2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Misano, Italy September 2, 2007 Race Results: 1. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 28 laps, 44:34.720 2. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -4.851 seconds 3. John HOPKINS (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -16.002 seconds 4. Marco MELANDRI (Honda), Bridgestone, -22.737 seconds 5. Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -24.787 seconds 6. Carlos CHECA (Honda), Michelin, -34.986 seconds 7. Toni ELIAS (Honda), Bridgestone, -40.896 seconds 8. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -41.774 seconds 9. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, -47.146 seconds 10. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Michelin, -48.808 seconds 11. Alex HOFMANN (Ducati), Bridgestone, -49.299 seconds 12. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Yamaha), Dunlop, -69.176 seconds 13. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, -80.424 seconds 14. Makoto TAMADA (Yamaha), Dunlop, -94.223 seconds 15. Kurtis ROBERTS (KR-Honda), Michelin, -1 lap 16. Alex BARROS (Ducati), Bridgestone, -13 laps, DNF, retired 17. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Michelin, -23 laps, DNF, retired 18. Randy DE PUNIET (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -28 laps, DNF, crash 19. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, -28 laps, DNF, crash 2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 18 races): 1. Stoner, 271 points 2. Rossi, 186 points 3. Pedrosa, 168 points 4. Vermeulen, 144 points 5. Hopkins, 140 points 6. Melandri, 126 points 7. Edwards, 100 points 8. Capirossi, 98 points 9. Nicky Hayden, 92 points 10. Barros, 83 points 11. Hofmann, 65 points 12. Elias, 63 points 13. De Puniet, 58 points 14. Checa, 45 points 15. West, 41 points 16. Nakano, 37 points 17. Tamada, 33 points 18. Guintoli, 28 points 19. Kurtis Roberts, 10 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 Team Roberts: FIRST-LAP INCIDENT PUTS ROBERTS IN THE DIRT Santa Monica, Italy – September 2, 2007: Kurtis Roberts finished 15th in today’s Misano and Rimini GP, adding to his tally of World Championship points but ending the afternoon disappointed after falling innocent victim to a first-lap incident. Improving performance during qualifying meant that the 28-year-old American, son of legendary triple champion and team principal Kenny Roberts, had expected to battle with some of the non-factory Hondas. Instead he found himself way off the back, his only companion top factory rider Nicky Hayden, also put off the track. The incident was triggered by Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet, who crashed into second Honda factory star Dani Pedrosa on the second corner. Both went flying into the gravel; Kurtis and Hayden followed along, although neither fell off. After that, Roberts and his England-built Honda-powered hybrid ran with Hayden for a few laps before he lost touch. From there to the end he was just riding for a finish. The race was run before a capacity crowd in hot sunshine, although many left before the end after local hero Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) retired in the early stages. The winner, after 28 laps of the reverse-direction 4.180 km Misano circuit, was Casey Stoner (Ducati) from the Suzukis of Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins, extending his championship lead over non-scorer Rossi. KURTIS ROBERTS – 15th position In warm-up today we had the same problem as at the start at Czech, with the electronics not working properly and the engine bogging down, so I tried to start it without the launch control, and I screwed it up a little. Then going through the first corners de Puniet bowling-balls everybody, and Hofmann stops right in front of me. I don’t know why, but I just tapped his rear wheel and ran off the track. Nicky Hayden was ahead of me, and I passed him. We were together for three or four laps, but his bike is quite a bit faster, and I couldn’t keep making up the difference on brakes. I did outbrake him a few times after he would pass me on the straightaway, but the accordion effect just kept building, and I kept over-riding it, until I ran off the track. After that I was frustrated because I was so far behind. I’m not sure if I’d bent the front wheel a bit, but it started kind of hopping going into the corners, and that was it. Unfortunately we had a mistake from other people that sent us off into the gravel, and then I made a mistake that really ended my race. After that, the only reason I stayed out was because I was in the points. Otherwise I would have pulled in and jumped on the sword. CHUCK AKSLAND The race was over quite early, with the incident on the first lap putting Kurtis in the gravel. It’s really unfortunate, because he put in a great effort the whole weekend. The lap times were chipping away, and the whole combination was getting closer and closer. I really think he could have had a good race and scored some decent points not just by way of attrition but by racing some guys. It’s a long way from where we were a few races back, and it shows that we’re going forward. But you can’t control incidents like that -that’s racing; it happens. We’re staying to test tomorrow. Hopefully Michelin will give us some tyres to test, and we can help them with their development. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Stoner’s Misano victory leaves Rossi needing a miracle GP Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini – September 2nd Report Day 3 motogp Casey Stoner leaves Misano with an 85 point lead in the overall classification and one hand on a maiden MotoGP World Championship, courtesy of his eighth victory of the 2008 season and Ducati’s first on Italian soil in the GP Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. Another superb runaway victory from the Australian, combined with Valentino Rossi’s retirement from the race with a mechanical problem, mean that Stoner could mathematically seal the World Championship at Estoril in two weeks time, but the 21 year-old could never be accused of being a winner by default as he stormed away from pole for the fourth consecutive race. The Ducati factory rider now joins Rossi as the only two riders to have won three consecutive races on a four-stroke machine. Rizla Suzuki experienced their best ever MotoGP result when they finally got Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins together on the podium. Vermeulen had a fantastic start from the third row, and for the third race in succession the GSV-R was set loose on catching Stoner. Whilst the World Championship leader’s place was once again just a little too quick despite numerous fastest laps from his main pursuer, Suzuki have now taken second place at the last three races, also their best run of form since the introduction of the four stroke machines. Hopkins rounded off the rostrum, which for the second race in a row featured no Italian riders, and the Suzuki duo have worked their way ever-closer to Dani Pedrosa’s points tally in second position in the standings. Whilst it was good news for the top trio in well-deserved results, Rossi was dealt a devastating blow to his title aspirations after just four laps of the Misano circuit. Trying out a new pneumatic engine for the first time, the five-time MotoGP World Champion was forced to pull over to the side of the track after experiencing difficulties, and was forced to give something of a low-speed parade lap for the legions of disappointed fans in the grandstands as he inched back into pit lane. Marco Melandri has a tendency to almost thrive on injury, and completed an excellent race despite making his comeback from neck an ankle injuries and paying a trip to the Clinica Mobile yesterday morning. The Gresini Honda rider put in a superhuman performance to take fourth place, displaying an almost scary amount of guts and riding ability at a track that he had barely a couple of hours to learn. Loris Capirossi completed the first five past the chequered flag, all shod on Bridgestone tyres. Carlos Checa was the highest finishing Michelin rider, ahead of countryman and still-injured Gresini Honda man Toni Elias. Anthony West returned to form after a disappointing race at Brno, with Colin Edwards and Shinya Nakano rounding off the top ten. Reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden was once again left disappointed by a first lap incident that had little to do with his own actions, caught up in Randy de Puniet’s collision with Dani Pedrosa. The American had to manoeuvre his way round the fallen pair and, as at his home race at Laguna Seca, rejoined the race from the back of the field and without the chance of a podium finish. 