Marlboro Ducati’s Casey Stoner ran away to win the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. It was Stoner’s sixth Grand Prix victory of 2007, but it was the first time this year anyone had started from pole position and won the race, breaking a “jinx” the MotoGP paddock had been joking about. The win extended Stoner’s Championship point lead to 44 over Valentino Rossi, who finished fourth on his Michelin-shod Fiat Yamaha, behind an all-Bridgestone podium. Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen came the closest to challenging Stoner, within one second of the Ducati rider early in the race, but Vermeulen could not match Stoner’s blistering pace and had to settle for a lonely runner-up finish. Gresini Honda’s Marco Melandri needed a pain-killing injection in his injured left ankle to ride in the race, but the move paid off with third, his second straight podium finish in the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. Roger Hayden was the top American, 10th on his factory Kawasaki, after Pramac Ducati’s Alex Barros demoted him one position in the last corner on the last lap. Colin Edwards struggled with tire issues on his Fiat Yamaha and finished 11th. Defending MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden was pushed wide in turn two at the start. When Nicky Hayden tried to pull his Repsol Honda back on line, he and Rizla Suzuki’s John Hopkins touched. Hopkins crashed, pitted for repairs to his GSV-R and soldiered on to collect one point for 15th place. Hayden did not crash but suffered damage to his Repsol Honda that forced him to retire after 22 laps. A crash in the morning warm-up forced Gresini Honda fill-in rider Miguel Duhamel to start the race on his back-up bike, but the Canadian was not comfortable on the machine. Rather than circulating at the back of the field and possibly getting in the way, Duhamel chose to pull in after 10 laps. Kurtis Roberts also retired early when his Team Roberts machine suffered a problem with its Honda engine. 2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California July 22, 2007 Provisional Race Results: 1. Casey Stoner (Ducati GP07), Bridgestone, 32 laps, 44:20.325 2. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki GSV-R), Bridgestone, -9.865 seconds 3. Marco Melandri (Honda RC212V), Bridgestone, -25.641 seconds 4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha YZR-M1), Michelin, -30.664 seconds 5. Dani Pedrosa (Honda RC212V), Michelin, -35.622 seconds 6. Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki ZX-RR), Bridgestone, -38.306 seconds 7. Anthony West (Kawasaki ZX-RR), Bridgestone, -41.422 seconds 8. Makoto Tamada (Yamaha YZR-M1), Dunlop, -42.355 seconds 9. Alex Barros (Ducati GP07), Bridgestone, -43.520 seconds 10. Roger Hayden (Kawasaki ZX-RR), Bridgestone, -43.730 seconds 11. Colin Edwards (Yamaha YZR-M1), Michelin, -47.376 seconds 12. Shinya Nakano (Honda RC212V), Michelin, -52.848 seconds 13. Sylvain Guintoli (Yamaha YZR-M1), Dunlop, -58.410 seconds 14. Carlos Checa (Honda RC212V), Michelin, -75.366 seconds 15. John Hopkins (Suzuki GSV-R), Bridgestone, -2 laps, crash, pitted 16. Chaz Davies (Ducati GP07), Bridgestone, -3 laps, pitted/mechanical 17. Nicky Hayden (Honda RC212V), Michelin, -10 laps, DNF, retired/mechanical 18. Miguel Duhamel (Honda RC212V), Bridgestone, -22 laps, DNF, retired 19. Kurtis Roberts (Honda KR212V), Michelin, -27 laps, DNF, retired/mechanical 20. Loris Capirossi (Ducati GP07), Bridgestone, -29 laps, DNF, retired/mechanical Provisional 2007 MotoGP World Championship Point Standings: 1. Stoner, 221 points 2. Rossi, 177 points 3. Pedrosa, 155 points 4. TIE, Melandri/Vermeulen, 113 points 6. Hopkins, 104 points 7. Edwards, 93 points 8. Capirossi, 77 points 9. Barros, 76 points 10. Nicky Hayden, 73 points 11. Alex Hofmann, 60 points 12. De Puniet, 50 points 13. Toni Elias, 49 points 14. Tamada, 31 points 15. TIE, Nakano/Checa/West, 29 points 18. Guintoli, 21 points 19. Kurtis Roberts, 8 points 20. TIE, Roger Hayden/Michel Fabrizio, 6 points 22. Fonsi Nieto, 5 points 23. TIE, Olivier Jacque/Kenny Lee Roberts, 4 points More, from a press release issued by Honda: US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca Sunday June 22, 2007 Weather: Sunny. Temperature: air 30 degrees, ground 46. Crowd: 50,830 TOUGH MELANDRI SHOWS GRIT WITH DETERMINED THIRD This was perhaps not the MotoGP sspectacular that many imagined, but the result did at least confirm the reality of the current situation. Casey Stoner (Ducati) won comfortably from Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) with the fighting Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) in third. The Repsol duo gave everything to continue their recent revival, but the unfortunate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) tangled with a fellow American John Hopkins (Suzuki) on lap one and Nicky’s race for a podium or better was effectively over. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) rode a typically dogged race having fired his RC212V off the line to lead into turn one by some distance. But Stoner made it his mission to get past Dani on lap one and the Aussie was never again troubled despite Dani’s best efforts. Pedrosa would eventually finish fifth. The pattern for this 32-lap encounter was set early, and as Nicky got himself going again in 18th place after the Hopkins episode, the front men were out on their own. Vermeulen, third on the opening lap, was now working on Dani for second place and on lap four he squeezed past him. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) had consolidated fourth place by this stage, but Melandri was in the groove and had the former World Champion in his sights. By lap nine Marco had edged past him and was now after Dani in third. Stoner meanwhile had set an early fastest lap of 1m 22.570s and was long gone. Melandri was riding with considerable bruising to his left lower leg after running off track and crashing in yesterday’s timed qualifying session, it’s a measure of the Italian’s mental and physical toughness that he could show so well today. Miguel Duhamel, riding in place of the injured Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V), retired on lap 12, while Melandri was now coming into closer contact with Dani for that rostrum spot in third. By lap 18 he had that podium position stolen from Pedrosa. Stoner, by lap 25, was enjoying an 8.6 second lead over the persistent, yet distant, Vermeulen. This was how it would finish with World Championship points leader Stoner out front by 9.8 seconds from Vermeulen, then Melandri. Rossi robbed Dani of fourth, while the next Honda man home was Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) in 12th. Nicky pulled into the pits on lap 22 knowing his quest for points would be fruitless and with a brake problem sustained in that first lap clash, the reigning World Champion pitted wanting to avoid becoming a becoming a hazard if encountered by the leaders. Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) brought his machine home in 14th place while Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V), employing a new chassis here, retired on lap five. Stoner’s relentless ride to victory resulted in a fastest lap of 1m 22.542s on lap 19. No one could come close to him here today. But Stoner and his old 250cc class sparring partner Dani Pedrosa are the only riders to have scored points at every race so far this year. With seven rounds to go and with Stoner on 221 points, Rossi on 177 and Dani with 155 there is still everything to ride for. Melandri and Vermeulen are tied in fourth on 113 points apiece. Marco, who has now finished in the top ten at the last 20 races, said: “An amazing race for me. I couldn’t ride without an injection for the pain this morning, so a big thanks to the Clinica Mobile. I didn’t feel any pain when riding, I just kept my rhythm, and in the end I did feel a bit of pain in my ankle. I started quietly and after a few laps I started to feel comfortable, got my rhythm and passed some guys till I caught Valentino. The bike and the tyres were working really well, I had a good pace so I decided to try to overtake him and go for third position. Ten laps to go, I started to suffer more, especially in breaking, but I was so motivated that I succeeded to maintain a good pace. I’d like to thank Honda for the new parts that arrived in Germany, Fausto and the team for the great job that have done during all this part of the season. I’m happy to give Fausto and the team a great result.”. Dani said: “This was a very hard race for us and I’m not really satisfied with fifth after winning the race last week and qualifying second here. I made a good start and was leading on the first lap, but I was never able to push as hard as I wanted today. We had quite a few problems with the tyres and pretty much from the start I had a lot of chatter at the rear, which increased throughout the race. Riders came past me, I was trying to stay with them, but I simply wasn’t able to I would have crashed. So I just concentrated on staying on the bike because I couldn’t do more than that. It’s quite disappointing after the win in Germany and we have to make sure we improve the situation before the next race.” The unlucky Nicky said: “It’s such a shame to get this result at my home race, for me, the team and for the fans. It’s certainly been a tough season and this is just the way things seem to be going another turn one incident. I don’t want to say too much about that because it isn’t going to make things any different so we’ll leave the incident at that. My brakes just went softer and softer and the adjuster was broken which meant I couldn’t take any of the slack out of it. I carried on riding in case there was a red flag, but once I went a lap down I wasn’t going to get in the leaders’ way with the brakes going off, I’m not going to do that to anybody, so I brought it in the pits.” Nakano in 12th said: “We started so well for this race. I could stay with the riders in front and we managed to get up to eighth on the first lap. We slipped to ninth, but I felt good, as my lap time was better than in practice, so I felt the setting was good and the tyre choice was OK. Then from the middle of the race I felt some front chattering problems and with this happening I couldn’t push hard towards the end of the race and things got a little bit worse. This was a big shame as our qualifying position was quite good. It has proved to be yet another difficult race, but I’m looking forward to the next race at the Czech Republic after I’ve had some rest at home in Japan. We should have some new parts which makes the second part of the season very exciting for us.” Carlos Checa, 14th placed finisher, said: “It was a difficult race and after the opening laps I couldn’t stay with the second group and fight for a place in the top ten which was my target today. I pushed until the end but nothing I tried made a difference, so we need to try and better understand our package of new chassis and tyres. I did not have the feeling with the rear of the bike that I needed to be faster and this is something to look at for the coming races. Hopefully a return to Europe and the race at Brno will be a boost for me and the LCR team.” Miguel Duhamel, who retired from the race, said: “I’d like to thank Honda USA and Fausto Gresini for this great experience. During the race I decided to stop and enter the pits because I wasn’t getting any fed back I couldn’t get into the rhythm of the bike. After the crash this morning during warm-up, I didn’t want to do any damage during the race, to the team or to any of the other riders. Despite this, I’m happy about this race weekend with the Gresini team.” Kurtis Roberts, who pitted early in the race, said: “We’re struggling right now. I thought the electronics or something were going out. So right after that I was like, this thing ain’t going to make it anyway. But the good thing with Honda is they’ll figure out what’s wrong with this thing and I feel sorry for everyone else in the paddock next year. That’s my thinking. If it’s the same Honda I’ve always known.” Honda Quotes Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 3rd.”Today is one of the happiest days in my life. I had a good start of the weekend, the bike was working really well and I was very positive. After yesterday’s crash, today’s third place is an incredible result. This morning I went on track for the warm up but I decided to enter the box again and rest because I had so much pain in my left ankle that I couldn’t down shift the gears. For the race I started quietly and after a few laps I started to feel comfortable, got my rhythm and passed some guys till I caught Valentino. The bike and the tyres were working really well, I had a good pace so I decided to try to overtake him and go for third position. Ten laps to go, I started to suffer more, especially in breaking, but I was so motivated that I succeeded to maintain a good pace. I’d like to thank Honda for the new parts that arrived in Germany, Fausto and the team for the great job that have done during all this part of the season. I’m happy to give Fausto and the team a great result.”. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 5th.”This was a very hard race for us and I’m not really satisfied with fifth after winning the race last week and qualifying second here. I made a good start and was leading on the first lap, but I was never able to push as hard as I wanted today. We had quite a few problems with the tyres and pretty much from the start I had a lot of chatter at the rear which was increasing through the race. As every rider came past me I was trying to stay with them, but I simply wasn’t able to – I would have crashed. So I just concentrated on staying on the bike because I couldn’t do more than that. It’s quite disappointing after the win in Germany and we have to make sure we improve the situation before the next race.