Honda RC212V, Bridgestone, -4.351 5. Casey Stoner, Ducati GP07, Bridgestone, -4.993 6. Carlos Checa, Honda RC212C, Michelin, -10.000 7. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC212V, Michelin, -14.146 8. Marco Melandri, Honda RC212V, Bridgestone, -19.969 9. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki GSV-R, Bridgestone, -24.786 10. Shinya Nakano, Honda RC212V, Michelin, -24.955 11. Alex Barros, Ducati GP07, Bridgestone, -25.852 12. Loris Capirossi, Ducati GP07, Bridgestone, -25.852 13. Randy de Punier, Kawasaki ZX-RR, Bridgestone, -26.445 14. Makoto Tamada, Yamaha YZR-M1, Dunlop, -36.653 15. Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha, Dunlop, -36.744 16. Kenny Lee Roberts, KR212V, Michelin, -48.911 17. Kousuke Akiyoshi, Suzuki GSV-R, Bridgestone, -50.784 18. Olivier Jacque, Kawasaki ZX-RR, Bridgestone, -60.901 19. John Hopkins, Suzuki GSV-R, Bridgestone, -63.371, crash DQ, Alex Hofmann, Ducati GP07, Bridgestone 250cc Grand Prix Results 1. Jorge Lorenzo, Aprilia, 26 laps 2. Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia, -0.218 second 3. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, -0.478 4. Alex de Angelis, Aprilia, -8.156 5. Alex Debon, Aprilia, -14.747 6. Hiroshi Aoyama, KTM, -15.045 7. Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, -17.918 8. Yuki Takahashi, Honda, -28.438 9. Anthony West, Aprilia, -39.435 10. Dirk Heidolf, Aprilia, -62.689 125cc Grand Prix Results 1. Gabor Talmacsi, Aprilia, 23 laps 2. Lukas Pesek, Derbi, -0.014 second 3. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, -5.720 4. Pol Espargaro, Aprilia, -6.489 5. Sergio Gadea, Aprilia, -6.867 6. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, -9.219 7. Sandro Cortese, Aprilia, -19.078 8. Joan Olive, Aprilia, -19.133 9. Michael Ranseder, Derbi, -19.664 10. Lorenzo Zanetti, Aprilia, -28.434 13. Steve Bonsey, KTM, -43.699 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Elias Takes Strong Fourth in Front of Home Crowd Round 02 – Jerez Race Circuito de Jerez Sunday 25 March 2007 Honda Gresini’s Toni Elias and Ducati’s Casey Stoner were denied podium results in today’s Spanish Grand Prix but strong, consistent performances by both riders throughout the 27-lap race in Jerez were rewarded with encouraging fourth and fifth placed results respectively. With ten laps of the race remaining Elias was seven seconds adrift of race leader and ultimate winner Valentino Rossi and Stoner was ten seconds behind, but their soft compound rear Bridgestone tyres maintained optimum performance right up to the chequered flag and enabled them to greatly reduce the deficit to just over one second. Stoner now lies second in the riders’ table with 36 points, equal with Dani Pedrosa who finished runner-up to Rossi today, the Italian’s win taking him to the head of the championship. Suzuki’s John Hopkins was in the hunt for a strong podium challenge until a fall on lap 17 relegated him to the back of the field. The competitiveness of the Suzuki-Bridgestone package was highlighted with Hopkins setting the second fastest lap of the entire GP, accompanied only by Rossi under the 1m41s mark. Marco Melandri was forced to settle for eighth place having been an early pace setter. His eight points keep him fifth in the riders’ classification. Chris Vermeulen added a second top ten result to his season tally with ninth place on his Suzuki today, keeping him in seventh place in the championship just ahead of Elias, Hopkins and Pramac d’Antin’s Alex Barros, whose 11th position in Jerez places him tenth in the overall riders’ table. Hiroshi Yamada Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager, Motorcycle Sport Department: “Naturally, we are a little disappointed that our riders could not finish today’s race on the podium, but I am still pleased with the overall competitiveness of our tyres this weekend. Based on the results from the free practice sessions and the expected arrival of cooler weather in Jerez this afternoon, most of our riders opted to run with a soft specification rear tyre. The cooler track conditions enabled them to extract the full performance from this tyre, together with their chosen 16.5” front, to post quick times over the full race distance. Unfortunately, starting from the second and third rows of the grid was more of a disadvantage than usual because we have seen such a competitive field this weekend, which made progressing up the order tricky. The fact that Toni and Casey were able to lap in the high 1m41s in the closing stages, around half a second quicker than some of our rivals, and make up so many places in the process demonstrates that we had the tyres to achieve more this afternoon. John and the Suzuki team also showed great performance in race trim, setting the second quickest lap of the race. Generally, there are many positive aspects to take away from these opening two races of the season with Casey’s excellent win in Qatar and increased competitiveness against our rivals here in Jerez. However, we have some tough tracks coming up with Turkey and China, so we have plenty of work to do. Weather permitting, our preparations for these races will begin with all five of our teams in Jerez tomorrow.” Toni Elias Honda Gresini 4th place (+4.351s from race winner) “I am very happy with fourth place today and to be the top Bridgestone rider in front of my home fans. I struggled a bit at the start of the race because I could not get the tyres up to temperature quickly, but it was possible to keep ninth place in the initial laps. After that I was able to maintain a constant and competitive rhythm for the duration of the race. When the rivals in front of us started to drop their pace a bit, the rhythm from the Bridgestone tyres helped me make my way through the field and recover some ground. Unfortunately there was already too much of a gap to Colin for that final podium place. We have worked a lot this weekend together with Bridgestone and I am quite proud of our achievements together. It is my 24th birthday tomorrow and this result is not a bad early present.” Bridgestone Race Results Front Rear P4 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 45m57.691s +4.351s Slick Soft Slick Soft P5 Casey Stoner Ducati 45m58.333s +4.993s Slick Medium Slick Soft P8 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 46m13.309s +19.969s Slick Medium Slick Soft P9 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 46m18.126s +24.786s Slick Medium Slick Soft P11 Alex Barros Pramac d’Antin 46m18.348s +25.008s Slick Medium Slick Soft P12 Loris Capirossi Ducati 46m19.192s +25.852s Slick Medium Slick Soft P13 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 46m19.785s +26.445s Slick Medium Slick Soft P17 Kousuke Akiyoshi Suzuki 46m44.124s +50.784s Slick Medium Slick Soft P18 Olivier Jacque Kawasaki 46m54.241s +1m00.901s Slick Medium Slick Soft P19 John Hopkins Suzuki 46m56.711s +1m03.371s Slick Medium Slick Medium Exc. Alex Hofmann Pramac d’Antin N/A N/A Slick Medium Slick Soft Weather: Dry. Air 19°C, Track 31°C, Humidity 20% More, from a press release issued by Michelin: MotoGP World Championship 2007 Spanish Grand Prix, Jerez Race Day, Sunday March 25 MICHELIN MAN ROSSI WINS TO LEAD THE WORLD Michelin riders ruled the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez today, monopolizing the podium. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) won the race to take the World Championship lead after seeing off a strong challenge from polesitter Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) in front of around 132,000 fans. And Rossi’s teammate Colin Edwards (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) chased Pedrosa hard all the way to finish a close third. Rossi’s victory was also the first success for Michelin’s new 16-inch front slick, now used by all of Michelin’s seven MotoGP riders. “This victory and these 25 points are important,” said Rossi, who has won five premier-class world titles with Michelin. “We worked very well with Michelin here and the tires worked well all the way to the end of the race. It was a fast race and a great battle with Dani. I pushed hard from the beginning and built a small advantage lap by lap.” Carlos Checa (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) also showed strongly all weekend, qualifying on the front row and beating World Champion Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC212VMichelin) to sixth place. “We are happy, the race was quite good for us,” said Jean-Philippe Weber after his first victory as Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “We made our tires for this race according to the results from last month’s tests here and also according to the weather forecast. All our guys used tires in the medium range, tailored to their needs, and everyone seemed pretty happy with the tires’ performance. There was just a small difference between the tires used by Yamahas and those used by Dani. As usual, Dani’s were slightly softer, but it was only a small step. “This is our first win for our 16-inch front, which also makes us happy. With this tire our riders were able to go fast right from the beginning of the race. We started testing this generation of the 16 at this track at the end of last year and we did back-to-back comparisons with the 16.5. Our riders immediately preferred the 16 because it allows them to flick faster into the turns and gives them more grip and feel as they attack the turns. “This wasn’t an easy weekend for anyone because of the difference in temperature from the morning sessions to the afternoon. The difference was sometimes as much as 17 degrees, which makes it hard to work on race set-up and race tires during the morning. But our team did a great job, learning to work with the new tire regulations.” MICHELIN RIDERS’ TIRE CHOICES Race Condition: DRY, SUNNY Temperature (ºC): Air 21°, Track 29° Rider Points Team Front 16″ Rear 16.5″ PEDROSA Dani 16 Repsol Honda Team Medium Medium ROSSI Valentino 20 Fiat Yamaha Team Medium Medium CHECA Carlos 9 Honda LCR Medium Medium EDWARDS Colin 10 Fiat Yamaha Team Medium Medium NAKANO Shinya 6 Konica Minolta Honda Medium Medium ROBERTS Kenny 3 Team Roberts KR212 Medium Medium HAYDEN Nicky 8 Repsol Honda Team Medium Medium The above tire choice chart is intended as a guide only. It refers to the grade of tire compound/construction within the range of each rider¹s allocation, thus one rider¹s medium tire can be softer or harder than another rider¹s medium tire. Michelin tailor-makes tires for each of its MotoGP riders, according to their riding style and the demands of their machine, as well as circuit layout, track surface and weather conditions. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Sports: Rossi strikes back at Jerez to take victory Gran Premio bwin.com de España Sunday 25th March Race Report Valentino Rossi bowled over all challengers to take victory at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España and put himself at the head of the overall classification. The five-time MotoGP World Champion was never troubled after passing poleman Dani Pedrosa midway through the opening lap, and ended his five-race winless streak with a masterful display of how to lead a Grand Prix. ‘The Doctor’ has won at Jerez on four previous occasions, and marked victory number five with a special celebration alongside his fan club. Decked out in skittle costumes, the group fell at the Italian’s feet as he gave them an underarm bowl on his parade lap. His triumph makes him the first rider to win races on 500cc, 990cc and 800cc machines at the highest level. Hyped up as a battle between Rossi and Pedrosa for dominance of the Spanish circuit, the race never really became a duel between the two riders. As the Fiat Yamaha rider continually upped his race pace, Pedrosa was left with little to do but follow his rival into second. Whilst clearly unable to keep up with Rossi, he was likewise unfazed by the presence of third placed Colin Edwards nearly three seconds behind him. For the ‘Texan Tornado’ the Gran Premio bwin.com de España marked a welcome return to the podium after an assured ride. Aiming to give the Spanish fans another reason to be happy, Toni Elias was right up there with Rossi’s fastest speeds although starting from further down the grid. The exciting rider finished in fourth after some excellent overtaking, just edging out Casey Stoner who couldn’t repeat his dominance from two weeks ago. The Australian Ducati rider was once again mature in his overtaking choices, and was rewarded with some valuable points for the World Championship. Carlos Checa, starting from the front row for the first time since 2005, rounded off the top six, ahead of reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden. ‘The Kentucky Kid’ made a fantastic start, but was unable to get near the leaders and dropped off towards the end of the race. Marco Melandri, Chris Vermeulen and Shinya Nakano completed the top ten. John Hopkins suffered a crash on lap 16, having just overtaken Hayden for fourth, but picked the Suzuki GSV-R800 up to finish the race, albeit in 19th. The brave Anglo-American was once again racing despite pain in his right hand. 250cc After having dominated the 250cc class for the whole weekend at his home track, Jorge Lorenzo gave the thousands of fans gathered at Jerez reason to celebrate with a superb victory. In his post-race celebration, Lorenzo ran to the gravel trap and planted down a flag marking his territory. And he could rightfully call the Spanish circuit ‘Lorenzo’s Land’ after taking his second quarter litre victory at the track in as many years. That is not to say that the factory Aprilia rider had things easy- far from it. Second placed Alvaro Bautista and third placed Andrea Dovizioso all took turns in leading the race, exchanging positions at a dizzying rate. The former managed to complete a home one-two ahead of the 2006 World Championship runner-up, competing in only his second 250cc race. Dovizioso was displaying a newfound aggression as he rode to a podium finish, not allowing himself to be pushed out of the running. A small wobble from Bautista at the Dry Sack corner held up the duo and allowed Lorenzo to finally build a small gap, which he maintained until the finish line. 125cc A dramatic 125cc race saw Gabor Talmacsi take victory in a photo finish. The Hungarian, on the receiving end of a slipstreaming manoeuvre from team-mate Hector Faubel at the opening round in Qatar, this time ousted Czech rider Lukas Pesek from the top spot after a tense game of cat-and-mouse. The two were out on their own for most of the race, breaking away from the pack with Pesek closing down the Master MVA Aspar rider all the way. Tactics came into play, with the Derbi man content to stalk Talmacsi for the duration and even at one point declining an invitation from his rival to take the lead. Pesek left his move late, overtaking on one of the final corners but, after a few hairy moments in the sprint to the line, was just pipped to the chequered flag and his elusive first 125cc victory. Hector Faubel was the only Spanish representative on the podium, taking third ahead of countryman Pol Espargaro. The latter had an amazing race, starting awesomely and maintaining a cool head whilst battling with such riders as Sergio Gadea and Pablo Nieto, who completed the top six. Sandro Cortese, Joan Olive, Michael Ranseder and Lorenzo Zanetti made up the remainder of the top ten. Red Bull Rookies Cup An exciting first race took place in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, where Lorenzo Savadori took another Italian victory on the final lap. Luis Salom did well to make a save on the final lap to prevent highsiding his KTM kit, and took second ahead of French Rider Johann Zarco. The race was an excellent show of the abilities gained by the riders during the past few months, and provided all the excitement of a World Championship round towards the end. There were light crashes for leading riders Cameron Beaubier and Jamie Mossey in the latter stages, and the duo will be sure to learn from this over the coming races. The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is next back on track at the Gran Premio Italia Alice at Mugello. The next