FIM MotoGP World Championship Jerez, Spain March 26, 2006 Race Results: 1. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 27 laps, 45:57.733 2. Dani PEDROSA, Honda, -4.375 seconds 3. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, -9.996 seconds 4. Toni ELIAS, Honda, -10.135 seconds 5. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, -19.547 seconds 6. Casey STONER, Honda, -21.237 seconds 7. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, -21.372 seconds 8. Kenny Lee ROBERTS, Roberts/Honda, -32.414 seconds 9. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, -32.659 seconds 10. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, -35.983 seconds 11. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, -37.930 seconds 12. Chris VERMEULEN, Suzuki, -39.514 seconds 13. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, -42.829 seconds 14. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, -65.766 seconds, crash 15. Alex HOFMANN, Ducati, -83.300 seconds 16. James ELLISON, Yamaha, -1 lap 17. Jose Luis CARDOSO, Ducati, -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 18. Randy DE PUNIET, Kawasaki, -21 laps, DNF, mechanical 19. Sete GIBERNAU, Ducati, -25 laps, DNF, mechanical 2006 MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 1 of 17 rounds): 1. CAPIROSSI, 25 points 2. PEDROSA, 20 points 3. HAYDEN, 16 points 4. ELIAS, 13 points 5. MELANDRI, 11 points 6. STONER, 10 points 7. NAKANO, 9 points 8. ROBERTS, 8 points 9. HOPKINS, 7 points 10. TAMADA, 6 points 11. EDWARDS, 5 points 12. VERMEULEN, 4 points 13. CHECA, 3 points 14. ROSSI, 2 points 15. HOFMANN, 1 points More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM WINS THRILLING SEASON-OPENER Loris Capirossi won today’s season-opening Spanish GP in brilliant style to put the Ducati Marlboro Team at the top of the MotoGP points table for the first time in history. But it was a day of mixed emotions for the team with Sete Gibernau withdrawing due to a gear sensor problem which affected his bike’s electronics. Capirossi and Gibernau had qualified first and second fastest, with Gibernau quickest in this morning’s warm-up session, so the team had high hopes of a double podium result. Capirossi led the race from start to finish to beat runner-up Dani Pedrosa by 4.375 seconds and completed a perfect weekend: pole position, race win and fastest lap. Today’s victory was the Italian’s fourth MotoGP success for the Ducati Marlboro Team, his sixth premier class triumph and his 26th career win. FEDERICO MINOLI, Ducati CEO and president “Winning today’s race is the perfect end to a hard winter’s work. Everyone who believes in this project has worked so hard and today all that work paid off. Loris rode like a lion, he gave us an amazing race. It’s a pity for Sete, he’s shown that he’s strong and that he’s fast and I’m sure we could have had both bikes on the podium today, but he still has 16 races ahead of him.” LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager “It’s a day of mixed emotions for us – Ducati deserved a double podium today. I’m so happy for Loris, he did a great job and rode a wonderful race, he had the situation under control. On the other hand, I’m really sorry for what happened to Sete. My thanks to our technical partners Bridgestone and Shell Advance who have done so much in contributing to this victory.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, winner “This is my fourth year with the Ducati Marlboro Team and this is the best start we’ve had to a season, today’s win was just the best. The team has done a great job all winter, especially at the tests we did here two weeks ago. After that we knew we had a good opportunity to win and after practice and qualifying we were quite confident. “My target today was to not try too hard in the early laps, but I got away in first place, so I tried to make a gap on the others. First it was (Nicky) Hayden behind me, then Pedrosa came at me. I decided to make a good rhythm that wouldn’t stress the tyres too much, then during the last six or seven laps I pushed again and was able to take the advantage once more. “I have to say thanks to everyone at Ducati who worked so hard for this and also to Bridgestone who have made big improvements over the winter. This is our second season with Bridgestone and our collaboration is working so well. I will try to repeat today’s result as often as possible but it won’t be easy!” SETE GIBERNAU, DNF “I’ve no words really, we’ve all been working so hard over the last few months but we’re leaving the first race with no result. It’s a real pity, everything had been going so well. My congratulations to Loris and Bridgestone for a fantastic win, now we look forward to the next race in Qatar in two weeks time.