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 12th. “We started so well for this race. I could stay with the riders in front and we managed to get up to eighth on the first lap. We slipped to ninth, but I felt good, as my lap time was better than practice so I felt that the setting was good and the tyre choice was OK. Then from the middle of the race I felt some front chattering problems and with this happening I couldn’t push hard towards the end of the race and things got a little bit worse. This was a big shame as our qualifying position was quite good. It has proved to be yet another difficult race, but I’m looking forward to the next race at the Czech Republic after I’ve had some rest at home in Japan. We should have some new parts which makes the second part of the season very exciting for us.” Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 14th. “It was a difficult race and after the opening laps I couldn’t stay with the second group and fight for a place in the top ten which was my target today. I pushed until the end but nothing I tried made a difference and for we need to try and better understand our package of new chassis and tyres. I did not have the feeling with the rear of the bike that I needed to be faster and this is something to look at for the coming races. Hopefully a return to Europe and the race at Brno will be a boost for me and the LCR team.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: dnf collision damage. “It’s such a shame to get this result at my home race, for me, the team and for the fans. It’s certainly been a tough season and this is just the way things seem to be going – another Turn One incident. I don’t want to say too much about that because it isn’t going to make things any different so we’ll leave the incident at that. Luckily I didn’t get hurt because I took big impact on my leg. The main thing is that it damaged my brake cable and as soon as I got going after three laps my brakes just went softer and softer and the adjuster was broken which meant I couldn’t take any of the slack out of it. I carried on riding in case there was a red flag, but once I went a lap down I wasn’t going to get in the leaders’ way with the brakes going off, I’m not going to do that to anybody, so I brought it in the pits. It’s a shame for all the fans because the support here was unreal and I would at least have enjoyed getting in the race and having a battle. We had some good momentum going with a couple of podiums in a row, but now we’ve got a few weeks off and we definitely need to re-evaluate a few things and come back fighting.” Kurtis Roberts, KR212V: dnf electronic problem. Miguel Duhamel, replacement rider for Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: Retired. “I’d like to thank Honda USA and Fausto Gresini for this great experience. During the race I decided to stop and enter the pits because I wasn’t getting any feed back and I couldn’t get into the rhythm of the bike. After the crash of this morning during the warm up, I didn’t want to do any damage during the race, to the team and to the others. Despite this, I’m happy of this race weekend with the Gresini team.” More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing Honda: MELANDRI MAKES HEROIC CHARGE TO LAGUNA PODIUM Marco Melandri produced one of the performances of the season today as he charged to the podium at Laguna Seca despite suffering from the effects of a badly swollen ankle. The Gresini Honda rider sat out this morning’s warm-up because of the pain of the injury he sustained during qualifying yesterday, when he collided with Kurtis Roberts and fell heavily from his RC212V. However, after bouncing back in that session to qualify in tenth place, he once again showed his fighting spirit today – undergoing painkilling injections before straddling his Honda for 32 gruelling laps. Melandri made an incredible start to the race, making up four positions on the first lap and settling into the chasing pack as Casey Stoner set the pace at the front. As the race wore on, Melandri got the better of Colin Edwards before passing Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa and securing a comfortable podium finish in third place. The result moves him up to fifth in the championship going into the summer break, with the next round taking place at Brno on August 19th, when the team hope to have Toni Elias back as Melandri’s team-mate. The place of the injured Spaniard was taken this weekend by Canadian veteran Miguel Duhamel, who retired from the race after ten laps. MARCO MELANDRI (3rd in the race, 5th in the championship on 113 points): “It was an amazing race for me – it’s unbelievable to be on the podium. I couldn’t actually ride this morning without an injection for the pain and I just have to say a very big thanks to all the Clinica Mobile – Doctor Costa, the therapist Francesco Chionne and Doctor Monica. They gave me very good treatment before the race so there was no pain when I was riding. At the beginning I just tried to keep my rhythm and it was pretty good for me. I wasn’t so comfortable on the bike at the beginning but in the end my rhythm was okay. Just the last five or six laps I started to feel a bit of pain in my ankle so I couldn’t downshift so good but it’s been a great race and a very good emotion for me to be on the podium. I just want to thank all my team, all my guys and all my sponsors – they are working so good.” MIGUEL DUHAMEL (DNF) : “I gave it everything I could at the start of the race but I couldn’t get on the pace. I just wasn’t comfortable on the bike and I was worried I was either going to crash it or get in the way of another rider. Neither of those options was particularly appealing so I decided the best thing was to pull out of the race. This has been a wonderful experience for me and I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Fausto, the entire team – who have been so professional – and to Honda USA for letting me ride.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FOURTH PLACE FOR ROSSI AFTER DISAPPOINTING US GRAND PRIX AT LAGUNA SECA Valentino Rossi took fourth place in the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca today, after a spirited ride in difficult conditions from fifth on the grid. Team-mate Edwards was unable to fulfil his dream of a home-race success and crossed the line in eleventh after a race led from flag-to-flag by series leader Casey Stoner. Rossi lost some ground at the start and found himself behind Edwards for the first part of the lap. He quickly moved ahead of his team-mate however and the pair crossed the line for the first time in fourth and fifth respectively. On lap five Marco Melandri took Edwards and set off after Rossi, overtaking the Italian a few laps later and relegating him to fifth. After Melandri had in turn passed Dani Pedrosa, Rossi quickly began to close the gap on the Spaniard until he was able to strike at the end of lap twenty to claim fourth. For several laps he then looked to be closing the gap to Melandri but a lack of grip forced him to slacken off and he eventually crossed the line 30.664 