race of the 2007 season takes place in Turkey on April 22nd. More, from a press release issued by KTM: 250cc race Red Bull KTM Hero Hiroshi Aoyama of Japan rode his KTM 250 KRR bike through the pain of a hand injury to finish sixth in the 250cc class on Sunday. The result gave the Japanese rider 10 championship points, some compensation for the crash he sustained in Qatar in the opening round. Hiroshi decided to forego painkillers in favour of a better feel for the bike. His team-mate Mika Kallio, who joined the 250cc class this season after shining in 125cc was less fortunate and was forced to withdraw in the 19th lap with a broken second gear. Hiroshi Aoyama, sixth place 250cc 45:50.891 “I am really happy with this result considering my finger injury. I had a good start but took it easy on the first lap, and a bunch of other riders passed me again. But then I found my rhythm, and I wasn’t in too much pain, even though I didn’t take any pain killers because an injection would have numbed my hand too much and would have destroyed the feeling for the bike. At the end, it got tougher and tougher, but sixth is great in these circumstances and gives me a lot of hope for this season. Luckily we have three weeks off before the next race in Turkey. I won my first Grand Prix with KTM on the Istanbul track last year, and I want to be 100 per cent fit when we return there!” Mika Kallio, retired 19th lap 250cc “My start was very good, and I was able to improve my position and fight within the same group my team-mate was in. Then some other riders touched my fairing and I ran wide and lost my rhythm for a while. Then I got back into the groove, made good lap times again and thought a result between fifth and seventh place was possible. Then the bike broke, and I just had to stop.” Team Race Director Harald Bartol “Respect to Hiroshi for what he did today, to ride within half a second per lap of the race winner is remarkable, considering his injury. It’s a real pity that Mika missed out on the race finish again, this time it was the sprocket of the second gear that broke.” 250cc Results 1. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain, Aprilia, 45:35.846 2. Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Aprilia, 45:36.064 3. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy, Honda, 45:36.324 4. Alex De Angeles, San Marino, Aprilia, 45:44.002 5. Alex Debon, Spain, Aprilia, 45:50.539 6. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, KTM, 45:50.891 Mika Kallio, Finland, KTM, DNF 125cc Race Jerez, Spain American teenager Steve Bonsey was the Red Bull KTM 125cc rider of the day when he finished 13th in the championship points in Jerez Spain. It was the first time the young American, making his debut season on the MotoGP circuit, had picked up championship points. Bonsey’s young 17 year-old team-mate Randy Krummenacher of Switzerland was no less heroic riding with a painful cracked scaphoid bone in his right wrist and still finishing in 17th place. Tomoyoshi Koyama was close to a podium finish when he crashed with four laps to go in the 125cc while hot on the trail of a podium place. Steve Bonsey, USA, 13th 42:35.848 “I lost my left knee slider right after the start, which was a big problem because my strongest point so far was the left hand corners. So I just tried to be consistent. I felt good on the bike, and as the race went on, I also was picking up corner speed in the right hand turns. When I saw a bunch of other riders crash and my pit board signalling 19th position, I thought of possible world championship points and pushed even harder. To get my first points in the end is great, and to finish a race in front of this audience is an awesome feeling. In American Dirt Track racing, we don’t get as many people on the grandstands as there are here in one corner!” Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, 17th 42:43.402 “In the first few laps, I was well within the battle, but I also realised that with my cracked scaphoid bone I couldn’t control the bike at the corner entrances very well. So I tried to find smooth lines and to be as precise as possible. I gave all I could with my damaged hand and tried my best to stay upright until the end, but now it’s hurting really, really bad!” Tomoyoshi Koyama, 125cc DNF “For the first three laps, I didn’t have a lot of grip on the rear, but then I felt really good on the bike. We had made a last minute change to the chassis set-up that worked out really well, and I could match the pace of my group quite easily. In the end, I was able to close in on Hector Faubel and I thought a podium finish would be possible. I pushed on, and then, in the first corner, it was too much and I crashed. I tried to restart the bike, but the exhaust was bent so there was no way to carry on. It’s a real shame, but at least we have improved in comparison to the first race in Qatar and we know that we are not far off the pace!” Team Race Director Harald Bartol “Tomoyoshi had clearly the fastest bike on the track today, but still was so much on the limit that he eventually crashed. We have to carefully analyse why. As far as Steve Bonsey goes, I am sure that we are going to have a lot of joy with this guy this year–he is getting better and better!” 125cc Results 1. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia, 41:52.149 2. Lukas Pesek, Czech Republic, Derbi, 41:52.163 3. Hector Faubel, Spain, Aprilia, 41:57.869 4. Pol Espargaro, Spain, Aprilia, 41:58.638 5. Sergio Gadea, Spain, Aprilia, 41:59.016 13. Steve Bonsey, USA, KTM, 42:35.848 17. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, KTM 42:43.402 Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, KTM DNF Rookies Cup Italian Lorenzo Savadori, riding number 32, will only celebrate his 14th birthday on April 4 but that did not stop him taking victory in the first ever Red Bull Rookies Cup at Jerez Spain. Lorenzo streaked home on the Jerez circuit in the inaugural Rookies Cup race on Sunday ahead of Luis Jamie Salom of Spain and Johann Zarco of France in the 15 lap race in what was a huge experience for the budding young riders. Lorenzo, impressive in training for the Rookies program was introduced to motor sports by his father and is looking forward to celebrating his 14th birthday in April racing on his favourite circuit in Mugello, Italy. He started Sunday’s race from third place on the grid. It was appropriate that pole sitter Luis Salom and Johann Zarco, second on the starting line, soaked up the minor places. The Rookies Cup program, from Red Bull in cooperation with KTM and Dorna Sports allows 23 talented young riders to compete on identical KTM RC 125 machines, a specially developed race model for rookies. The program, held in conjunction with the 2007 MotoGP races, means that the young riders compete on leading motor racing circuits and in front of huge crowds. Rookies Cup Results 1. Lorenzo Savadori, Italy, KTM 28:36.428 2. Luis Salom, Spain, KTM, 28:36.921 3. Johann Zarco, France, KTM 28:37.533 4. Robert Gull, Sweden, KTM 28:37.855 5. Cyril Carrillo, France, KTM 28:38.467. More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: Jerez – Grand Prix of Spain Event: Grand Prix of Spain – Race Date: Sunday, 25th March 2007 Ambient temperature: 19 degrees C Track temperature: 31 degrees C Humidity: 20% DOUBLE PODIUM GLORY FOR FIAT YAMAHA TEAM IN JEREZ Valentino Rossi returned to the top step of the podium today after leading for all 27-laps of the Grand Prix of Spain, taking his first victory since Sepang last year and his 46th win of the four-stroke MotoGP era. Rossi’s 26th win for Yamaha also makes him the most successful rider at Jerez in the premier class, with five wins at the Spanish track. He was joined for the podium celebrations by his team-mate Colin Edwards, who rode a strong race from fourth on the grid to stay in contention behind Dani Pedrosa, eventually finishing third and taking his seventh MotoGP podium in front of a record crowd of 138,000. Both Yamahas got a good start off the line, Edwards riding around the outside of Carlos Checa to take third at turn two and Rossi passing pole-sitter Pedrosa to take the lead shortly after. By the fourth lap the leading trio had begun to pull away from Nicky Hayden and John Hopkins and Rossi had started to stretch his lead on Pedrosa, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap five. Despite a strong showing from the Spaniard in front of his home crowd, Rossi’s lead never looked in jeopardy and he eventually crossed the line 1.246 seconds in front. Edwards meanwhile never stopped pushing in third place, spurred on by the looming Honda of Toni Elias in the latter stages. Tyre worries for the pair proved unfounded as their Michelins worked well to the flag and Rossi and Edwards now take first and fourth in the Championship after two rounds of the eighteen-race season. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 45’53.340 “After the situation at this race last year, this is much, much better! Our first priority today was to get points and I knew that to win I would have to ride at the maximum, but today my Yamaha really flew and I was able to do a great race. It feels like a long time since I last won and this is a great emotion and a very special victory for me, especially in Jerez in front of this great crowd. Qatar was good but to taste victory again is a wonderful feeling. We had some problems on Friday and again yesterday and then after this morning’s warm-up we made some more small modifications; I have to thank my team, from Jeremy Burgess to all my mechanics and engineers. They did a fantastic job for me this weekend and they all deserve this win. My tyre worked very well today and Michelin have done a good job too in difficult conditions, so thank you to them. I got a great start, didn’t make any mistakes and had a good battle with Pedrosa, who we knew would be the danger today. I’m really happy for Colin too and to have both Yamahas on the podium shows that we’re in good shape for what’s going to be a long season. Now we have two race tracks which might be difficult for us so it’s very important to leave here leading the championship.” Colin Edwards Position: 3rd Time: +2.701 “On Friday morning you wouldn’t have thought we would end up on the podium, but here we are and it was a good race for me. I’ve got to say an enormous thank you to all my guys because they worked non-stop all weekend and came up with some pretty good solutions to the problems we had. Michelin also had something up their sleeve for us and seemed to know what would work and they were proved right – they’ve done a good job for us this weekend. I got a good start and my best move was getting past Checa so quickly; I knew I had to find some clear air and try to hang onto the back of Valentino and Pedrosa. I made a couple of small mistakes and they were able to pull away from me a bit which was a pity, but my bike was working well so I was able to keep a pretty good pace throughout. Towards the end I could see Elias had appeared behind me and I didn’t like the idea of him getting spurred on by his home fans and trying to snatch a podium, so I really had to keep hammering away! The last few laps were a little hairy at times as I started to slide but anyway we managed to make it and it feels great to be up here on the podium again.” Davide Brivio Team Director “It’s great to be back with both riders on the podium and especially here in Jerez where we struggled so much in last year’s race. It’s a really positive sign and shows what a good job our Yamaha engineers have done with our new bike. Everyone has worked very hard over this weekend and the entire team deserves congratulations. The new tyre regulations mean we have to manage what we have very carefully and this is a great result for us. It’s also a very important result because we now have two tricky circuits and it’s good to be going into this stage of the season in front. Thanks again to all the team and everyone involved, we’re very happy today!” Results 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 45’53.340 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team + 1.246 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 2.701 4. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda Gresini + 4.351 5. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team + 4.993 6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda LCR + 10.000 7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team + 14.146 8. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda Gresini + 19.969 9. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 24.786 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda + 24.955 11. Alex Barros (BRA) Pramac d’Antin + 25.008 12. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team + 25.852 13. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team + 26.445 14. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 + 36.653 15. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 + 36.744 16. Kenny Roberts Jr (USA) Team Roberts + 48.911 17. K Akiyoshi (JPN) Suzuki + 1’00.784 18. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team + 1’00.901 19. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 1’03.371 Championship Standings 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 45 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 36 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 36 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Fiat Yamaha Team 26 5. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda Gresini 19 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team 17 7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 16 8. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda Gresini 15 9. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 13 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda 12 Jerez: Lap Record Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1’40,596 Jerez: Best Lap Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2007, 1’38,394 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: KAWASAKI’S DE PUNIET PICKS UP POINTS IN TOUGH JEREZ WEEKEND Randy de Puniet scored Kawasaki’s only world championship points after bringing his Ninja ZX-RR home in a hard fought 13th place in today’s Spanish Grand Prix, which was won by Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) from home hero Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and watched by more than 132,000 spectators. De Puniet’s fellow countryman, and Kawasaki teammate, Olivier Jacque, was unable to add to his points haul from the opening race in Qatar, finishing in a disappointing 18th place after struggling with traction problems throughout the 27-lap race. Kawasaki’s expectations had been high coming into the second race of the season, with Racing Director, Ichiro Yoda, predicting a strong performance from his two riders, but these expectations had to be re-evaluated during the opening practice session on Friday, as de Puniet and Jacque encountered problems with their Ninja ZX-RR machines that hadn’t been apparent during the IRTA test at Jerez just one month ago. The problems persisted throughout practice and qualifying on Saturday, but de Puniet saw a distinct improvement in the handling of his Ninja ZX-RR during this morning’s 25-minute warm-up session. Despite this improvement, both de Puniet and Jacque lined up for today’s Spanish Grand Prix knowing that today would be an exercise in damage limitation, rather than an opportunity to push hard for a top ten finish. Even so, if it hadn’t been for some back luck then de Puniet could have potentially secured a top ten finish for Kawasaki today, but two small mistakes at mid-race distance saw him lose contact with the battle for ninth place, and he lost further time when forced to run wide after Kenny Roberts (Honda) suffered machinery problems on the racing line. To say that Jacque was disappointed with his result today would be something of an understatement. The 33-year-old Kawasaki pilot was left frustrated after suffering with traction problems from the start of the race, which left him chasing Suzuki’s test rider, Kousuke Akiyoshi, at the back of the field. Jacque closed on to the back of Akiyoshi in the latter part of the race, but was unable to pass after using his tyres up in the chase. Only Suzuki’s John Hopkins, who rejoined the race behind the Kawasaki pilot after crashing out of fourth place, spared Jacque the ignominy of finishing last. 13th Position “I kept the position and at the beginning I was faster than other riders, but here it is really difficult to pass. I stayed behind, as I didn’t want to make any mistake. Rear tyre performance dropped down, but I managed to stay with the group until ten laps to the end, when I made a mistake and lost some time. I pushed and caught the group again. But then, four laps to the end, I don’t know what happened but I saw Roberts’ bike stop and I lost about a second avoiding him, which allowed Capirossi to catch me. His bike is more powerful and I couldn’t prevent him from passing me on the back straight. The positive is that the bike’s performance improved a little, but we now need to find solutions to all the issues we had this weekend.” 