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: A SOLID START TO THE SEASON FOR KAWASAKI’S NAKANO Shinya Nakano finished today’s Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez in a solid seventh place, but the Kawasaki rider declared himself disappointed that he hadn’t been able to better capitalise on his front row starting position. Nakano was quick away from the line, but was forced to back off as Toni Elias missed his braking marker for the first turn and collided with Valentino Rossi right in front of the Kawasaki ace. Nakano tried to fight back immediately, but was thwarted by the difficult track conditions. While track and weather conditions were perfect for qualifying yesterday, the situation was different today for the race. Strong, gusting winds slowed Nakano through some of the faster turns, while problems when hard on the brakes forced the 28-year-old Japanese rider to follow first Marco Melandri and then Casey Stoner, unable to overtake on the brakes into the turns. After closing onto the back wheel of Stoner’s Honda out of the final turn, Nakano lost out on the drag race to the line by the narrowest of margins, as he was forced to settle for seventh place. For Nakano’s Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, his MotoGP race debut was a short one. The 25-year-old Frenchman was forced to pull out after just eight laps as a result of an injury he sustained earlier in the day. De Puniet was highsided from his Ninja ZX-RR during morning warm-up, leaving him with a severely bruised and swollen right hand. Despite pain killing injections prior to the start of the race, de Puniet was in considerable pain from the start. The injury to his hand also stopped the Kawasaki rider from applying full pressure to the front brake and, after running straight off the track at more than 240 km/h as a result, de Puniet made the decision that to continue would be dangerous. De Puniet will return to France for treatment on the injury tomorrow, and is confident of being back to full fitness for the Qatar Grand Prix in two weeks time. Shinya Nakano: 7th “After such a good qualifying session I’m disappointed that I didn’t finish higher today. I got a reasonable start, but then Toni Elias collided with Valentino Rossi right in front of me, forcing me to back off. I tried to come back straight away, but conditions on track were very different compared to yesterday. There seemed to be less grip available and that caused me a few problems, as did the strong wind through some of the turns. I didn’t feel so comfortable when hard on the brakes today either, which meant I had to brake earlier than normal for some of the faster corners. So, while I could quite easily follow Marco Melandri and Casey Stoner, it wasn’t possible to pass them on the brakes. Passing on the straights wasn’t an option either, as we are still a little bit down on outright top speed compared to some of the others. As I said, I’m disappointed with the result, but glad to have at least scored world championship points in the first race of the season.” Randy de Puniet: DNF “I was struggling out there with my injured hand; I just didn’t have the power to brake as hard as I needed to. And then, eight laps in, I lost the front at the fast right-hander at the end of the lap and ran straight off at 240 km/h. I knew then that it wasn’t safe to continue and so I pulled into the pits. I’m bitterly disappointed not to finish in my first MotoGP race through injury, but I hope to be fully fit again by the time we get to Qatar for round two.” Harald Eckl: Team Principal “Shinya did a good job, in what was a tough race for him. Conditions have definitely changed from yesterday, which meant he started the race with a less than perfect set-up, but he overcame the problems to score a solid finish in the first race of the season. You could see he was unable to overtake on the brakes, but it was also obvious that we need to find some more power from the engine, so that he at least has the option to overtake out of the slipstream on the straights. I’m sure Randy was hoping for a better MotoGP debut, but the two crashes he had in qualifying yesterday put him on the back foot, and then he crashed and injured himself again this morning. I have every confidence in Randy as a rider; he has shown he has the speed, but now he needs to match this with consistency. He’s a strong character, so I’m sure he’ll bounce back ready for the next race in Qatar.