250cc An eighth win of the season for Jorge Lorenzo from as many pole positions put the 250cc World Champion in the record books this afternoon, as he became the Spanish rider with the most victories in the quarter-litre class. The latest triumph, combined with title rival Andrea Dovizioso’s enforced retirement from the race, give Lorenzo a 54 point advantage in his quest to retain the crown. The Fortuna Aprilia man was on the back foot for the first half of the race, with Dovizioso leading the race for the majority of the first 16 laps. Lorenzo went diligently about closing the gap, and the two were soon head to head for another epic battle. The Italian fans were robbed of a further spectacle just two laps later in an unfortunate turn of events, as Dovizioso pulled up with a mechanical problem and saw the championship slip ever further out of his grasp. Hiroshi Aoyama would perhaps have been grateful for an extra few laps, as he racked up consistently fast times en route to second place. The KTM man had duked it out with his team-mate Mika Kallio until the final stages of the race, when the Finn took a massive highside which left him without the chance of a podium finish. Hector Barbera completed the rostrum places in an improved showing for the Team Toth Aprilia rider. Thomas Luthi, home rider Alex de Angelis and Shuhei Aoyama completed the top six, just ahead of highest finishing Italian Roberto Locatelli in his best race since his return from a horror crash at Jerez earlier this year. 125cc Mattia Pasini gave the crowd at Misano reason to celebrate after taking a superb victory in the 125cc class. The Italian rider, who hails from Rimini, took the race by the scruff of the neck right from the early stages, making the most of his front row start to snatch the holeshot and blasting past Hector Faubel on lap seven. Once the lead had been extended, Pasini never looked in danger, extending his lead to four seconds with five laps to go. The Polaris World rider could not rest entirely easy, however, as he has been cursed by mechanical problems this season when in the lead. To the delight of the crowd, who gave him a huge ovation, Pasini was able to cross the line first to take victory number three of the season. Gabor Talmacsi was second, and was an innocent contributor to a crash between his team-mate Hector Faubel and Simone Corsi. The Aspar rider had the inside line when the duo in front of him slowed down, and evasive action from Faubel caused both of them to collide and force them out of the running. The flu-ridden Talmacsi reversed the championship lead between himself and Faubel, and now heads the Spaniard by ten points. Tomoyoshi Koyama completed the podium, ahead of Sergio Gadea, an extremely impressive Pol Espargaro and Randy Krummenacher in the top six. The first ten past the chequered flag also included Stefan Bradl, Bradley Smith, Raffaele de Rosa and Michael Ranseder. Lukas Pesek saw his title hopes fade further away after crashing out on lap 20, nearly taking out Koyama on his slide off the track. The Czech rider had started from pole from the first time this year. More, from a press release issued by Konica Minolta Honda: Another top ten result for KONICA MINOLTA Honda at Misano The KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team took tenth position at today’s San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix. Team rider Shinya Nakano got a good start from 14th on the grid, moving up to 9th position on the first lap before slipping back down to 11th a few laps later. Eventually the 29-year-old Japanese rider was able to establish a consistent rhythm in the middle of the race, before taking tenth place at the flag. The championship now moves on to Portugal in two weeks time before the three ‘fly-away’ rounds in Japan, Australia and Malaysia. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “I think in the first part of the race the top three riders made the difference being able to set a completely different rhythm to all the other riders. After the crash in front of Shinya he was able to make up some places, but then wasn’t able to push as hard as he would like. His rhythm was not so bad, but still a little off the mid-pack runners. I think from a positive position we now have more experience about the chassis and engine parts that arrived in the Czech Republic and the situation is coming a little better for us, but we need a more consistent improvement race-by-race. We were the third Michelin team home today and I think today’s result shows that so much relates to the tyre situation which isn’t to our advantage at the moment. I want to say that we still have trust in our technical partners of HRC and Michelin and we must now concentrate on the next race.” Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda (Final position – 10th) “I didn’t get too bad a start at all. I saw the accident on the second corner and managed to escape that and was also able to overtake some other riders so that was OK. In the middle of the race my lap times were probably better than any other time over the weekend, which make me feel quite positive. Just at the end of the 28-lap race I tried to follow Colin Edwards but couldn’t close the gap to him, then during the last few laps I lost my rhythm a little and got overtaken by Alex Hofmann, but he out-braked himself and I was able to hold my 10th position to the line. The bike felt OK after we made the modification this morning and had quite a good feeling from the front, so from this I was able to make the improvement in lap time and the overall set-up wasn’t bad at all. I’m OK with a top ten, as despite being disappointed with how things went after first practice, a top 10 was what I was aiming for from this weekend.” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “This morning we managed to obtain a good compromise with the overall setting and tried to use a softer choice for the rear tyre and our performance in the morning was good. Shinya’s lap time was not so far from what he did with a qualifying tyre but it was not possible to use this for the race. Instead, we went back to use another tyre, but we found that we had a problem with our grip performance which was simply not enough for the race. We managed to get the top ten result in part due to the number of riders who were not able to finish the race, but this is more experience for us with the updated RC212V and we will head to Portugal hoping for improved performance overall.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: EDWARDS NINTH AND ROSSI FORCED TO RETIRE AS BAD LUCK STRIKES IN MISANO Valentino Rossi’s hopes of a glorious homecoming to Misano ended after just five laps today, when an engine problem forced the Fiat Yamaha Team rider to retire when running strongly in fourth position. Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards meanwhile struggled with rear grip in the later stages and was only able to bring his YZR-M1 home in his starting position of ninth. With thousands of passionate Italian fans looking on, Rossi started the San Marino Grand Prix from second on the grid with high hopes of an exciting podium battle with chief rival and pole-sitter Casey Stoner. He dropped one place at the start and another a few turns later as first John Hopkins and then Chris Vermeulen came through, but never got the chance to fight back as he lost power in his engine on lap five of 28 and was forced to coast home to the pits. Edwards got a good start and rose to sixth at one point, but a lack of grip on the left side of his rear tyre meant he was unable to make any further headway through the field, eventually slipping to ninth behind Anthony West. With Stoner the eventual winner, today’s result sees Rossi’s dream of a late-season championship revival slip further away as he now sits 85 points adrift in second, with a possible 125 points left available from five races. Edwards remains seventh with 100 points. The Fiat Yamaha Team will have a one-day test here tomorrow, before heading to Portugal in ten days time for round fourteen. Colin Edwards Position: 9th Time: +47.146 “I got a good start and managed to miss the big melee with Hayden and de Puniet. Then Checa almost took me out a couple of times and the second time I had to run wide and West and a couple of others came through. Once I’d got sorted again I had my work cut out getting back by West, but then I just got my head down and got going. Unfortunately however, the left-hand side of my tyre then started to give me trouble and I had no grip from then on. There are a lot of quick changes of direction here, turns one-two and four-five for example, and every time I had to flick it left it felt pretty scary. I had to adjust my pace accordingly and from there on in it was just survival and looking to salvage what points I could. It wasn’t fun out there today to be honest!” Valentino Rossi Position: DNF Time: “At the start I felt I was lacking some temperature in my tyres and so I slipped back a little from my starting position. However apart from this I felt quite good, stable, with a good rhythm and confident that things would continue to improve as the temperature in my tyres increased. However on lap five, when I was braking hard, I suddenly felt something go and that was the end of my race. The engine was the same one that I used at the Brno test and also here in practice and it felt quite good; we don’t yet know what the problem was today so we will have to wait until our engineers have had time to examine the situation. “It would have been great, and very useful, to have a good result here in Misano today. I like the track a lot and I really wanted to do well in front of all the fans; it was a great emotion for me to see so many people in yellow. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case today and now we know that the championship will be very, very difficult. Breaking down after just a few laps is frustrating and unlucky, especially because today we had good expectations and we had been fast during practice. But when bad things like this happen you have only two choices; give up or come straight back and start working again even harder than before. This is what we will do at Yamaha; me, my team, the engineers – everyone involved. We still have five races left and we will keep trying to get the result we deserve. Once again Stoner deserved to win today, so well done to him. We have a lot of work to do before Estoril.” Davide Brivio Fiat Yamaha Team Director “We used the new engine today and unfortunately something went wrong. We don’t know yet exactly what, we won’t be able to tell until our engineers have had a lot more time to look at it. It might not have been anything to do with the new technology, we need to check but this can happen and this is racing. It’s just very disappointing for everyone and especially all the thousands of fans who came today to cheer Valentino on. Colin had some rear grip issues and he tried his best but unfortunately he too was not able to get the result he deserved. We have to look forward to Estoril now and keep working; we know that all the Yamaha engineers are very busy trying to improve our situation and we have confidence in them. Thanks to everyone for their hard work; we know we are capable of winning and so we will just keep trying.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol: AN INCIDENT ON THE FIRST LAP RUINS THE RACE FOR BOTH DANI PEDROSA AND NICKY HAYDEN IN MISANO The Repsol Honda Team rider Dani Pedrosa, who after getting onto the second row of the grid by setting the sixth best lap time yesterday, had a very short race today because he was knocked over by the French rider De Puniet on the second curve at the Italian track. Although he was unhurt in the incident Pedrosa was very upset with what had happened, as this also occurred in the recent Turkish GP, at the start of the season but with a different rider. Pedrosa`s teammate, the American Nicky Hayden, was also involved in this accident. He was able to avoid a fall but went off the track, when he got back into the race he was bringing up the rear, in the end he was 13th after he overtook a couple of riders. Tomorrow the Repsol Honda Team will stay in Misano to do some tests in preparation for the Portuguese GP, which is held in two weeks. In 250cc, today Shuhei Aoyama was the better of the two Repsol riders. Shuhei, who was quite discreet in training, gradually climbed in the classification and in the end was sixth. To achieve this he had to overtake his teammate Julián Simón, Locatelli and Bautista. Simón, who got off to a bad start second row with the 8th best time ended the first lap in twelfth place, quickly losing contact with the leading group. From then on he fought in the same group as his teammate Aoyama, but a lack of top speed did not let him fight to improve his position, in the end he finished tenth. In the smallest of the three categories, Esteve Rabat put in a good performance but in the end he did not get his just rewards. Four laps from the end he was in the fight for 5th position but he made a couple of mistakes and he ended up at the back of the group, the chasing group, where he stayed for practically the whole of the race. His teammate Bradley Smith rode the race in the same group as Rabat. In this race the Briton got better as time passed and he took advantage of the situation on the last few laps to finish eighth. Quotes MotoGP Nicky Hayden — 13th “What can I say? Another first corner incident. I didn’t get a good start and there’s really no excuse for it when you’re on the front row. I’ve made such awesome starts lately, but I muffed that one up. I lost a few positions and then the first corner incident pretty much ended our race. “I just saw it all happening right beside me and I absolutely had nowhere to go. I thought I was going to have to lay it down before I hit the tyre wall but luckily I stayed on. Then when I got back on track I was so far behind. We’d had a good roll going from Brno and we’ve proved this year that we’re not going to give up. So we’ll come back tomorrow and get rolling again with some testing before the next one in Portugal.” Dani Pedrosa — DNF “It’s a real shame about this crash because I made a good start and had a chance to get away with the leaders. I was just turning into Turn Two when I was hit on the inside and really that was the first I knew about it. There is always a possibility that this kind of crash can happen in the first few corners of a race, especially at a tight circuit like this. “It’s just unfortunate that this is the second time it has happened to me this season because someone hit me in Turkey as well. The only positive thing is that I am not hurt. It’s a disappointment, but we must put it behind us and continue to fight for the best championship position we can get. Let’s hope for some better luck in Portugal.” 250cc Julián Simón — 10th “This was not a good race and I do not really know what happened. I was battling agisnst my teamamte and I saw that I was not able to reach the top speed that he could on his bike. This meant it is very difficult to keep up with the riders in the group I was riding alongside. “It was a pity because today I thought the race could go really well but it was not to be. I want to thank the team because they have worked very hard over the weekend. Now I want to think about Estoril and to find solutions so that I can round off the races and get good results, something that I have not been doing lately.” Shuhei Aoyama — 6th “This weekend I had good sensations all through the training sessions. Yesterday I could not set a good fastest lap because I made a mistake, that would have let me start nearer the front. “But the sensations were good and today in the race, in spite of not being able to keep up with the leading group, I concentrated on going fast lap after lap and in the end I finished sixth. This is not a bad result but I have to carry on working so that I can go faster.” 125cc Bradley Smith — 8th “Finishing eighth was quite lucky, basically because some of the riders in front of me fell. I did not ride well today; well, the last five laps I did ride well because then I was able to overtake a few bikes and set my fastest lap time, on the final lap, although that is not always a good sign with the tyres worn out. “I started badly and on the first lap I went off the track, I lost 4 or 5 places. The race went better than the one in the Czech Republic, but even so it was not good enough. I have to change something because the situation at the start is being repeated too often. Let`s see what happens in Portugal.” Esteve Rabat — 11th “The truth is that I am quite disappointed. I started badly and that left me a bit behind the leading group. After a few laps I got to lead the group I was in and I upped the pace to try and catch Ranseder and De Rosa, and I took the other riders in the group along with me. We reached the leaders and with four laps left I made a mistake so I fell back a few positions. “I tried to get back to where I had been but I made another mistake. I want to apologise to my team because they had prepared everything really well for this race. Now we have to look forward to the next race. I think that this race has been important, even though the result does not indicate anything of the sort, because I have got my confidence back after I lost it in France when I fell.” Official results: MotoGP: 1. Casey STONER (DUCATI) 44’34.720 2. Chris VERMEULEN (SUZUKI) 44’39.571 (+ 4.851) 3. John HOPKINS (SUZUKI) 44’50.722 (+ 16.002) 4. Marco MELANDRI (HONDA) 44’57.457 (+ 22.737) 5. Loris CAPIROSSI (DUCATI) 44’59.507 (+24.787) 13. Nicky HAYDEN (REPSOL HONDA) 45’55.144 (+ 1’20.424) Dani PEDROSA (REPSOL HONDA) – Retired 250cc 1. Jorge LORENZO (APRILIA) 42’54.427 2. Hiroshi AOYAMA (KTM) 42’58.005 (+ 3.578) 3. Héctor BARBERÁ (APRILIA) 43’01.468 (+ 7.041) 4. Thomas LUTHI (APRILIA) 43’01.640 (+ 7.213) 5. Alex DE ANGELIS (APRILIA) 43’02.091 (+ 7.664) 6. Shuhei AOYAMA (REPSOL HONDA) 43’30.661 (+ 36.234) 10. Julián SIMÓN (REPSOL HONDA) 43’34.720 (+ 40.293) 125cc 1. Mattia PASINI (APRILIA) 39’47.944 2. Gabor TALMACSI (APRILIA) 39’52.718 (+4.774) 3. Tomoyoshi KOYAMA (KTM) 39’56.520 (+8.576) 4. Sergio GADEA (APRILIA) 40’03.763 (+ 15.819) 5. Pol ESPARGARÓ (APRILIA) 40’11.916 (+ 23.972) 8. Bradley SMITH (REPSOL HONDA) 40’13.457 (+ 25.513) 11. Esteve RABAT (REPSOL HONDA) 40’14.637 (+ 26.693) More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner and Suzukis sweep Misano podium Round 13 San Marino and Riviera di Rimini – Race Misano World Circuit, Misano Adriatico, Italy – Sunday 2 September 2007 Bridgestone-shod riders claimed the top five places in this afternoon’s San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix with Ducati’s Casey Stoner continuing his outstanding run of MotoGP victories this season. The championship-leading Australian now has an 85 point lead of the riders’ classification after another faultless display. Stoner now has eight wins to his name this season taking the total number of wins on Bridgestone tyres to nine in 13 races. This afternoon’s Misano win is the first ever win on Bridgestone tyres on Italian soil after a consecutive run of three podiums with Loris Capirossi in Mugello 2005 and 2006 and Alex Barros at the same track back in June this year. The other GP victor on Bridgestone tyres this season was today’s second-placed man Chris Vermeulen who was joined on the podium by his Suzuki team-mate John Hopkins after another competitive showing from the Suzuki team. Today’s Misano success brings Vermeulen’s podium tally to four this year and Hopkins’s total to three with both riders cementing their respective fourth and fifth places in the championship with an impressive 144 and 140 points respectively. Honda Gresini’s Marco Melandri came back from injury after a Saturday morning practice crash to finish fourth ahead of Ducati’s Loris Capirossi who took fifth. A resurgent Toni Elias claimed an inspired seventh to give Honda Gresini two strong results in their home grand prix. Anthony West scored his sixth straight points finish in eighth place and Alex Hofmann had a points-scoring race return after his recent injuries with eleventh place. Hiroshi Yasukawa Bridgestone Corporation Director of Motorsport “Congratulations to the Ducati and Suzuki teams for tremendous results today. Casey Stoner performed exceptionally as we have recently become accustomed to with another great victory on our tyres. Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins also had a brilliant race to take second and third places, the first time that Suzuki has scored a double podium on Bridgestone tyres. Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to all our teams for their efforts this weekend.” Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “I am quite happy with the performance of our tyres around this new-look Misano circuit this afternoon. This was the first occasion that we have run 28 consecutive laps on the same tyres at this track and I am pleased with the consistency of the tyres over the race distance. The end result is fantastic with five riders on our tyres in the top five, but unfortunately three riders on rival tyres had their races affected after issues in the opening laps, so we were not able to compare fully the performance of our tyres. However for our first ever MotoGP race in Misano, the performance was very satisfying indeed.” Casey Stoner Ducati Corse Race Winner and Championship Leader “I got a good start and was away at the front but I had a lot of pressure from John and Chris for a lot of the race. It was just like the last few races actually and I had to make sure that I was not making any mistakes because I knew if I did then they would have been straight on me. I am reasonably happy with the lap times that we were setting and we were able to pull out a small advantage. Everything worked really well again this afternoon, the Ducati and the Bridgestone tyres, and we were able to keep our advantage to take the win. Over the last few races we have been building up an increasing chance of winning the championship but it is still not over. We will never give up and we will all keep pushing as hard as we can.” Bridgestone Race Results Front (16.5”) Rear (16.5” unless indicated) P1 Casey Stoner Ducati 44m34.720s Winner Slick Medium Slick Hard P2 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 44m39.571s +4.851s Slick Hard Slick Medium P3 John Hopkins Suzuki 44m50.722s +16.002s Slick Hard Slick Hard P4 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 44m57.457s +22.737s Slick Medium Slick Hard P5 Loris Capirossi Ducati 44m59.507s +24.787s Slick Medium Slick Medium P7 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 45m15.616s +40.896s Slick Medium Slick Soft (16”) P8 Anthony West Kawasaki 45m16.494s +41.774s Slick Hard Slick Hard P11 Alex Hofmann Pramac d’Antin 45m24.019s +49.299s Slick Medium Slick Medium DNF Alex Barros Pramac d’Antin 24m17.361s +13 laps Slick Medium Slick Medium DNF Randy de Puniet Kawasaki Did not finish first lap Slick Hard Slick Hard Weather: Dry. Air 26°C, Track 42°C, Humidity 48% (Taken from official MotoGP timesheet) More, from a press release issued by Gresini Honda Racing: MELANDRI AND ELIAS DEFY THE ODDS WITH FOURTH AND SEVENTH PLACE AT MISANO Honda Gresini riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias wowed almost 60,000 fans at Misano today as they provided the entertainment in the Grand Prix of San Marino with a stunning charge through the field. Melandri started from twelfth on the grid but got away well and was soon up to ninth, before getting the better of Ant West, Colin Edwards and Loris Capirossi as he stormed through to fourth place – an incredible result considering his physical condition and a heavy crash yesterday morning. His team-mate Elias produced a performance that was just as impressive, the Spaniard starting from the fifth row of the grid in fifteenth place before charging to seventh despite still suffering from the effects of a broken femur. In only his second race since sustaining the injury at Assen, Toni once again showed his determination and spirit today. The Honda Gresini pair will be back on track at Misano tomorrow for a day of tests. MARCO MELANDRI (4th in the race, 6th in the championship on 126 points): “I couldn’t have hoped for a better result considering my physical condition and starting position. This morning we made a few modifications during the warm-up that didn’t have the effect we had hoped for so we changed a few more things and went out with an even more different setting in the race. With a good performance in the race I wanted have to apologise to the team for my mistake in practice on Friday that could have compromised our potential this weekend. The team gave me a bike that has worked well here and Bridgestone came up with the tyres. The whole package felt good and that allowed me to ride comfortably despite the physcial problems. Once I got past West, Edwards and then Capirossi, I ended up on my own for almost the entire race. Loris was close but I kept my focus for the whole race and then pushed again over the final few laps to make sure of fourth place. This is a fun track but there aren’t many places to overtake.” TONI ELIAS (7th in the race, 12th in the championship on 63 points): “I’m satisfied with this result. This morning in the warm up we made a few improvements to the bike and that allowed me to take a step forward with my pace. I’m really tired now because the leg was so painful – especially in the second half of the race. From a physical point of view, Misano is very demanding but I stuck in the group and just tried to make up positions. Now I’ve got another two important weeks to rest before Estoril.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: WEST IN THE POINTS AS DE PUNIET CRASHES OUT The first world championship motorcycle Grand Prix for 14 years took place at Misano today and it was a race of very mixed fortunes. Kawasaki Racing Team pilot, Anthony West, managed a well-deserved eighth place while Randy de Puniet crashed soon after the start and was unable to continue. After flying off from tenth on the grid, West initially battled with Marco Melandri but when the Italian moved further up the field, it was Alex Barros, Colin Edwards and Toni Elias who he had to tussle with. After some dicing, Edwards dropped back and Brazilian Barros retired, leaving the Ninja ZX-RR rider to fight with Elias. West boldly managed to fend the Spaniard off, holding on to seventh, for around half the 28-lap race but was overtaken just three laps from the end. It was a strong performance from the 26-year-old West in only his sixth outing on the Kawasaki. This, the 13th round of the MotoGP world championship, saw him put in a fastest lap of 1’36.246 mid race and, having scored championship points at every round he’s ridden, he’s notched up an impressive 41 in total and sits at 15th in the current standings for the season. Things didn’t go so well for Randy de Puniet, however, who crashed just two corners into the race when the rear of his Ninja ZX-RR came round on him. The 26-year-old Frenchman collected Dani Pedrosa on his way into the gravel trap, and both riders were unable to rejoin the race. It was a huge disappointment for the Frenchman who had ridden brilliantly all weekend, looking increasingly strong and confident at the Misano circuit. Happy with his set up and choice of Bridgestone tyres, he had his sights set on a podium finish but it was not to be. However, having spent the past few days as a virtually permanent fixture at, or near, the top of the timesheets during practice and qualifying – and he was the fastest man in this morning’s warm-up session with a top speed of 244.6kmh – de Puniet will be even more determined to prove himself at the next round. The 57,321 fans who packed the circuit from early morning left without the hoped-for celebration of an Italian rider winning but there was a spectacular atmosphere at the track nonetheless and there will be more to come at Estoril, in Portugal, in a fortnight. Kawasaki will be back and will continue to pursue that podium finish that has so far eluded them this season. Anthony West Position 8th “My start wasn’t so bad, which meant I was in quite a good position going into turn one, but as I approached the second corner all I could see were guys flying through the air. I didn’t feel that strong during the first few laps. In fact, to be honest, much of the race was really difficult because I had a few small problems with the feel of the bike all the way through. Although small, these problems made it quite difficult to wrestle the bike around such a small and tight track. I’m a bit annoyed Elias went past me towards the end: just like he did in Brno! But I held him off for most of the race, which is some small consolation. I think he could see that I had to fight the bike at some parts of the track as he was waiting behind me. Anyway, by the later stages, the tyres were pretty well gone and I couldn’t hold him off. Still, top ten is not too bad, you’ve got to be happy with that, and I got some more points. If we can improve the small problems we had today, I’m sure we’ll be running a lot further up and I’ll be able to go better towards the end of the race. We’re always working on things and have more time to improve further during testing tomorrow.” Randy De Puniet Position DNF “I don’t know what happened, we have to check the data because when I tried to change direction, entering the left corner, I lost the rear, touched Pedrosa and crashed. I don’t know if I used the rear brake or not, I want to check our data so I have a better idea about what happened. Obviously, I’m disappointed. I feel I did really well over the weekend so, to finish the race at the second corner is not very good. Luckily, there aren’t any big injuries: the footpeg went in to my back when I crashed, and that hurts, but it’s nothing major. But yes, obviously, I’m not very happy.” Michael Bartholemy Kawasaki Competition Manager “Randy has been fast all weekend, but then he made a mistake going into the second turn and that’s where his race ended. It’s a shame because he had the potential to finish on the podium today and I’m sorry for the two riders who were the innocent victims of the crash. Anthony also had a hard race today but, once again, he brought the bike home in the top ten to continue his run of scoring points in every race. Hopefully, with a full day of testing here at Misano tomorrow, Anthony and his crew will be able to eliminate the small problems that he had to contend with in today’s race. Despite Randy’s crash today, we will head for the next race at Estoril with confidence high, and with both riders determined to produce a strong performance in the Portuguese Grand Prix.