seconds behind Stoner. Edwards looked comfortable in sixth for much of the race but as his tyres too lost performance in the latter stages he was caught by a collection of riders and relegated to eleventh. Rossi and Edwards hold on to second and seventh respectively in the championship but the gap from Rossi to Stoner is extended to 44 points, with seven rounds remaining. The MotoGP paddock now embarks on a well-deserved summer break before action recommences at Brno in the Czech Republic in late August. Valentino Rossi Position: 4th Time: +30.664 “Today was incredibly disappointing because, with the tyre situation like this, it was like our rivals were in a different race. My team and I worked very hard, especially after yesterday’s crash, and we did the maximum we could to have our bike in the best possible condition. However without grip it was impossible to fight with the leaders. I rode the best race I could and I was very happy to pass Pedrosa, but I couldn’t catch Melandri; we just didn’t have the right rhythm or grip today. I’m very sad for last weekend in Sachsenring because there Michelin was strong and we missed a chance to make up some important points there. After today we can see just how important! It seems that tyres are the deciding factor for this season and this is a pity for the fans and for the show. We are not giving up; there are seven races left and we know that Michelin are going to work as hard as they possibly can in order to make the situation better for the second part of the season, but Stoner is very strong and we know it will be very hard. Anyway, we have some holidays now and we will be back in Brno to fight as hard as we can until the end.” Colin Edwards Position: 11th Time: +47.376 “I think it was pretty obvious today to everyone that we were struggling and why. We had a problem all weekend and we changed the bike in every possible way to try to work around it but unfortunately it proved impossible. We went round in circles but we couldn’t change the underlying problem and the basic fact is that we had no grip. Of course I’m pretty disappointed that this happened at my home race, with all my family and friends here and it’s a great pity we couldn’t give the American fans more to cheer about today. My guys worked really hard all weekend, they all deserve their holidays now and then we’ll all be fresh for a new start in Brno.” Davide Brivio Fiat Yamaha Team Director “It was quite clear today that the tyres played an important role. Last week our tyre was better but this week the situation was reversed and our riders couldn’t fulfil their potential. It’s a great pity because this championship should be about seeing all the best riders fighting together but at the moment this is being limited by other factors. Everyone worked incredibly hard this weekend but unfortunately Valentino wasn’t able to fight for the win as we hoped and Colin, too, wasn’t able to exploit his potential in front of his home fans. Now we have to keep working but we know that the situation won’t be easy or quick to change. Thank you to both riders, the team and the engineers because they have worked very hard in difficult circumstances all weekend. Everyone has some time off to recover from a very hard few months now before we start again; we will keep the same fighting spirit and we won’t give up.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Vermeulen storms to stunning second place at Laguna Seca Rizla Suzuki MotoGP’s Chris Vermeulen raced his Suzuki GSV-R to a fantastic second place in today’s American Grand Prix. Starting from third on the grid, Vermeulen settled into that position for the first three laps and then passed Dani Pedrosa and set about chasing race leader Casey Stoner. Vermeulen and Stoner quickly pulled away from the rest of the field and as hard as Vermeulen tried he couldn’t quite catch the current World Championship leader. Vermeulen’s second place is his third podium of the season following a win in France and third in the UK, and it is the first one he has achieved on a dry track. John Hopkins had the worst possible start to his home GP. He got off the line well from the third row and was up at the front going into the second turn, but a collision with another rider left Hopkins on the floor with significant damage to his bike. The gutsy Anglo-American picked himself and his bike up and made it back to the pits. Hectic running repairs from his mechanics got him back on track and Hopkins continued in the race. His lap-times for the rest of the race were well on podium pace and but for the crash a top-three position would certainly have been within his grasp. His efforts were rewarded at the end as he crossed the line in 15th place to claim a vital championship point. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now goes into the season break in fourth place in the team’s championship, with Vermeulen also in fourth and Hopkins in sixth in the riders’ classification. The next round of the MotoGP World Championship will be at Brno in the Czech Republic on Sunday 19th August. Chris Vermeulen: “I am absolutely over the moon to be on the podium here at Laguna! Last year we had a lot of pace as well, but it didn’t quite work out in the race. Suzuki has overcome that and we have had a trouble free weekend. The Bridgestone tyres worked great and only myself and Casey had the pace to do the lap-times at the beginning. Unfortunately I couldn’t quite hang with him all race but I am very happy to be second and now let’s go forward and get a few more of these.” John Hopkins: “What can I say? It definitely sucks and I’m really disappointed. It was especially disappointing that it was my home Grand Prix and I was out of it so early on. Up until the crash everything was going well. I got a good start and went into the turn right up there. Somehow Nicky came wide and I went up the inside of him, but as I did that I guess he didn’t see me and as he cut back in we came together. He hit my front brake lever and I went down. I got back to the pits and the crew did an awesome job changing the parts so quickly so that I could get back in the race. I wanted to carry on and use the race as a simulation, but now that I have come in and seen my times compared to others I’m a bit more disappointed but hey that’s racing! The Suzuki and the Bridgestone tyres worked really well today, and thanks to Stuart and all the guys for a great job all weekend. I’d like to congratulate Chris on his podium, he should have had one last year so he deserved that today, I’m pretty sure I’d have been there with him as well if other things hadn’t have happened!