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Jerez March 26th, 2006 Spanish Grand Prix Bridgestone start in style with dominant win for Capirossi Bridgestone made the perfect start to the 2006 MotoGP world championship this afternoon with Italian rider Loris Capirossi completing a superb start-to-finish victory in the Spanish GP. Capirossi’s faultless display in the 27-lap season opener also chalked up another milestone for Bridgestone on an already historic weekend for the Japanese tyre manufacturer. Having completed its first clean sweep of the front row of a MotoGP grid in qualifying yesterday, Capirossi’s sixth premier class victory was the first for Bridgestone on European soil with previous victories coming in the Far East and South America. Capirossi could not have given Bridgestone a better opening to the 2006 campaign after he completed the pole position, race victory and fastest lap hat-trick. In front of a passionate sell-out home crowd of 131,000, Capirossi made a typical flying start to lead into the first corner, where world champion Valentino Rossi crashed in an incident further down the field. It was a lead that the 32-year Marlboro Ducati rider would never relinquish, as he set off at a blistering pace on Bridgestone’s latest generation race tyres to lead by over two seconds after just four laps. Capirossi kept his composure despite coming under intense pressure from home favourite Dani Pedrosa shortly after the halfway stage of the race. By lap 17, Capirossi’s lead was cut to just 0.2s, but with a major shock on the cards, Capirossi comfortably edged away from Pedrosa using the much-improved endurance of the new Bridgestone race tyres over the final six laps. Today’s race proved a disappointing affair for Capirossi’s Ducati team-mate Sete Gibernau. Boosted by qualifying on the front row of the grid, his Bridgestone debut ended when he retired after just three laps having held third place. Next best Bridgestone rider was Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano, who ended up seventh after a terrific fight with MotoGP rookie Casey Stoner. Another plus for Bridgestone on the opening day of the season was Suzuki’s John Hopkins setting the fourth best time in the race, just 0.3s outside of Capirossi’s outright quickest lap. Bridgestone engineers now head to the second round of the championship in Qatar next month to battle with the unique conditions provided by the Losail International Circuit. Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team 1st “For the first race of the season it is amazing for us. This is the best start to a season we have made. We made a great job during the IRTA test here earlier this month and tried the tyres in a long run and we thought then we had a good opportunity to do well in this race. We made a great job yesterday to get the pole position with a fantastic lap time and today when I started my target was to take it easy at the beginning. But I found myself in the lead and tried to do some really good laps and opened up a bit of an advantage. I could see Dani coming behind me and I’m impressed with him because he was riding really well in his first MotoGP. I tried to take it a little bit easy and Dani got close to me, but for the last six laps I pushed again to try and take an advantage. I could see I was gaining and won the race. I have to say a big thanks to Bridgestone because they have done a fantastic job. We worked hard all winter and now this is our second season together the partnership is now starting to work really well. We go to Qatar full of optimism and confidence now that we can maintain a serious challenge for the world championship this year.” Hiroshi Yamada Motorcycle Racing Manager Bridgestone Corporation “Today finished off a perfect weekend for us and I am very happy. It was a fantastic day and is very satisfying to know that we set pole position, won the race and also had the fastest lap. I don’t know what else we can do. I would like to thank all of the Bridgestone staff for the hard work and effort they have put in during the last winter. Today’s performance from Loris proves that we have taken the correct direction with development of the tyres from 2005. I am very happy for Loris because he was very strong today and rode a good race. I am very sorry for Sete though. He also had a good chance but we know that he will be back. What makes today even more special is the win is our first in Europe, which is another landmark we have achieved this weekend in Jerez. Now we can look forward to Qatar with extra optimism and confidence after such a great start to the season.