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Stunning double podium for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins raced their Rizla Suzuki GSV-R’s to second and third places respectively, to give Suzuki its first double podium in the MotoGP era, at Misano in Italy today. Starting from the middle of the third row Vermeulen got a great start and was in fourth place by the first corner. He made up a further place during the first lap as he passed seven-time World Champion Valentino Rossi, and then set about chasing team-mate Hopkins. Hopkins had had an equally good start and was straight into second place, close behind eventual winner Casey Stoner. Hopkins and Vermeulen traded fastest laps over the first six laps of the race before Vermeulen caught and overtook his team-mate on lap six. Rizla Suzuki’s Australian star closed the gap on his fellow countryman Stoner, but was eventually unable to reel in the runaway championship leader. A crowd of just over 57,000 bathed in glorious sunshine as they witnessed Suzuki’s first double podium since 2001. The Team has now moved up into third position in the Team’s Championship and is only two points away from second place. Vermeulen and Hopkins both consolidated their fourth and fifth places in the rider’s classification and moved even closer to Dani Pedrosa in third after he failed to finish today, having crashed on the first lap. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now stay in Misano for a full day of testing tomorrow before heading off to the next round of the MotoGP World Championship, to be held at Estoril in Portugal on Sunday 16th September. Chris Vermeulen: “I am very happy to be on the podium. I said earlier this year that there would be two Rizla Suzukis on there before the end of the year, and I am very pleased to have been proved right. Obviously I’m happy to be in front of John, but congratulations to him and the whole team on this great result. We had no data on the bikes before we came here and Suzuki and Bridgestone have both done a great job to give us such a fantastic package for a new circuit. I got a good start from the third row, which was nice because I was dreading starting back there as it is so difficult to pass around here. I got up to fourth early on, but I still had to pass John and Valentino two of the hardest guys in the paddock to get around. After I got through them I tried to catch Casey and thought I was doing so, but I think I used up a bit too much of my rear tyre trying to catch him and at the end he pulled away a bit. Once again I would like to pass on my thanks to Tom and all my crew, plus all the guys at Bridgestone for this weekend.” John Hopkins: “What can I say, two Rizla Suzukis on the podium so that isn’t too bad a day! I got a great start which was crucial and I was lucky to avoid the accident at turn one. I wanted to hang on to Casey early on for as long as I could, the Bridgestone tyres worked really well right from the start and the bike also felt good. I had an incident when I pushed a bit too hard coming in to a fast right and had a big front-end slide. That cost me some time as it spooked me up a bit and because of that my lap-times dropped off. I could hear Chris behind me, he came up the inside and passed me – I knew he had a strong pace and I tried to hang on to him. I hung on for as long as possible until I had a problem with a knee-slider that came loose and I had to take it off and put it back on! That is neither here nor there though, Chris and Casey rode at a hell of a pace and I didn’t really have anything for them. I’m happy to get this position for the Team and for Suzuki. It’s a great performance today and now we’ll be pushing tomorrow to try and make more improvements. Then it’s on to Estoril where I have very high hopes!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “Today represents another landmark in Suzuki’s return to competitiveness in MotoGP. It’s the first time since 2001 that two Suzukis have been on the podium and the first time ever since the introduction of the four-stroke regulations. It’s a reflection on the hard work put in by Suzuki, the crew, the riders, Bridgestone and all our technical partners. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is now only two points behind Fiat Yamaha in the Team Championship, and with the performances shown recently by both of the riders we could possibly take second place over the coming races. It also gives us great confidence as we look to build on these results into 2008.I want to say well done to everybody involved, great job guys. “Rizla Suzuki would also like to congratulate Casey Stoner on another unbelievable performance today. There has been a lot of nonsense spoken in MotoGP this year regarding tyre regulations, engine performance, etc. etc. I believe that the difference at the moment is Casey and we’re focusing our best efforts to improve our own performance to beat him and that’s what everybody should be doing at this time!” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: AWESOME STONER SCORES DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM’S FIRST HOME WIN, CAPIROSSI FIGHTS TO 5TH Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner continued his relentlessly magnificent form at Misano today, taking the factory’s first-ever MotoGP victory on home tarmac. Loris Capirossi also rode a strong race, fighting through to fifth place from 13th on the grid. Stoner’s eighth success of the year was also his second consecutive start-to-finish victory and completes a hat-trick of wins, as well as extending his World Championship lead to 85 points and increasing Ducati’s advantage in the constructors’ championship and stretching the Ducati Marlboro Team’s lead in the teams’ championship. The Australian got the holeshot from pole position and after resisting early pressure from runner-up Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins he extended his advantage to 1.8 seconds at half-distance, after setting a new lap record, and to 4.8 seconds at the chequered flag. Capirossi got a brilliant start from the fifth row to complete the first lap in fifth spot, spending most of the 28 laps battling with Marco Melandri. CASEY STONER, winner, World Championship leader on 271 points “I’m still taking the championship race by race. It was unfortunate what happened to Valentino [Rossi, DNF] and to Dani [Pedrosa, DNF] today, but I was out in front doing my own thing, I had enough pressure myself. It took a lot of concentration to not make any mistakes because it was really hot and hard work today. This was very nice win for me. Yesterday I wasn’t so confident, but when we arrived on the grid today we were quite confident with the setting and everything worked well, we got a good start and we were able to get a good advantage. If there was a group up front my plan was to separate the group so there were less riders to battle with, I expected it to be a very difficult race. The team did a great job all weekend, they really pulled through for me. And after a race like this I’d really like to thank my trainer Anthony who I work with every time I have a bit of time off. The second part of the season is when I usually get stronger, so I hope we can be stronger at the next races but we’ll see what happens. The more I ride My Ducati the more comfortable I become and the faster I become.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 5th place, 8th in World Championship on 98 points “It has been a difficult weekend and yesterday I never thought it would’ve been possible to get fifth place. We struggled a lot with our set-up – I wasn’t quick enough through the slow corners because I wasn’t able to get the bike turned so well. But during morning warm-up we made a big change to the setting and my feeling improved a lot. We decided to make another small step in that direction for the race and for sure the bike was the best it’s been all weekend. Starting from the fifth row was difficult but I got a good start, fought with Marco and finally I finished fifth. It’s not a bad result considering how the rest of the weekend went.” Gabriele Del Torchio, CEO Ducati Motor Holding “This is the first time that Ducati has won a MotoGP race in Italy. It’s a fantastic feeling, there is great enthusiasm for this success and we are really happy. This victory is the merit of a great champion like Casey but it’s also the merit of a team that’s full of fantastic people: Claudio (Domenicali), Filippo (Preziosi) Livio (Suppo) and all the other people involved in this project in the team and at Borgo Panigale. Today I saw the emotion in everyone’s eyes. Winning in Italy, extending Casey’s advantage to 85 points, well, now we can seriously hope of achieving something very important. To see Ducati, an Italian factory, in front of everybody is something to be very proud of.