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “It’s been a great event here in California. The Rizla Suzuki GSV-R and the Bridgestone tyres have been a competitive package all weekend long. The guys have ridden hard and today Chris got the dry podium that he obviously deserved. “The only negative point was the bad luck for John at the start of the race. I am really grateful to him for showing the commitment to get back to the pits and then to re-join the race. I am equally grateful to the crew for making it rideable, and a point at the end of the race was the very least that he should have achieved! “We could have had two Rizla Suzukis on the podium today. We didn’t have an answer for Casey, but there is no question that Chris and John were able to run with anybody else in terms of pace here at Laguna.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: FAULTLESS STONER DOMINATES LAGUNA, CAPIROSSI OUT OF LUCK Ducati Team rider Casey Stoner unleashed a faultless display of riding at Laguna Seca this afternoon to win his sixth victory of the year and extend his World Championship lead to 44 points. The Australian grabbed the lead after the first few corners of the first lap and was never challenged from there, running away from the pack to win by an emphatic 9.865 seconds. Today’s victory followed a similarly faultless two days of practice and qualifying – Stoner topped all five pre-race sessions aboard his awesome Desmosedici GP7. Stoner’s weekend-long domination also made him the first rider to win a MotoGP race from pole position in 13 events. The last man to score pole and race victory was Loris Capirossi on his Ducati at last September’s Japanese Grand Prix. Capirossi was out of luck at Laguna today. The Italian, who finished second in last Sunday’s German GP, had qualified strongly on the second row of the grid but withdrew form the US GP after the first few laps with a technical fault. MotoGP now commences its traditional summer recess with Ducati leading the riders’, constructors’ and teams’ World Championships. The sport reconvenes at Brno for the Czech GP on August 17/18/19. CASEY STONER, winner, World Championship leader on 221 points “This would have to be my best racing weekend ever. We also had a great weekend at the Sachsenring last week, it just didn’t work out in the race. Today everything was perfect, the tyres, the bike, everything was working great the whole weekend. We managed to be fast in every session and after all this hard work we did it in the race. We also broke the long run of no pole sitter winning a race – the last person to do it was on a Ducati and the next person to do it was on a Ducati. I’m absolutely stoked about this race. We went out in morning warm-up and we were able to do really low 22s and even high 21s with half race distance on the tyres, so we felt pretty confident. At the start of the race I dipped into the 22s, I wanted to see how fast everybody else could go. I was pulling away from Dani [Pedrosa] by about half second lap, then Chris [Vermeulen] got in front of him and started to chase me down. I thought he was obviously pushing a bit harder so I decided to up my pace and I was slowly but surely pulling a gap. Chris was very fast, but I feel like I had a little bit better rear tyre, we had selected a pretty hard rear which really started working towards the end, so I just continued to push throughout the race. I didn’t think there was going to be a big group at the front, I knew we had the set-up and it was just a matter of everything going to plan for us with no bad luck and everything worked.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, DNF, 8th in World Championship on 77 points “The weekend had been going very well, so I’m sad not to finish the race. In morning warm-up we were faster than yesterday so I was confident I could have a good race. Casey and Chris were very fast but I believe I could have fought for another podium finish. After a couple of laps the gearbox stuck in second gear and that was that. It seems like it was only a tiny little fault, but sometimes things like that can happen in racing.” LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager “We are so happy for Casey today because once again he dominated the weekend and today he got the victory he deserved. He has been incredibly fast all weekend. Bridgestone gave us fantastic tyres, but it was Casey who made the difference today, he finished almost ten seconds ahead of the next guy, who was also on Bridgestones. We are very, very sorry for Loris. For sure he could have ridden another great race, but he was stopped by a broken gear lever return spring. Now we go into the summer break – it’s great for us to go into the break ahead in the three championships, so we can relax a bit before coming back next month. As always, a big thank you to our technical partners Bridgestone and Shell Advance.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone bounces back with podium clean sweep Round 11 USA – Race Laguna Seca Circuit, California, USA – Sunday 22 July 2007 Bridgestone-shod Ducati rider Casey Stoner took an emphatic victory at Laguna Seca this afternoon, his sixth win of the season and the seventh win in eleven MotoGP races on Bridgestone tyres. Stoner has dominated the US GP weekend topping every single timed session, setting a new pole position record on Bridgestone qualifying tyres, a new circuit best lap on race tyres in this morning’s warm-up session and the fastest lap of this afternoon’s race. He now leads the riders’ championship by 44 points. Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen, winner at the French GP earlier in the year, took his third podium of the 2007 season with a well deserved second place this afternoon. He headed home Honda Gresini’s Marco Melandri who claimed an heroic third place after his accident in qualifying yesterday afternoon sidelined him from this morning’s warm-up session. The US GP marked the third race this year that riders on Bridgestone tyres have locked out all podium places, equalling the feat set in Turkey and France. Four further Bridgestone-shod riders claimed top ten places today with French Kawasaki rider Randy de Puniet taking a fine sixth place ahead of his team-mate Anthony West who enjoys his best MotoGP result to date in only his fourth race for Kawasaki. Alex Barros finished in ninth place for Pramac d’Antin, while Kawasaki wildcard rider Roger Lee Hayden sensationally took the honour of being the top American rider in the US GP finishing his debut MotoGP event in tenth place. Today’s podium results at Laguna Seca mean that, since its MotoGP debut back in 2002, Bridgestone has now seen riders on its tyres take podium results at every circuit on the current championship calendar with the sole exception of Misano which will hold its debut MotoGP event in September. Hiroshi Yamada- Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Sport Department “I am very happy with the performance of our tyres this weekend and with the final result. I would like once again to express my congratulations and thanks to the Ducati team and to Casey for another fantastic victory. In addition, I want to express the same sentiments to Suzuki and Chris and to Honda Gresini and Marco for excellent podium finishes. A special mention must also go to Marco for a great effort in spite of his injuries. All five of our teams have performed very well this