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: YAMAHA RIDERS UNABLE TO SHAKE OFF JEREZ CURSE An eventful weekend at Jerez ended in disappointing fashion today as both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards got caught in a first corner melee that ended their hopes of glory in the opening round of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship. The Camel Yamaha Team pair made good starts from ninth and tenth on the grid respectively but a collision between Rossi and Toni ElÃas (Honda) on the inside of turn one saw the Italian knocked from his YZR-M1 and sent Edwards wide into the gravel trap. Despite some damage to his bike, Rossi showed the character of a true World Champion as he returned to the track, battling his way back into the field and picking off several riders to secure two championship points in fourteenth place. Edwards, meanwhile, fought from second last to eleventh by the end of the 27-lap encounter. Victory went to pole setter Loris Capirossi (Ducati) in a race time of 45’57.733, but he was pushed hard by second-placed Dani Pedrosa (Honda) on his debut in the MotoGP class. Nicky Hayden (Honda) completed the podium. COLIN EDWARDS (11th; + 37.930) “I probably made the best race start of my whole life, Valentino got away well too and we went together into the first bend. Elias came up on the inside and I actually saw everything happen but to be honest I thought Vale would be able to stay on the bike so I kept my corner speed and tried to just run it around the outside. Unfortunately he went down and I had nowhere to go but the gravel. It really capped the weekend off for us but the truth is that we weren’t fast enough to challenge today. This track has been a real pain for us and I can’t wait to get away. We’ve got a test tomorrow but I’ll be happy when we get to Qatar, where the bike worked really well in testing.” VALENTINO ROSSI (14th; + 1’05.766) “We knew this was going to be a difficult race but maybe not so difficult! I saw Toni come up on the inside and he hit me; this is racing and these things happen. I have known Toni for many years and he is a good rider. He apologised to me after the race so I told him not to worry only to remember to brake next time and if it is too late then to hit another bike instead of me! Anyway I came back on the track and had a nice battle with Alex Hofmann. I am disappointed because I wanted to win the first race of the season but there is nothing we can do now. Only work hard to make sure we don’t have these problems again and look forward to the next race in Qatar.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “It seems that everything that could go wrong did go wrong for us this weekend. On Friday morning when we needed the time to test it rained and things have gone continually against us since then. We obviously still have a lot of work to do and for some reason our bike clearly doesn’t work at this circuit so we are keen to find out why, if we can, in tomorrow’s test. The engineers have a lot of data and everyone is working at 100% to find a solution. We were fast at Sepang, Qatar and Catalunya so there is no need to panic and we can look forward to the next race. On a positive note I thought both riders showed character to fight back after the first corner incident and hopefully they will have better luck next time.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Capirossi squeezes out Pedrosa in glorious MotoGP opener Gran Premio betandwin.com de España – Sunday 26th March motogp The opening race of the 2006 MotoGP season, the Gran Premio betandwin.com de España took place today under clear blue skies and in front of 131,162 fans who packed the banked grandstands. In a dramatic start to the season, Ducati’s Loris Capirossi led the race from start to finish, but needed to use all of his experience to hold off young local rookie Dani Pedrosa. Beside the incredible story at the front of the race, the action at the first corner was the scene of another of the day’s major talking points. As several riders battled for scarce space on the track, reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi was knocked to the ground, sliding along the tarmac and into the gravel on turn one. His Yamaha was left stricken on the side of the track but he managed to pick it up, and despite being 40 seconds behind the pack, finished the race in 14th. Up front, the Ducati riders held their top two places from the front row of the grid, but Sete Gibernau was to suffer misfortune just two laps later, almost coming into contact with third placed Nicky Hayden after a mechanical problem. The Spaniard was disconsolate as he was forced to return to the pits, whilst his teammate Capirossi used his pole position to maximum advantage by opening up a three-second gap. Behind him, rookie Dani Pedrosa looked to be making a move for the lead. In the early stages he had put the pressure on American team-mate Nicky Hayden, aware that Capirossi was making a break. The young Spaniard pulled a daring manoeuvre early on and then set about making up ground on the leader. Towards the middle of the race the debutant was within sniffing distance of Capirossi, but after the Italian resisted his brief attack, Pedrosa settled for an incredible second place in his first ever MotoGP race. Hayden continued his streak of five podium finishes, although third place was by his own admission distant. The Honda riders came back from a relatively disappointing test in Jerez two weeks ago to claim five of