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: HARDMAN MELANDRI TAKES FOURTH AS STONER WINS This was perhaps the race that established Casey Stoner (Ducati) as MotoGP World Champion elect 2007. The Aussie won from Chris Vermeulen with John Hopkins (both Suzuki) third. A lap one incident ruined the chances of Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) and put his team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) out of the race. This 28-lap showdown at the revamped 4.18km Misano got underway in bright sunshine with the track at 42-degrees and with an ambient temperature of 26-degrees. Stoner was red-hot away from the lights and led into turn one from Hopkins and Vermeulen with Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) on the chase in fourth followed by Loris Capirossi (Ducati). In a tightly-bunched lap one field, Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) hit Pedrosa the crashing duo forced Hayden and Kurtis Roberts (KR212V) into the gravel trap, and this episode wrecked the race for all four riders. Pedrosa and de Puniet were down and out, the determined Hayden and Roberts rejoined the race, but the best Hayden could do was struggle to an eventual 13th place with Roberts finishing 15th. Hopkins was working his bike hard to keep Stoner in his sights and the American set an early fastest lap of the race on the third tour at 1m 35.043 seconds. But it would be lap five that proved more significant in terms of the possible destination of the World Championship – Rossi slowed and then entered pitlane with a malfunctioning Yamaha M1. With just five races remaining the former World Champion’s retirement and failure to score points here gives Stoner’s already credible World Championship bid a massive boost. As Rossi saw his slim chance of regaining the title he lost to Nicky Hayden last season all but evaporate, Vermeulen snatched second from his team-mate Hopkins and then set a fastest lap of 1m 34.709 as he worked on closing down his fellow Aussie Stoner. But the Ducati man was never going to relent in his attempt to deliver a ‘home win’ for the Italian factory. By lap seven he held a 0.8 second advantage over Vermeulen and by lap ten it was a full second. Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V), whose terrifying crash on Saturday morning left him relatively unscathed as his machine wreaked havoc on the trackside furniture, had started from 12th on the grid, but the durable Italian was now fourth and sparing no effort in hounding Hopkins for third. Vermeulen meanwhile was making inroads into Stoner’s lead and as mid-race distance loomed he had cut Casey’s cushion to 0.788 seconds. But this proved a mere hiccup in Stoner’s full-on charge to the flag. By lap 16 his superiority was re-established at 1.8 seconds. Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) fancied his chances here after a successful testing stint at Brno. And despite some technical troubles that prevented him from qualifying as high up the grid as he would have liked, the evergreen Spaniard was riding a strong race in sixth, where he would finish. So too was Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V), still only at 60% of full fitness while recovering from a broken leg. The resilient Spaniard held seventh place – and he was not going to let that go, finishing the race in just that slot to remind the paddock what a fully fit Elias is capable of. Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) ended the race tenth, equaling his best result of the season thus far. Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V) came in 15th after the first lap incident then encountering some problems with his bike’s electronics early in the race. The World Championship points table shows Stoner in a commanding position now with five races left to run. He has an 85 point lead now over Rossi and with both the former World Champion and Pedrosa both recording DNFs here, Rossi retains second position overall with 186 points to Dani’s 168. Vermeulen lies fourth on 144. Fourth-placed Melandri said: “I couldn’t have hoped for a better result considering my physical condition and starting position. This morning we made a few modifications during the warm-up that didn’t have the effect we had hoped for so we changed a few more things and went out with an even more different setting in the race. The whole package felt good and allowed me to ride comfortably despite the physical problems. Loris (Capirossi) was close but I kept my focus for the whole race and then pushed again over the final few laps to make sure of fourth place.” Carlos Checa equalled his best result so far this year with sixth and said: “In the circumstances I’m very satisfied with this result thanks to the support of Honda with the engine update, and the work we’ve done with the chassis and tyres. After passing Edwards and West I could stay with Loris, right on his rear wheel, but gradually he pulled away as the front-end of my bike started to push a little in the curves. I played with the engine map setting but in the end decided to make sure of sixth place and be the first Michelin rider.” Tough Toni Elias, seventh, said: “I’m satisfied with this result. In the warm-up we made a few improvements to the bike and that allowed me to take a step forward with my pace. I’m really tired now because the leg was so painful – especially in the second half of the race. From a physical point of view, Misano is very demanding but I stuck in the group and just tried to make up positions. Now I’ve got another two important weeks to rest before Estoril.” Tenth-placed Nakano said: “I didn’t get too bad a start at all. I saw the accident on the second corner and managed to escape that and was also able to overtake some other riders so that was OK. In the middle of the race my lap times were probably better than any other time over the weekend, which make me feel quite positive. Just at the end of the 28-lap race I tried to follow Colin Edwards but couldn’t close the gap to him, then during the last few laps I lost my rhythm a little and got overtaken by Alex Hofmann, but he out-braked himself and I was able to hold my 10th position to the line.” Gritty Nicky Hayden, 13th, said: “What can I say? Another first corner incident. I didn’t get a good start and there’s really no excuse for it when you’re on the front row. I’ve made such awesome starts lately, but I muffed that one up. I lost a few positions and then the first corner incident pretty much ended our race. I just saw it all happening right beside me and I absolutely had nowhere to go. I thought I was going to have to lay it down before I hit the tyre-wall but luckily I stayed on. Then when I got back on track I was so far behind. We’d had a good roll going from Brno and we’ve proved this year we’re not going to give up.” His marginally less fortunate team-mate Dani Pedrosa said: “It’s a real shame about this crash because I made a good start and had a chance to get away with the leaders. I was just turning into turn two when I was hit on the inside and really that was the first I knew about it. There’s always a chance this kind of crash can happen in the first few corners of a race, especially at a tight circuit like this. It’s just unfortunate that this is the second time it’s happened to me this season because someone hit me in Turkey as well. The only positive thing is I’m not hurt.” Roberts said: “In warm-up today we had the same problem as at the start at Brno, with the electronics not working properly and the engine bogging down, so I tried to start without the launch control, and I screwed it up a little. Then going through the first corners de Puniet bowling-balls everybody, and Hofmann stops right in front of me. I don’t know why, but I just tapped his rear wheel and ran off the track. We had a mistake from other people that sent us off into the gravel, and then I made a mistake that ended my race, really. After that, the only reason I stayed out was because I was in the points. Otherwise I would have pulled in and jumped on the sword.” The 250cc race belonged to Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia), his eighth victory of the season so far. But this was handed to him when his fiercest rival Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda RS250RW) succumbed to machine trouble on lap 19 while battling for the lead with the Spaniard. Hiro Aoyama (KTM) finished a distant second and Hector Barbera (Aprilia) was third. Italian home hope Dovi led the field into turn one from the lights, closely followed by Lorenzo, with Barbera hot on their heels. Lorenzo’s Spanish rival then squeezed past the World Championship points leader for second while Dovi concentrated on carving a 0.8 second lead for himself over Lorenzo who would shortly retake second. An eight-rider lead group comprising Dovi, Lorenzo, Barbera, Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia), Mika Kallio (KTM), the convincingly local San Marinese rider Alex de Angelis (Aprilia), Hiro Aoyama and Tom Luthi (Aprilia) were the only riders who could match Dovi’s pace. But the group would splinter either through mechanical misfortune, in Dovi’s case. or crashes, as befell Bautista on lap ten, and Kallio who high-sided spectacularly on lap 22 while disputing second place with his