weekend with Kawasaki able to take three top ten results and Pramac d’Antin also picking up solid results today. It has been important for us to react quickly to the difficult race weekend we experienced in Sachsenring and we have worked very hard all weekend to bounce back. Our development will continue through the next few weeks as we prepare for the final part of this exciting season for Bridgestone.” Junichi Kawajiri Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “There were a number of different tyre strategies deployed by our five teams this afternoon with different combinations of front and rear, medium and hard compounds, as well as two riders opting to race with our 16” rear tyre. Casey, Chris and Marco all had different combinations but all three were able to get excellent podium results. Although the hard compound rear was the preferred choice for most of our riders, the Suzuki riders ran a medium compound to good effect, setting the second and third fastest laps of the race. 32 laps of Laguna Seca is a tough technical challenge and I am very pleased that a range of our tyres were able to help our riders be competitive for the entire race and to get such good results.” Casey Stoner Ducati Race Winner and Championship Leader “This weekend has been fantastic and the whole package, bike and tyres, has been awesome. We have been the quickest in every session this weekend and we were able to translate that into a strong victory this afternoon. We have also finally broken the pole jinx, which is particularly apt, I think, because the last rider to win from pole position was Loris Capirossi on a Ducati. I’m really stoked with the race, we just went out and tried to replicate the times that we were doing in practice. We were out in front and running consistently. Chris was really fast but I just kept pushing to stay out in front and we were able to come away with the win.” Bridgestone Race Results Front (16.5”) Rear (16.5” unless indicated) P1 Casey Stoner Ducati 44m20.325s WINNER Slick Medium Slick Hard P2 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 44m30.190s +9.865s Slick Hard Slick Medium P3 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 44m45.966s +25.641s Slick Hard Slick Hard P6 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 44m58.631s +38.306s Slick Hard Slick Hard P7 Anthony West Kawasaki 45m01.747s +41.422s Slick Hard Slick Hard (16”) P9 Alex Barros Pramac d’Antin 45m03.845s +43.520s Slick Medium Slick Hard P10 Roger Lee Hayden Kawasaki 45m04.045 +43.720s Slick Hard Slick Hard P15 John Hopkins Suzuki 45m35.595s +2 laps Slick Hard Slick Medium P16 Chaz Davies Pramac d’Antin 44m34.640s +3 laps Slick Medium Slick Hard DNF Miguel Duhamel Honda Gresini 14m29.711s +22 laps Slick Hard Slick Hard (16”) DNF Loris Capirossi Ducati 4m21.970s +29 laps Slick Medium Slick Hard Weather: Dry. Air 30°C, Track 46°C, Humidity 39% (Taken from official MotoGP timesheet) More, from a press release issued by Team Roberts: NO GLORY IN HOME GRAND PRIX Monterey, California – July 22, 2007: Kurtis Roberts failed to finish him home grand prix when teething problems hit the brand new Team Roberts KR212V which was making its debut at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In only six short weeks, Team Roberts designed, manufactured, and built a second generation KR212V. There were 210 new parts, 54 of which were manufactured at the team’s headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Many of the parts, including the chassis, were brought as luggage to the circuit in the hills of Monterey, the site of many of team owner Kenny Roberts’ greatest triumphs, both as a rider and team owner. From the minute he first hit the track, Kurtis immediately felt an improvement with front end feel. He continued to make progress throughout the practice and qualifying and was hopeful of finishing well into the points in Sunday’s race, held in brilliant sunshine before a crowd of 51,000. But soon into the race the motor began to signal problems and Kurtis was forced to withdraw on the sixth lap. Today’s race, round 32 laps of the 3.610 km Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, was won by championship leader Casey Stoner (Ducati) from Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (Honda). KURTIS ROBERTS – DNF The problem started probably three laps before I pulled in. I’d go into the corner and the clutch wasn’t working right and so I’d start having to grab more clutch trying to get it to slow down. I couldn’t make it into the corners. All of the sudden it did something really weird after Nicky (Hayden) passed me going up into five. I was like, that sounds strange. And two more laps, I couldn’t get the thing to stop at all. I tried to slow down with engine braking. Nothing was happening. I went into the corner and I went in early and I wasn’t braking deep at all. I couldn’t get it stopped. I thought the electronics or something were going out on it. So right after that I was like, this thing ain’t going to make it anyway. There’s no doubt we’re struggling right now. But the good thing with Honda is they’ll figure out what’s wrong with this thing and next year I feel sorry for everyone else in the paddock next year. That’s my thinking. If it’s the same Honda I’ve always known. KENNY ROBERTS – TEAM PRINCIPAL Just a couple of laps before Kurtis pulled in it looked like something was wrong. He was hanging with Nicky (Hayden) and I thought, OK, it’s going to take some time for the tires to get going, because we were in tire dilemma all weekend. And I thought the more he ran the better the tires would get until the last seven, eight laps. So he was riding in a real comfortable zone right there and then all of a sudden he was slowing up, so I thought ‘Something’s not right.’ If we can just continue to do what we do the motor’s going to get better for sure. Honda’s not going to be like this forever. I thought Kurtis did a great job this weekend. We need to keep making the motorcycle better, which he thought the new one was better. If we keep making that better and if Honda do actually end up giving us something engine-wise then we’ll be more ready for it. More, from a press release issued by Konica Minolta Honda: Twelfth position for KONICA MINOLTA Honda at Laguna Seca KONICA MINOLTA Honda’s Shinya Nakano took a hard-fought 12th position in today’s US MotoGP race. The 29-year-old Japanese rider started the race strongly and then spent the rest of the 32-lap race battling with the likes of Anthony West and Makoto Tamada in a close battle in the middle of the field, before finally slipping back with front-end issues to finish 12th at the flag. The MotoGP championship will now have a three-week break until the next round of the series, which takes place in the Czech Republic at the Brno circuit on 19th August. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “At the start of the race our situation was very good as Shinya was able to stay in the second group and his rhythm was good for half the race, but after that I think our technical package was not as quick as some of the other riders. I think Shinya felt that some issue limited his riding and a chattering problem occurred when the tyres were a little past their best. I think today even if the result is similar to what we have experienced before, we can see that Shinya was able to stay and fight with the second group of riders and this is a positive thing and it is good for our rider’s motivation. Now we have a break until Brno so we have the possibility to get something new from our Technical Partners, which we hope will give us similar equipment to some of the other teams which will aid our overall performance.” Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda (12th position) “We started so well for this race. I could stay with the riders in front and we managed to get up to 8th on the first lap. We slipped to 9th, but I felt good, as my lap time was better than practice so I felt that the setting was good and the tyre choice was OK. Then from the middle of the race I felt some front chattering problems and with this happening I couldn’t push hard towards the end of the race and things got a little bit worse. This was a big shame as our qualifying position was quite good. It has proved to be yet another difficult race, but I’m looking forward to the next race at the Czech Republic after I’ve had some rest at home in Japan. We should have some new parts which makes the second part of the season very exciting for us.” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “We are a little bit disappointed as this was maybe our best weekend to get a good result from the technical point of view. Perhaps our problem was that we were unable to find the best tyre for the conditions. We went for the softest tyre in our allocation but it was not enough. At the start of the race our situation was not so bad, despite the fact that there was not a lot of grip. Shinya started well but from the middle part of the race we could see that his situation was getting more difficult lap-by-lap. This was a shame as the combination of Shinya and the Honda RC212V was pretty good here at Laguna, but we just seemed to have some problems in the last half of the race.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Stoner gives MotoGP field six of the best at Laguna Seca Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix – July 22nd Report Day 3 Casey Stoner put on a stellar performance at Laguna Seca to take victory number six of the 2007 season, extending the gap between himself and Valentino Rossi in the MotoGP World Championship to 44 points. The Australian had laid out his stall early this morning, becoming the only rider to ride a lap of the American circuit in under 1’22. Having set the tone for the day in the warm up, Stoner then went about smashing the circuit record and the 12 race MotoGP pole jinx en route to a memorable victory at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. Leading every one of the race’s 32 laps, his only moment of worry came when Dani Pedrosa took the holeshot, although the lead was soon relinquished as the 21 year-old Ducati rider began to run the show. Another Australian joined Stoner on the podium, as Chris Vermeulen confirmed the potential that he had shown at Laguna Seca last year. In that race he led for over half the race before suffering a mechanical problem, but today the Suzuki GSV-R800 was in fine form and allowed him to take a comfortable second place. Marco Melandri rounded off the rostrum places, once again demonstrating that he is as tough as they come by taking a top three finish from tenth with an injured ankle. The Italian was unable to ride this morning after a crash yesterday, but gritted his teeth for another display of determination and talent. Both he and Vermeulen now lie level on points in fourth in the overall standings. Also riding injured, Valentino Rossi fell just short of a podium spot, but gathered vital points in his title challenge to limit the damage of Stoner’s back-to-back victories and Rossi’s own DNF in Germany last weekend. He came in ahead of current third placed rider Dani Pedrosa, who had looked on course for a podium until Melandri and Rossi showed their cards and the Spaniard did not have the hand to answer them. Randy de Puniet was the highest finisher from Kawasaki Racing, on a fantastic day for ‘Team Green’ in which all three of their riders crossed the line in the top ten. Regular team-mate Anthony West continued his consistent race-by-race form by adding a seventh place to his ninth and eighth results at the last two Grands Prix. Taking advantage of Dunlop’s intimate knowledge of the Laguna Seca circuit, Makoto Tamada earned his best result of the season onboard the Yamaha satellite M1 in eighth. Alex Barros and Roger Lee Hayden were involved in a late tussle for ninth place, with the Brazlian’s experience showing through as he edged out the Kawasaki wildcard on the final lap. The younger Hayden brother was the highest finishing American at his home race, with sibling Nicky and John Hopkins involved in a first lap racing incident which left both out of the running for victory. The MotoGP World Championship takes a break after the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, returning on August 19th for the Cardion AB Grand Prix Ceske Republiky. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: KAWASAKI CELEBRATE A TOP TEN TRIPLE AT LAGUNA The Kawasaki Racing Team today saw all three of their riders come home in the top ten at the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. Randy de Puniet claimed 6th place, Anthony West 7th and wild card Roger Lee Hayden, 10th. In a stunning, 32-lap race at the California circuit, the trio of 800cc Ninja ZX-RR pilots put on a great show: consistently in the middle of the action, dicing with Edwards, Tamada, Nakano, Barros and each other. De Puniet was delighted to put the bad luck of the past few races behind him after crashes and mechanical failure have prevented the 26-year-old Frenchman from adding to his points total since the UK round at Donington Park in June. Despite a patchy weekend, he pulled out all the stops in the race today and earned himself another 10 points, taking him to 50 overall and 12th position in the championship. Team mate, West, despite never having ridden at Laguna, yet again fulfilled his wish to improve his race position at every round: bettering the 8th he gained at Germany’s Sachsenring last weekend. Having started from 12th on the grid, the 26-year-old Australian moved up through the pack to take his best finish in front of a loud and very enthusiastic American audience, having spent much of the weekend learning the track, as well as perfecting his set up. Wild card entry for the race, Roger Lee Hayden, put in an impressive performance in his MotoGP debut, with his hard work over the whole weekend paying dividends when he crossed the line in tenth position, and ended his home Grand Prix as the highest placed American rider. After a