18th Position “It’s been a hard weekend; even though I was not expecting much from this race, it has been a bit frustrating. I did a good start, but had absolutely no grip after only three laps, which meant I was spinning the rear tyre at every single corner. I was losing a lot of ground exiting the corners and it got worse lap by lap. I made some mistakes as well, trying to catch up on braking, but it was just impossible. Slide control was really good, and I could have had fun, but it was not efficient in terms of lap time. At the end, the tyres were ruined but I managed to finish. We don’t know what has gone wrong this weekend but, fortunately, we have two testing days to sort it out.” Kawasaki Competition Manager “Randy showed his growing maturity by riding a risk free race to pick up his first points of the season today, despite the fact that we still need to make some improvements to our Ninja ZX-RR. But, while Randy was able to salvage some points, the same wasn’t true of Olivier. We need to sit down with him and find out why he wasn’t able to match Randy’s lap times today. Kawasaki isn’t here to finish so close to the back of the field, so if there is a problem then we need to find a solution. I’m sure it was possible to leave here with a better combined result today; yes, we’ve had some problems this weekend, but whether we have the perfect package or not, we’re here to compete and we need to be going into every race 100% committed to securing the best result possible.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: STONER FIFTH AFTER GREAT FIGHT BACK Ducati Marlboro Team man Casey Stoner rode a hard-fought race in front of more than 130,000 fans at Jerez today, fighting all the way to finish fifth and put himself second in the World Championship. Team-mate Loris Capirossi had a more difficult day on the occasion of his 250th GP start but salvaged some points with a 12th-place finish. Down in ninth place at mid-distance after a fraught first few laps, Stoner and his Desmosedici GP7 were the fastest combination on the track during the last part of the race as they hunted down and passed Marco Melandri, Carlos Checa and World Champion Nicky Hayden. Stoner ended the race six tenths off fourth place and just 2.3 seconds off the podium. Capirossi had a challenging two days of practice and attempts to modify his bike’s set up for this afternoon’s race didn’t work as well as he had expected. Casey Stoner, race result 5th , World Championship 2nd, 36 points “It wouldn’t have been too tough if we’d got away with them at the start but we just didn’t seem to have it there at the beginning of the race and then I got shuffled back a fair way by a few dodgy pass manoeuvres. Once we’d got our rhythm and finally got past Marco (Melandri) and Carlos (Checa) then we were free to put in some good lap times and push further forward. There were a few stupid manoeuvres out there which lost us a few seconds. The bike and the tyres were okay, so without that dodgy passes we would’ve been fighting for the podium at the end of the race but that’s the way it goes, that’s the way the race panned out. Now I’m going back to Australia for these next two weeks to train as hard as I can and get myself set for the rest of the season.” Loris Capirossi, race result 12th , World Championship 14th , 4 points “This morning we thought we had found a better set-up but the race didn’t go well. At the start something happened with the engine, I got a bad start and after… well, I didn’t ride so well. We worked on engine mapping this morning but maybe we didn’t get it right because I didn’t have great acceleration and that made things worse. I’m not happy, I had a bad race. Yes, I finished, but this is not the way I like to race. During the next few weeks we will work on a few things to make sure we start Turkey in better shape. The track conditions weren’t bad today, the tyres worked well, but maybe my riding style doesn’t perfectly suit the engine character. I’m a bit aggressive with the gas and maybe this is the problem. When we use the electronics to make the power more sweet the bike loses it competitiveness. It’s a thing I have to work on – trying to adapt my style.” More, from a press release issued by Gresini Honda: ELIAS WITHIN TOUCHING DISTANCE OF JEREZ PODIUM Gresini Honda rider Toni Elias met the huge expecations of the home fans with a stunning ride in the Grand Prix of Spain, battling for a podium position in a race won by Valentino Rossi, ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Colin Edwards. The youngster from Manresa, who celebrates his 24th birthday tomorrow, recovered important positions after making a disappointing start from the third row of the grid and charged through to fourth place in a high-paced race. As the first Bridgestone rider across the line, Elias once again showed his grit and determination. It was a real shame for his team-mate Marco Melandri, who dominated the morning warm-up but didn’t find the right feeling with his bike for the race and struggled to eighth place. Marco is now looking ahead to tomorrow’s test and to the next GP in Turkey, where he has taken victory for the past two seasons. TONI ELIAS (4th): “I’m really happy. With respect to the race in Qatar we have grown a lot and together with the team we’ve done a great job. I didn’t get a good start and in the beginning it was hard to get the tyres up to temperature. I just tried to maintain a constant pace and make up as many positions as possible. The pace of the front guys was incredible but when the others started to have problems I was able to maintain my pace and get past Stoner, Checa, Melandri and Hayden. I’m the first Bridgestone rider home so it’s a good result. We’ve worked well together and we still have some room for improvement.” MARCO MELANDRI (8th): “It’s a disappointing result at a circuit where I should have done much better. This morning we were really quick in the warm-up and I was confident but unfortunately in the race I suffered with the same problem as in Qatar – to pass people I need to brake in a really aggressive way and that takes too much out of the front tyre. Tomorrow we have a day of tests to try a few different solutions and we’ll work particularly on the forks ahead of the race in Turkey, a circuit that holds a lot of good memories for me.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: DANI ON PODIUM WITH HARD-EARNED SECOND PLACE Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) won this Spanish Grand Prix from Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) with Colin Edwards (Yamaha) third. In front of a passionate 138,000 crowd in perfect racing conditions, this race was never quite as close as the tight-fought qualifying session promised it might be. Dani hit turn one in the lead from pole with Rossi right on his rear tyre and Edwards just behind. With track temperature at 31 degrees and with a 19 degree ambient temperature the atmosphere was set for a close contest. Especially when Rossi slipped past Dani at the first hairpin to take the lead. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) was up to fourth after starting from 11th on the grid with Casey Stoner (Ducati) in fifth ahead of Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) and John Hopkins (Suzuki) in seventh ahead of Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) and Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V). Hopkins set an early race fastest lap of 1m 40.938s as he moved up to fifth place, while Stoner dropped back and Melandri charged up to seventh. Dani was hanging onto Rossi comfortably at this stage even though the Italian had set a new fastest lap on lap five. As Dani kept in touch with Rossi, Edwards dropped off the pace and by lap 11 Rossi led Dani by 0.75 seconds while the pair enjoyed a 1.1 second cushion over Edwards who led Nicky and Hopkins by 2.5 seconds. Melandri was now sixth and Elias seventh. The leaders would not switch position now until after the flag, but at mid-race distance there was still plenty of action to unfold behind the podium places. Hopkins fell while holding fourth place on lap 17. This elevated the flying Elias from fifth. Hayden had now slipped back to seventh. Dani pressed on after Rossi but the Italian was in control here. His team-mate Edwards couldn’t haul Dani any closer, but behind them Stoner had closed in on Hayden and stolen fifth from the reigning World Champion. Rossi would win by 1.2 seconds at the flag (having set a lap record of 1m 40.905s), and Edwards would cross the line 2.7 seconds behind the winner. This was a high-speed procession of a race, but one in which Dani stayed in touch at the sharp end of the overall points standings. The points table after two rounds shows Rossi in front on 45 points, Dani and Casey Stoner tied in second with 36 points each, Edwards fourth on 26 with Marco Melandri on 19 points. Dani said, “I’m very happy to be on the podium for the second race in a row and we’ve had a good weekend here at Jerez since first practice on Friday. At the beginning of the race I was trying really hard not to lose too much ground to Valentino. From the middle of the race to the end I was a little bit slower than him so I just tried to keep my focus and not make any mistakes. I feel a little bit sorry for the fans here because I really wanted to win for them. I think they enjoyed the racing today and this crowd supports everybody, not just the Spanish riders. The result is very good for the team because they have been working hard for me, so a big thanks to them.” Fourth-placed Elias said, “I’m really happy. I didn’t get a good start and in the beginning it was hard to get the tyres up to temperature. I just tried to maintain a constant pace and make up as many positions as possible. The pace of the front guys was incredible but when the others started to have problems I was able to maintain my pace and get past Stoner, Checa, Melandri and Hayden. I’m the first Bridgestone rider home so it’s a good result. We’ve worked well together and we still have some room for improvement.” Carlos Checa finished sixth and said, “The lower track temperatures today did not give me the same feeling with the rear tyre as I had in practice, but even so it feels good to finish my home race and score some points. I made a good start but I was not decisive enough on the first lap and lost some positions that cost me valuable time. I enjoyed the fight with Casey and Toni, this was the best part of the race, but when they pushed with five laps to go I did have the tyre grip to respond.” “I got a good start and the first few laps were decent'” said Nicky in seventh. “I was pushing really hard though I didn’t really have the set-up to run at that pace. It felt good to be up front and see what those boys were doing but I was taking a few chances and I probably used up my tyres too much in the first few laps trying to work my way forward. It’s a little frustrating because at the last race in Qatar we got faster as the race went on yet here it was the opposite.” Marco Melandri was eighth. He said, “It’s a disappointing result at a circuit where I should have done much better. This morning we were really quick in the warm-up and I was confident but unfortunately in the race I suffered with the same problem as in Qatar to pass people I need to brake in a really aggressive way and that takes too much out of the front tyre. Tomorrow we have a day of tests to try a few different solutions and we’ll work particularly on the forks ahead of the race in Turkey, a circuit that holds a lot of good memories for me.” Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) finished tenth and said, “Another difficult race. I made a good start, but didn’t push so hard from the beginning, so I lost a few places. When I started to get a better feeling from the bike, I tried to push harder again but we were having some chatter problems from the front. I tried to follow other riders and hung in there and on the final lap overtook Barros for 10th. Towards the end our rhythm wasn’t so bad, but now I’m looking for more entry speed in the corner.” Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR212V) had to make do with 16th place. The American only just made it over the line and said, “I don’t know exactly what went wrong, but something happened either the chain, or the transmission. It happened suddenly, and I went sideways for about half-a-second in third gear. I was going to pull in, but I was able to make the last few laps. Up until then, I felt I had a little bit better pace than the guys in front of me, that I was saving for the last couple of laps. But I don’t think that matters now.” Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) won his second race of the season with a calculated victory in the 250cc class. He beat Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) into second place and Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) was third after leading a large part of the race. Lorenzo lead off the line from pole with Dovi in close attendance. Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW) who had qualified third made a poor start and was left way behind as the leaders peeled into turn one. Within a lap a pattern had been set with Dovi out front leading Lorenzo, Hector Barbera (Aprilia) and Bautista. But on lap 16 Barbera fell at the final turn to leave just three riders dicing for the lead. The trio swapped places at least nine times on lap 22 before the final tour of this 26-lap encounter loomed. Lorenzo had established just enough of an advantage to win by 0.218 seconds. Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) was seventh and Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) eighth. The luckless Simon fell on lap 13 having clawed his way up to sixth place after a terrible start. Dovi said, “I’m very happy with my race at a track I don’t really like. My pace was good it is always very important to run at the front of the race, especially here. My problem is a lack of power against my rivals. If you stay behind the others it is very difficult in a race like today. Alvaro (Bautista) was quick in some parts of the track and I was faster in others but that helped Lorenzo get away from us. Once he had a one second lead it was always going to be very difficult for me. But I have to be happy with this result at this track.” “The crash was a shame,” Simon said, “I have to apologise to the whole team because we made a great job throughout the weekend. I made an awful start. Then I reached a group that was lapping more or less like me, although I think that I was a bit faster than them. I took the lead of the group and began to open a gap and once I had escaped I lost the front-end on the left-hander after Dry Sack and wasn’t able to avoid the crash. The team has worked brilliantly and I haven’t been able to do the same.” Aoyama said, “I made a good start and did well in the first two corners, but then the three leading riders began to push harder. I tried to be faster, but wasn’t able to keep their pace and they escaped. I tried to follow the front group, but just couldn’t. Halfway through the race and towards the end I tried to push harder, but it was so difficult. I had some problems with the suspension and tyre settings, but the problem is mine, because I haven’t been able to set them the way I like during practice.” The World Championship points table shows Lorenzo out in front after two wins on 50 points, Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) is on 33 points and Dovi lies third with 27 points. Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia) won a very tight 125cc Grand Prix from Lukas Pesek (Derbi) with Hector Faubel (Aprilia) a distant third. Pole man Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) failed to complete the sighting lap and was forced to start from the back of the grid. Pasini then collided with Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) as he tore through the field. Both riders managed to restart, Pasini to retire at the end of the lap with Smith eventually finishing 26th. But the fight for the win was strictly between Talmacsi and Pesek. Talmacsi led throughout the 23-laps with Pesek playing a waiting game until the final lap when he pounced on the Hungarian. But Talmacsi kept tight on Pesek and managed to draft him over the line to take the win by just one hundredth of a second. Joey Litjens (Arie Molenaar Racing Honda RS125R) finished in 21st position and was the leading Honda finisher. Talmacsi leads the World Championship with 45 points after two rounds. Faubel sits in second on 41 and Pesek in third with 36. “I made a very good start,” said Smith. “And the truth is that I was feeling quite good. I made a small mistake in turn four and the group got away. Then we got to turn six, Pasini wanted to get through the inside but when he did he crashed and threw me off. These things happen some times. Now I only have to maintain the belief that I’m able to lap with the front group, because my lap times weren’t bad.” Honda rider race quotes Spanish GP Jerez March 25, 2007. MotoGP. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2nd: “I am very happy to be on the podium for the second race in a row and we’ve had a good weekend here at Jerez since first practice on Friday. At the beginning of the race the pace became very fast and I was trying really hard not to lose too much ground to Valentino in the early laps. From the middle of the race to the end I was a little bit slower than him so I just tried to keep focussed and not make any mistakes. The bike felt good today and the Michelin tyres too, and I enjoyed the battle, even though I wasn’t able to fight for the win. I feel a little bit sorry for the fans here because I really wanted to win for them because they are very passionate. I think they enjoyed the racing today and this crowd supports everybody, not just the Spanish riders. The result is very good for the team because they have been working hard for me, so a big thanks to them.” Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 4th: “I’m really happy. With respect to the race in Qatar we have grown a lot and together with the team we’ve done a great job. I didn’t get a good start and in the beginning it was hard to get the tyres up to temperature. I just tried to maintain a constant pace and make up as many positions as possible. The pace of the front guys was incredible but when the others started to have problems I was able to maintain my pace and get past Stoner, Checa, Melandri and Hayden. I’m the first Bridgestone rider home so it’s a good result. We’ve worked well together and we still have some room for improvement.” Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 6th: The lower track temperatures today did not give me the same feeling with the rear tyre as I had in practice, but even so it feels good to finish my home race and score some points. I made a good start but I was not decisive enough on the first lap and lost some positions, that cost me valuable time. I enjoyed the fight with Casey and Toni, this was the best part of the race, but when they pushed with five laps to go I did have the tyre grip to respond.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 7th: “I got a good start and the first few laps were decent I was pushing really hard, though I didn’t really have the set-up to run at that pace. It felt good to be up front and see what those boys were doing but I was taking a few chances and I probably used up my tyres too much in the first few laps trying to work my way forward. It’s a little frustrating because at the last race in Qatar we got faster as the race went on yet here it was the opposite. Hopefully we can get two good days of testing and really try to make a big step before the short break. The issue is still getting the front end to turn, especially when the front tyre gets a little worn. Thanks to my team and to Michelin because those guys have been working hard and did some stuff to help me and even though the result isn’t a lot better I do feel like we made some progress this weekend and we’re going to keep fighting to get up front.” Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 8th: “It’s a disappointing result at a circuit where I should have done much better. This morning we were really quick in the warm-up and I was confident but unfortunately in the race I suffered with the same problem as in Qatar to pass people I need to brake in a really aggressive way and that takes too much out of the front tyre. Tomorrow we have a day of tests to try a few different solutions and we’ll work particularly on the forks ahead of the race in Turkey, a circuit that holds a lot of good memories for me.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 11th: “Another difficult race! My warm-up crash happened when I tried to carry more speed into the corner and lost the front. I made a good start in the race, but after a crash it’s not so easy to push so hard from the beginning, so I lost a few places. When I started to get a better feeling from the bike, I tried to push harder again but we were having some chattering problems from the front. I tried to follow other riders and hung in there and on the final lap overtook Barros for 10th. Towards the end our rhythm wasn’t so bad, but now I’m looking for more entry speed in the corner. Overall the engine is good and working consistently but now I just need to find a better feeling from the chassis. It’s been an up and down weekend, but the team are helping me and we will work together to solve our problems. It’s important to get these points, but as soon as we have the bike to my liking, then I will push much harder.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR212V: 16th: “I don’t know exactly what went wrong, but something happened either the chain, or the transmission. It happened suddenly, and I went sideways for about half-a-second in third gear. I was going to pull in, but I was able to make the last few laps. Up until then, I felt I had a little bit better pace than the guys in front of me, that I was saving for the last couple of laps. But I don’t think that matters now.” Kenny Roberts Snr Team Owner: “We don’t know exactly what happened “¦ seems there was a problem in the transmission. Whether it be the clutch, gearbox or chain, we don’t know. We’ll have to see. Until then, it was not as fast as we need to go. We have to work on more speed.” 250cc: Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda: 3rd: “I’m very happy with my race at a track I don’t really like. My pace was good it is always very important to run at the front of the race especially here. My main problem is a lack of power against my rivals. If you follow the leaders it is very difficult to get to the front in a race like today. Alvaro (Bautista) was fast in some parts of the track and I was faster than him in others but that helped Lorenzo get away from us. Once he had a one second lead it was always going to be very difficult for me. But I have to be happy with this result at this track.