team-mate Hiro Aoyama. Lorenzo won at a canter when Dovizioso dropped out, he was 3.6 seconds clear of Aoyama at the flag. But the fight for third between Barbera, Luthi and de Angelis was frantic. So was the dice for sixth place with Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) getting the verdict to finish as the best-placed Honda rider – for so long the preserve of the usually rapid and reliable Dovizioso. Aoyama said: “This weekend I had good sensations all through the training sessions. Yesterday I could not set a good fastest lap because I made a mistake, that would have let me start nearer the front. But the feeling was good and today in the race, in spite of not being able to keep up with the leading group, I concentrated on going fast lap after lap and in the end I finished sixth. This is not a bad result but I have to carry on working so that I can go faster.” A dejected Dovizioso, denied the chance to fight for the win at his home race, said: “The corner before the bike stopped I felt the engine hesitate, then it stopped going into the next corner. We don’t know what it was and the mechanics are checking it now. I feel really sorry for the team and myself. We did everything point-by-point race-after-race and we never had a problem – the team doesn’t deserve this. I can’t accept this ending in my home race where I really could win or at least fight for the victory until the end. Now I’m 55 points behind Lorenzo and it’s a very difficult situation.” It is. Lorenzo now has 241 points. Alex de Angelis has taken second place in the overall standings from Dovi with 187 points to the Italian’s 185, while Bautista lies fourth with 135. Local man Mattia Pasini won the 125cc race comfortably by 4.7 seconds from Gabor Talmacsi (both Aprilia) with KTM rider Tommy Koyama third. Pasini led off the line and although both Hector Faubel and Simone Corsi (both Aprilia) got ahead of him in the early stages before the Italian found his winning rhythm, they would both fall in the closing stages. Pasini managed his lead with maturity throughout the 23-laps and the Italian was 4.8 seconds clear of Talmacsi at the flag. The Hungarian rider was involved in an intense fight for the podium places with Faubel and Corsi, until on the penultimate lap that pair tangled and both went down, gifting Talmacsi the second step on the podium. Faubel remounted to finish 17th, but crucially, out of the points scoring places. He has now surrendered his World Championship points lead to Talmacsi who has 189 points to Faubel’s 179, with Koyama third on 145 points. Lukas Pesek, who fell on lap 21, is now fourth with 129. Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) was the first Honda runner home in eighth place after languishing in 16th in the early laps. His team-mate Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda RS125R) finished 11th and Mike di Meglio (Scot Honda RS125R) 13th. Smith said: “I was so slow in the first five laps, lots of riders passed me before turn seven. I’m always like this – I don’t know why. I have to sort it out as it’s costing me too much time. Slow away, then my team-mate hit me and pushed me wide. I caught the big group ahead and as the race went on I was faster and faster and passed a lot of riders. I just wish my first five laps could be as fast as my last five. I set my fastest lap of the race on the last lap. The bike was OK but I was having some chatter problems.” Rabat said: “I made a poor start today and was in the second group where I stayed all race. I pushed hard to get away from the others in the group and was in front of them. But then I made a mistake and three riders caught me. I tried to pass them all in one go at turn seven but ran wide and didn’t make up any places. The engine was not as fast today as it was in qualifying and towards the end the rear was sliding a lot, and in the last few laps the front tyre too.” Honda rider quotes GP SM race. MotoGP. Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 4th. “I couldn’t have hoped for a better result considering my physical condition and starting position. This morning we made a few modifications during the warm-up that didn’t have the effect we had hoped for so we changed a few more things and went out with an even more different setting in the race. With a good performance in the race I wanted have to apologise to the team for my mistake in practice on Friday that could have compromised our potential this weekend. The team gave me a bike that has worked well here and Bridgestone came up with the tyres. The whole package felt good and that allowed me to ride comfortably despite the physical problems. Once I got past West, Edwards and then Capirossi, I ended up on my own for almost the entire race. Loris was close but I kept my focus for the whole race and then pushed again over the final few laps to make sure of fourth place. This is a fun track but there aren’t many places to overtake.” Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 6th. “In the circumstances I’m very satisfied with this result thanks to the support of Honda with the engine update, and the work we have done with the chassis and tyres. After passing Edwards and West I could stay with Loris, right on his rear wheel, but gradually he pulled away as the front end of my bike started to push a little in the curves. I played with the engine map setting but in the end decided to make sure of sixth place and be the first Michelin rider”. Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 7th. “I’m satisfied with this result. This morning in the warm up we made a few improvements to the bike and that allowed me to take a step forward with my pace. I’m really tired now because the leg was so painful – especially in the second half of the race. From a physical point of view, Misano is very demanding but I stuck in the group and just tried to make up positions. Now I’ve got another two important weeks to rest before Estoril.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 10th. “I didn’t get too bad a start at all. I saw the accident on the second corner and managed to escape that and was also able to overtake some other riders so that was OK. In the middle of the race my lap times were probably better than any other time over the weekend, which make me feel quite positive. Just at the end of the 28-lap race I tried to follow Colin Edwards but couldn’t close the gap to him, then during the last few laps I lost my rhythm a little and got overtaken by Alex Hofmann, but he out-braked himself and I was able to hold my 10th position to the line. The bike felt OK after we made the modification this morning and had quite a good feeling from the front, so from this I was able to make the improvement in lap time and the overall set-up wasn’t bad at all. I’m OK with a top ten, as despite being disappointed with how things went after first practice, a top 10 was what I was aiming for from this weekend.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 13th. “What can I say? Another first corner incident. I didn’t get a good start and there’s really no excuse for it when you’re on the front row. I’ve made such awesome starts lately, but I muffed that one up. I lost a few positions and then the first corner incident pretty much ended our race. I just saw it all happening right beside me and I absolutely had nowhere to go. I thought I was going to have to lay it down before I hit the tyre wall but luckily I stayed on. Then when I got back on track I was so far behind. We’d had a good roll going from Brno and we’ve proved this year that we’re not going to give up. So we’ll come back tomorrow and get rolling again with some testing before the next one in Portugal.” Kurtis Roberts, KR212V: 15th. “In warm-up today we had the same problem as at the start at Czech, with the electronics not working properly and the engine bogging down, so I tried to start it without the launch control, and I screwed it up a little. Then going through the first corners de Puniet bowling-balls everybody, and Hofmann stops right in front of me. I don’t know why, but I just tapped his rear wheel and ran off the track. Nicky Hayden was ahead of me, and I passed him. We were together for three or four laps, but his bike is quite a bit faster, and I couldn’t keep making up the difference on brakes. I did outbrake him a few times after he would pass me on the straightaway, but the accordion effect just kept building, and I kept over-riding it, until I ran off the track. After that I was frustrated because I was so far behind. I’m not sure if I’d bent the front wheel a bit, but it started kind of hopping going into the corners, and that was it. Unfortunately we had a mistake from other people that sent us off into the gravel, and then I made a mistake that ended my race, really. After that, the only reason I stayed out was because I was in the points. Otherwise I would have pulled in and jumped on the sword.” Chuck Aksland – Team manager Team Roberts. “The race was over quite early, with the incident on the first lap putting Kurtis in the gravel. It’s really unfortunate, because he put in a great effort the whole weekend. The lap times were chipping away, and the whole combination was getting closer and closer. I really think he could have had a good race and scored some decent points not just by way of attrition but by racing some guys. It’s a long way from where we were a few races back, and it shows that we’re going forward. But you can’t control incidents like that -that’s racing; it happens. We’re staying to test tomorrow, and hopefully Michelin will give us some tyres, and we can help them with their development.