the top six places. Spaniard Toni Elias was one of those Hondas, and gave an impressive performance in his first race on the RC211V. He overtook fellow Honda Gresini rider Marco Melandri to the delight of the masses of fans at Nieto corner, and subsequently closed in on Hayden’s third position in the final laps. He eventually had to settle for fourth by just 0.139 seconds, after having proved his value to his new team, whilst rookie Casey Stoner showed no ill-effects of his recent shoulder operation as he finished in sixth behind Melandri, holding off Shinya Nakano for the entire race. Nakano, Kenny Roberts Jr, John Hopkins and Makoto Tamada completed the top ten, with Randy de Puniet and Jose Luis Cardoso the only other riders to join Gibernau on the list of retirees. 250cc Jorge Lorenzo took victory with an awesome display at the Jerez circuit, giving the home crowd two winners out of the first two races of the day. With Alex de Angelis for company at the halfway stage of the race, Lorenzo pulled away from the San Marino rider, and opening up a lead which took him to the flag. De Angelis rode a solid race into second, whilst a late charge by Yuki Takahashi kept the interest up for third place. Andrea Dovizioso and Hector Barbera had battled for the entire race for third spot, but when the Japanese rider arrived to the chasing group he was lapping a second quicker. A fiery last lap saw Dovizioso and Barbera bashing fairings, with Takahashi also involved in the battle. In the end Barbera was forced wide and a defensive last corner manoeuvre saw Dovizioso hang on to the final podium spot from Takahashi. Barbera and Aoyama completed the top six, leading Locatelli, Cardenas, Guintoli and Vincent. 125cc Alvaro Bautista opened his 125cc account for both season and career at today’s 125cc race. The Spanish youngster gave the home crowd something to cheer about early on with an impressive performance, finishing well ahead of Lukas Pesek and Mattia Pasini, who took second and third. Pesek had the best start, whilst Pasini dropped to sixth from pole. However Bautista moved himself to the front on lap 2, and after exchanging places with Pesek, turned on the gas as he broke away and never looked back. Pesek managed the gap back to the chasing group to hold on to second, whilst Pasini held off the challenges from Julian Simon and Mika Kallio to seal third. Quotes: 1st, Loris Capirossi: “I got away well, and didn’t see the incidents behind me at turn one. I pushed hard and tried to open up a gap, but then I was surprised to see Nicky and then Dani coming up close behind me. I tried to extend the gap once again and I think the fact that we prepared really well in the test here showed through. We have the perfect bike and the perfect tyre for the job and I hope it is the start of many more victories for us this year.” 2nd, Dani Pedrosa: “It was a fantastic race for us today. I think I was lucky not to get involved in the first crash, and then seeing Gibernau go off let me make up the places. I had to regain positions after a bad start, but then I had a few problems with the front tyre. I thought maybe I could catch Loris, but then I decided to give up the chase and settle for second place. Anyway, it’s the first race, the team and Michelin have done really well and there are still 16 races to go. I think we will get better. I’m really happy with this second place. 3rd, Nicky Hayden: “I tried to keep up during the early part of the race, but I knew I didn’t quite have the pace. We were just missing that last little bit of speed today. However, two weeks ago I didn’t have a chance in tests here, and we’ve made a lot of progress since then. Its a distant third but I’ll take it and run with it. It’s just the first of sixteen races, so let’s see where we go from here. The fans here in Jerez are crazy, I’ve really enjoyed riding in front of them. 1st, Jorge Lorenzo: “I have never felt like I do today, this is the best day of my life so far. Winning my first 250 race in front of my home fans is very special, and it wasn’t an easy race. I thought after the first few laps that things were going to be difficult, but in the second half I picked up a good rhythm and it carried me to the line. I’m so happy, this is the best way to start the new season with a new bike.” 1st, Alvaro Bautista: “It’s always a great feeling to win a race, but to win your first Grand Prix here, at Jerez, in front of all the Spanish fans, and after having changed teams during winter, the feeling is incredible. I really wasn’t expecting this today, but I want to thank my team for getting my bike right, and also the fans for their fantastic support during the whole weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Top 10 finish for Hopkins at Jerez Rizla Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins raced to a