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 7th: “I made a good start and did well in the first two corners, but then the three leading riders began to push harder. I tried to be faster, but wasn’t able to keep their pace and they escaped. I tried to follow the front group, but just couldn’t. Halfway the race and towards the end I tried to push harder, but it was so difficult. I had some problems with the suspension and tyre setting, but the problem is mine, because I haven’t’ been able to set them the way I like during the practices. I’ll have to improve my performance during practices.” Yukio Takahashi, Scot Honda: 8th: “I got a good start and that allowed me to stay in the second group for almost the whole race. But at themed-race point I lost contact with the rider I was following and to recover in that situation is not as simple as it seems. I made some errors while braking because of the problems with my leg. But I am satisfied because I put in a better performance in the race than in practice. I’m also happy with my fifth place in the world standings.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 12th: “At the start, two riders ahead of me blocked me and I couldn’t get a better line for the first corner. After that I struggled a bit to get in a good rhythm, but midway through the race I began to improve my lap times and I was able to cut the gap with the riders ahead of me. It’s a technical track and leaving with another four points is very important, it shows we’re doing a good job.” Eugene Laverty, LCR Honda: 14th: “I could have done even better without my arm problems, I was up to 12th with ten laps to go but then I had to back-off. I had to use new leathers after my crash yesterday and didn’t realise they were so tight on my forearms. I knew I had to be brave on lap one and it paid-off, this result is a great boost for me.” Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: dnf. crash: “The crash has been a shame. The truth is that I have to apologise to the whole team because we made a great job throughout the weekend. We had the bike ready to make a great race, with a good pace, but it just hasn’t been possible. I tried to keep the bike at 10,000 revs at the start, but it went too high and when I released the cutch the bike almost stalled. I made an awful start; I was one of the last to start and began to recover. Then I reached a group that was lapping more or less like me, although I think that I was a bit faster than them. I took the lead of the group and began to open a gap and once I had escaped I lost the front end on the left-hander after Dry Sack and wasn’t able to avoid the crash. The truth is that the team has behaved excellently and I haven’t been able to do the same. Fortunately I didn’t hurt myself and the collarbone is OK, which is actually the most important, so we’ll be back in the fight in Turkey 125cc. Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 21st: “Things went a lot better for me than before, I easily bettered my previous best time. I got a good start and won nine places on the opening lap and was sitting in a good position in the race. It’s a pity I used too much tyre grip running in 1m 51s. If I could have run those times in practice maybe I would have chosen harder compound Dunlop tyres. But I have made a big step forward in comparison to last year I’m now very close to the top 20.” Dino Lombardi, Scot Honda: 23rd: “This was the first race for me and so I’m quite satisfied, but of course I could also get better. I made an error on the exit from a turn that slowed down me and then we found some problems with suspensions, in particular when I make the fast turns, but overall the kike was good.” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 26th: “I made a very good start and the truth is that I was feeling quite well. Actually, I cannot say much about that because I was there for only one lap, but it didn’t seem as if they would be doing anything spectacular. I made a small mistake in turn 4 and the group got away. Then we got to turn six, Pasini wanted to get through the inside but when he did he crashed and threw me off. Such are races, these stupid things happen some times. Now I only have to keep the confidence that I am able to lap with them, because my lap times weren’t bad. My feelings from the beginning – as long as I’m able to make a good start – are that I’m able to be with them, so we’ll see what happens in the next race.” Danny Webb, Molenaar Honda: dnf technical problem: “My engine seized on lap 18 of the race. It happened at the short straight I felt it tighten up. Pity because even if the back end was moving about the bike was running fast. Up till then I was enjoying a good race in the same group as my team-mate (Joey Litjens).” Alexis Masbou, FFM Honda: dnf crash: “After my poor start I was able to move up the field gradually. I felt good and when I passed Cortese and Olive I could see a group of riders about 3 seconds ahead of me. My idea was to catch them, it was worth the try. That¹s when my brake problems started, they weren¹t reacting normally. I tried to modify the set-up with the adjusting screw on the bars but the feeling was always different. My opponents started to pass me on the brakes. I lost concentration, my lap times became erratic and as I was turning the adjusting screw to try and improve the brakes, the setting I dialled in was more violent than what I expected, and I lost the front. This crash is difficult to accept because the whole team did a great job throughout the week-end.” Esteve ‘Tito’ Rabat, Repsol Honda: dnf – crash: “I made a very good start and I was able to overtake a few riders in the first corner. But then I tried to brake late in turn two and touched another rider. I went straight, towards the wall and there was nothing I could do. I crashed and wasn’t able to rejoin the race. The lesson I learned from this race is that you have to start eager and strong but always keeping calm.” Mike Di Meglio, Scot Honda: dns: Di Meglio did not start the race due to injuries sustained in final qualifying. More, from a press release issued by Team Roberts: ROBERTS HITS TROUBLE IN CLOSING LAPS AT JEREZ Jerez de la Frontera, Spain – March 25, 2007: Kenny Roberts Junior finished 16th in today’s Spanish GP, one place out of the points, after dropping back from what seemed a secure top-ten finish when a transmission gremlin struck his Honda-powered KR212V machine. It happened on the 24th of 27 laps of the 4.423km Andalucian circuit, outside the sherry capital of Jerez, while the 2000 World Champion was holding a strong position in a six-strong group contesting ninth place. Roberts was feeling secure, and confident he could prevail over his immediate rivals, until the problem struck. It was a disappointing end to a weekend of solid improvement for the independent England-based team, after the difficult first race at Qatar. Roberts had started from the fourth row of the grid, and had held tenth position for the first half of the race. At that point, Alex Barros (Ducati) and then Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) managed to sneak past. But Roberts was confident he had the pace to regain the front of the group when it mattered until trouble struck suddenly. The race, marking the start of was run in sunny but cool and breezy conditions, in front of a crowd of 132,000 fanatical Spanish fans. It was won by Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), from Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Colin Edwards (Yamaha). The next race is the Turkish GP at Istanbul, in three weeks. KENNY ROBERTS Jr. – 16th Position I don’t know exactly what went wrong, but something happened possibly with the transmission or something. It happened suddenly, and I went sideways for about half-a-second in third gear. I was going to pull in, but I was able to make the last few laps. Up until then, I felt I had a little bit better pace than the guys in front of me, that I was saving for the last couple of laps. But I don’t think that matters now. KENNY ROBERTS Sr. – Team Owner We don’t know exactly what happened. It seems there was a problem in the transmission. Whether it be the clutch, gearbox or something else we don’t know yet. We’ll have to check into it and find the problem. Until then, it was not as fast as we need to go. We have to work on more speed.