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: dnf – crash. “It’s a real shame about this crash because I made a good start and had a chance to get away with the leaders. I was just turning into Turn Two when I was hit on the inside and really that was the first I knew about it. There is always a possibility that this kind of crash can happen in the first few corners of a race, especially at a tight circuit like this. It’s just unfortunate that this is the second time it has happened to me this season because someone hit me in Turkey as well. The only positive thing is that I am not hurt. It’s a disappointment, but we must put it behind us and continue to fight for the best championship position we can get. Let’s hope for some better luck in Portugal.” 250cc: Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 6th. “This weekend I had good sensations all through the training sessions. Yesterday I could not set a good fastest lap because I made a mistake, that would have let me start nearer the front. But the sensations were good and today in the race, in spite of not being able to keep up with the leading group, I concentrated on going fast lap after lap and in the end I finished sixth. This is not a bad result but I have to carry on working so that I can go faster.” Yukio Takahashi, Kopron Scot Honda: 9th.”I didn’t make a good start, than I tried to recover riding fast, but it’s not easy. When Bautista crashed down and came back into the track in front of me I could follow his pace and learn a lot from his driving style. I finished 9th and the 7 points I gained are very important for me and for the team, I hope I can improve more and more during the remaining races.” Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 10th.”This was not a good race and I do not really know what happened. I was battling against my teammate and I saw that I was not able to reach the top speed that he could on his bike. This meant it is very difficult to keep up with the riders in the group I was riding alongside. It was a pity because today I thought the race could go really well but it was not to be. I want to thank the team because they have worked very hard over the weekend. Now I want to think about Estoril and to find solutions so that I can round off the races and get good results, something that I have not been doing lately.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 13th. “It’s a good result as I’m back into the points; it’s a nice reward for the hard work we did over the weekend. Today, my start was okay; I struggled a bit to get past Abraham and lost time that could have allowed me to get a better result, but anyway we’re pretty happy with the way this GP went. Also I was able to beat my qualifying time during the race by three tenths of a second.” Eugene Laverty, LCR Honda: 15th.”I took my brain out on the final lap and Vazquez braked early, the final corner really isn’t a normal place to overtake but I got him. I pushed 100% although the handling was difficult in tight corners but good in the fast curves. I was aiming to score points and I’m happy with this result.” Andrea Dovizioso, Kopron Scot Honda: dnf – technical problem. “The corner before the bike stopped I felt the engine hesitate then it stopped going into the next corner. We don’t know what it was the mechanics are checking it now. I feel really sorry for the team myself and for my fans. We made everything point by point for race after race and we never had a problem, the team don’t deserve this. I can’t accept the this ending in my home race where I really could win or at least fight for the victory until the end. Now I am 55-points behind Lorenzo, it’s a very difficult situation.” 125cc. Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 8th. “I made a good start but I was so slow in the first five laps and many riders passed me before turn seven. I’m always like this I don’t know why. I have to sort it out its costing me too much time. Slow away then my teammate hit me and pushed me out. I caught the big group ahead of m and as the race went on I was faster and faster and passed a lot of riders. I just wish my first five laps could be as fast as my last five. I set my fastest lap of the race on the last lap. The bike was OK but I was having some chatter problems. ” Tito Rabat, Repsol Honda: 11th. “I made a poor stat today and was in the sconed group where I stayed all race. I pushed hard to get away from the others in the group and was in front of them but then made a mistake and three riders caught me. I tried to pas them all in one go at turn seven but ran wide and didn’t make up any places. The engine was not as fast today as it was in qualifying and towards the end the rear was sliding a lot and in the last few laps the front tyre also.” Mike Di Meglio, Kopron Scot Honda: 13th.”My bike was very good today and I was racing in the second group but with Espargaro and Rabat but Espargaro was a little slower than me at the tight hairpin so I tried to go round the outside but ran wide and a few riders passed me. We were all running very similar lap times so it was difficult to move forward and I had to settle for 13th – but without the mistake I would have finished in the top ten. ” Alexis Masbou, FFM Honda: 21st.”Given the circumstances, I mean the small number of flying laps I had during qualifying practice owing to a technical failure, my poor grid position and Federico Sandi¹s crash in front of me in the opening lap, the end result could have been much worse. I did some good consistent laps on my own, at the same pace as the guys riding between eighth and twelfth. The Dunlop tyres lasted well and I¹m rather satisfied with the bike, especially chassis-wise. The engine was slightly down compared to some other bikes and I had to brake much later at the end of the straight line. Therefore I made a few mistakes, especially in the penultimate lap when I missed a gear downshifting I ended up in neutral and had to go straight in the grass. I’m disappointed because I had a good rhythm throughout the weekend, but the mechanical failure in practice ruined everything. I can’t wait to be in Portugal a fortnight from now for the next Grand Prix. The small Estoril racetrack should suit my Honda.” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 27th “I got a brilliant start from 31st on the grid and made up at least seven places the Sandi crashed Tamburini and me were right behind him and had to brake hard to miss him and we lost the group we were in. The group we wee racing with were running very inconsistent lap times but it was difficult to break away from them. Pity because my bike was really good today.” Danny Webb, Molenaar Honda: 30th.”I didn’t ride well in the first few laps and I need to get my brain sorted out. But today I felt much more at home on this track than in practice and settled down and ran consistent low 1m 46-second lap times. We changed the carburation to slightly leaner before the race but it was not better than in qualifying. In the race I was battling with Hugo (Van den Berg) but we slowed each other up by passing and repassing each other. I tried really hard at the end and beat him” More, from a press release issued by Michelin: TOP MICHELIN MEN OUT OF LUCK AT MISANO Michelin had a luckless race at Misano this afternoon ? its three fastest qualifiers all suffering problems through no fault of their own. It was left to Carlos Checa (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) to finish top Michelin man, the Spaniard enjoying a spirited ride to sixth place, equaling his best result of the year. Michelin had started the day confident of a strong race after Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) and Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) had qualified on the front row, with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) also looking good on row two. But Pedrosa got knocked down at only the second turn, Hayden forced to take avoiding action through the gravel trap and rejoining the race in last position. Rossi was going well in the top four until he was forced out of the event with suspected mechanical problems. “We are upset about what happened in the first few laps of the race ? Dani and Nicky at the second corner, then Valentino also had problems a few laps later,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “That kind of thing can happen in racing but it was a real disappointment for us because we were confident that these guys could go fast. Of course, we still have to improve, we still have some work to do, but the range of tires we brought here, which was partly based on what we learned at Brno last month, was good in terms of how we used the range of tires from yesterday’s morning session to the afternoon session. But maybe the biggest disappointment of today was the fact that we don’t have any feedback or information about race-distance performance from Valentino or Dani. It is very important to get race distance on the tires, which can sometimes be difficult during the rest of the weekend, especially with the kind of bad weather we had here on Friday. Carlos rode a good race, he felt quite confident but he also wanted some more potential from the tires through left-handers.” Checa had a busy race, battling with several other riders before making sure of sixth place. “I’m very satisfied with this result, following the engine updates we’ve had from Honda and the work we’ve done on chassis and tires,” he said. “The direction we took with Michelin during the Brno tests last month was the right direction but we still have more development work to do.”