ninth place finish at today’s Gran Premio betandwin.com De Espana at Jerez in Spain. The aggressive Anglo-American racer would almost certainly have finished in a much higher position but two unlucky incidents hampered his quest for a top five finish. Hopkins had a fantastic start to the race and as the field roared into the first corner World champion Valentino Rossi was clipped by another rider, the resulting crash causing Hopkins to run off-line and lose valuable time as he narrowly avoided hitting Rossi. Hopkins fought his way back through the field and up to eighth place but was then hit by an attack of arm-pump and lost out on a higher position as he fought against the energy sapping pain. Chris Vermeulen was also held up by the first corner collision and only just avoided the incident. This relegated him down to 15th, but the rookie Australian showed that he is a true racer as he battled his way towards a top 10 place before finally finishing in 12th position and scoring good points on his Rizla Suzuki MotoGP debut. Today’s race was held in windy but sunny conditions with temperatures reaching a pleasant 22°c. It was watched by 131,162 fanatical Spanish fans. Loris Capirossi on the Bridgestone shod Ducati led the race from start to finish to win the first Grand Prix of the season. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now travel to Losail in Qatar for the second round of the MotoGP World Championship on Saturday 8th April. John Hopkins: “I wouldn’t say I’m exactly satisfied with my race. I got off to an unbelievable start and then got caught up in the mess on the first corner I came within inches of running Rossi over but fortunately I missed him. I lost a lot of positions and had to ride a bit like a maniac to cut through the field. I made my way through and I was up with the top six when I started to get arm pump in my right arm. I’ve never had it before on a MotoGP bike and I don’t know where it came from. It ruined my race really because I am confident I could have got past the two riders in front of me – but that’s racing! We have just got to move on to the next race at Qatar and take the best bits from this weekend forward with us.” Chris Vermeulen: “I got a bad start and then got baulked by the crash. So I had to try and get through the field to get a better place. I think some of today may be a bit of inexperience and we really need to spend more time with the race tyres and set up. I have now got some points from the first round with a 12th place which is not too bad really and as long as we can keep improving I’ll be happy.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “I felt before the race that if we could get one bike in the top 10 and the other in the points that it would be a good result at this circuit. The result itself is not good enough but we have to take some positive pointers from this weekend in terms of comparison to where we were 12 months ago at the same track. There are still some issues to resolve and Suzuki is focussed really hard on using this start point as a positive and refining the new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to a point whereby we can take the next step. “John is bitterly disappointed because he felt that a top six finish was well within his grasp and Chris is also frustrated, but neither of them should be as I believe that both riders and their crews got the full potential out of the package available to them this weekend. I feel that we can certainly look forward to more positive things in the future.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: TONI ELIAS JUST MISSES THE PODIUM IN JEREZ Spectacular fight-back in front of an adoring crowd The 2006 MotoGP World Championship kicked off on Sunday in Jerez, and in some style. In front of a captivated Spanish crowd, the MotoGP riders put on a spectacular show in the first round of the season (242.000 spectators in three days). Spanish FORTUNA HONDA rider Toni Elias, who produced a superb ride, once again demonstrated his undoubted potential at this level. After a very close, bunched start, Elias came together with Valentino Rossi after breaking sharply and sent the reigning World Champion crashing to the floor. Rossi got back up, but was some way behind the field after his fall, while Elias too lost a lot of places after the collision. It was then that the young Spaniard started his charge through the field, showing great skill and determination to eventually take fourth spot. His team-mate Marco Melandri finished one place further back in fifth and declared himself satisfied after putting in a lot of hard work over the course of the weekend. After lapping with the leading riders at the beginning of the race, the Italian rode a consistent race and settled for fifth place and some very important championship points. The championship