sole day’s test of the Ninja in Japan at the beginning of July, Hayden had little experience on the bike but didn’t let that stop him getting a spectacular result for the MotoGP squad. Indeed, he very narrowly missed out on 9th, having been passed by the vastly experienced Alex Barros at the very final corner. Kawasaki’s Competition Manager, Michael Bartholemy, was particularly pleased with the progress the team made over the course of a difficult weekend and, of course, with the race result: “This is such a great moment; it’s fantastic when things like this happen. We’re the only manufacturer to have three riders finish today in the top ten and we had the first American rider over the line at the end.” “It’s been a difficult few days though: we didn’t qualify so well, we were struggling a little and even doubting ourselves a bit but we had a fantastic race. Randy rode brilliantly, Anthony’s never even been here before and Roger’s never raced a GP bike! I think, as they say in California, it’s been awesome. A very special day for us,” concluded Bartholemy. The Kawasaki Racing Team leave Laguna on a high, determined to carry the momentum through to the next round at Brno in the Czech Republic, which takes place next month. Randy De Puniet Position 6th “I’m very happy. It’s not been easy here: setting the bike up and getting good, consistent lap times. But this morning, in warm up, we tried a new suspension setting and front tyre and things got better for the race. It was a good result, especially from 13th on the grid. I was pleased with my start and had a good first lap, didn’t lose time behind Nakano and Edwards and rode my race behind some fast riders. I saw on my pit board that Anthony was behind me so for Kawasaki it’s a very good result: it’s perfect and I’m very happy. It’s great to do a good race before the summer break.” Anthony West Position 7th “It’s getting easier every time I ride but it was still quite a difficult race, especially going up and down on the hills. And it was pretty hot but I’m feeling good and felt strong throughout. I didn’t even know what position I was in half the time. All I could see was the guys in front of me; I hardly looked at my pit board at all. I had to ask the crew what place I got when I came back in and I’m really happy with the result. The team have done a great job, they’ve worked really hard and it just shows how good the bike is.” Roger Hayden Position 10th “It was a good race for me. I didn’t have a great start because, when the lights went off, it took a few seconds for it to click, what I was supposed to do! I just tried to run a consistent race. It’s a shame Barros got me at the last corner, but top ten is a good result and I feel like I’ve learned a lot. The Bridgestone tyres worked well, the bike was excellent and my whole team really did a good job and let me take things slowly, working at my own pace. I really enjoyed the bike and, even though it’s been a very busy weekend, it’s been an awesome experience and I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity. I wouldn’t change it for anything and I want to say thanks to whole team for making it so easy for me.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac d’Antin Ducati: NINTH POSITION FOR ALEX BARROS AT THE RED BULL GP IN LAGUNA SECA The race finish at Laguna Seca signaled the end of difficult weekend for the Pramac Dantin Team, who lost a rider earlier in the week when Alex Hofmann was injured on Friday morning’s free practice, and also for Alex Barros, who rode through the pain of a hand injury sustained in a crash at the previous race, one week prior. The Team breathes a sigh of contentment after these last six races in only eight weeks. The Brazilian, who started from the second last row on starting grid, made a good recovery, finishing his race in ninth place and scoring seven important points for the championship. Exceeding all expectations, the twenty year old Chaz Davies, riding in place of the injured Hofmann, rode his first race in MotoGP and performed admirably. Towards the end of the race, he found a pace that potentially could have landed him near a top-ten position, if he hadn’t been forced to return to the box because a stone’s impact had damaged a component. Thanks to the Team’s work, the problem was identified and repaired, and the Chaz was able to re-enter the track and continue his race. Afterwards, Davies said the bike was working even better than before. The English rider was able to record an excellent laptime of 1.23.75, two laps from the finish of the race. The Team breathes a sigh of contentment after these last six races in only eight weeks. The MotoGP circus will now stop for a three week break, starting again on the 17th of August in Brno. Alex Barros (45:03.845, 9th): It was an hard race for me, but I’m satisfied with my result. Even though I had made a good start, my position on the starting grid, was really penalyzing. Because of my hand condition, I made a strong effort to ride. Because I had a deep desire to recover the points lost in Germany, I gave my very best to make up as many positions as possible. During the race I had some difficulties when braking, but then everything started working well and I was able to obtain a good result. In the end, I enjoyed my race because eventually I had a great battle with Roger Lee Hayden that went right up until the very end, I ended up ahead, but I want to give him my congratulations, because he rode very well. Finally, I want to say Thanks to all the Clinica Mobile guys who helped me to be able to ride in the best possible conditions.” Chaz Davies (44:34.640, -3 laps, 16th): It was a difficult race for me, but I’m very happy to have taken part in this. At the beginning, I was really worried because it was my first race in MotoGP, I was on a complicated track, the race was 32 long laps, and along with the notorious corkscrew, I was pretty worried. I got a fantastic start, but then I made a couple of mistakes and I lost the group. I went off-track at the corkscrew and probably a stone from there damaged my bike because suddenly it started to vibrate in strange way. Fortunately, mechanics were able to take care of everything, and I was able to re-join the race with a bike that worked very well. In fact, just few laps to the end, I made my best time! I want to thanks to the Pramac d’Antin Team, Bridgestone, and Ducati, who gave me this opportunity, and also, good luck to Alex Hofmann.” Luis d’Antin, Team Manager:This week end was really complicated for us. We started on Friday with Alex Hofmann’s crash that rendered him unable to ride on this track, which was his favourite. I’m displeased about this and I hope that he can recover very soon. Also, I’m pleasantly surprised about Chaz’s race, that despite of few mistakes, was a really good job. Also Alex Barros discussed a very good race, with his hand conditions we couldn’t hope something more. This showed that we are really competitive and that in right conditions we can stay in the first five position.