will now head towards Qatar for the next round in two weeks’ time. TONI ELIAS 4th “It was a really tough race, but one of the best of my life. I feel sorry for Valentino, but it was a really close start and we all reached the end of the straight bunched together. I was right next to Shinya Nakano and when I tried to avoid him I clipped Valentino. I went to apologise to him after the race although these things do happen in racing. After that I managed to find a good rhythm and was able to fight back. It was a real shame that after all that effort I could not get on to the podium, but I’m still really happy. I think the spectators really enjoyed it, but I want to thank them for being the best fans in the world.” MARCO MELANDRI 5th “It was a very difficult race, but at least we have taken some very important points. The changes we made to the bike during the warm-up did not work as well as hoped s we took a bit of a backwards step. I made a good start but did not want to push too hard and risk the points I had. I am still not very comfortable with the front end of the bike so we’ll have to work on that. I am confident and HRC are giving us lots of support, the test sessions tomorrow and the day after will help us improve my feeling with the bike.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: DANI DEFIES DOUBTERS WITH STORMING PODIUM DEBUT The remarkable rise of ‘rookie’ Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) continued today in Andalucia in front of a crowd of 131,000 when the 20-year-old finished second to Loris Capiorossi (Ducati) his first competitive ride on a 990cc machine. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) was third. Honda’s policy of backing youth paid off handsomely in this the first of 17 track showdowns. There were five Honda riders among the top six finishers: Pedrosa second, then Hayden, Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) in fourth, Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) fifth and Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) sixth. And both Pedrosa and Stoner are MotoGP rookies. Poleman Capirossi powered up the short hill into turn one from the lights and led the field into turn two all but Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) who tumbled from his machine while caught in mid-pack. The reigning World Champion managed to restart to finish 14th. As the dust settled at turn one, the early race order was Capirossi, Melandri, Sete Gibernau (Ducati), Hayden, Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki), Stoner and then Dani. But Gibernau failed to complete lap two and dropped out of the race. Capirossi looked comfortable and began to stretch out a lead over his pursuers. Melandri found it increasingly hard to match the Italian’s pace and by lap three Hayden had overhauled Melandri for second and had began working on Capirossi. But he could make no impression on the race leader. It was his team-mate Pedrosa who would take up the fight. Dani had now passed Stoner for third and Hayden would soon be his next victim as he remorselessly hunted down the leader. By lap seven of this 27-lap encounter around the undulating 4.423km of Jerez, Dani was ahead of Hayden and now faced a 2.25 second gap to Capirossi. By lap nine this was down to just 1.4 seconds. By mid-race distance it was just 0.8 seconds. But Dani couldn’t quite get on terms with the rapid Capirossi and even though the gap was down to 0.55 seconds as the closing stages of the race loomed, Capirossi had enough in hand to open it out again 1.23 seconds by lap 25. At the flag he won by 4.375 seconds. At one stage it looked as if Dani might be shadowing the leader to pounce on the final lap as he has done so successfully in the smaller classes. But this time he was left to collect a second place on his debut. His rivals will take keen notice of this early success. Fourth-placed Elias rode a determined race. He was mixed up in the Rossi melée on lap one, but managed to claw his way back through the field and only just missed out on third place as he hounded Hayden across the line. But the day belonged to debutant Dani, who said, “To start like this is amazing for me! I want to thank my team because they have worked really hard all this weekend and during the winter. And also a big thank you to Michelin because they gave us really good tyres. The race was difficult for me because at the end I was really tired and the tyre was spinning and sliding, so I think this result is very good.” His team-mate Hayden said, “It wasn’t pretty with a few guys dropping out, but nonetheless we’ll take the 16 points and the podium. Last year I crashed out so it’s nice to get off and running with some momentum. We were testing here two weeks ago and at that point we didn’t have a chance. But we’ve made a big step, so thanks to the team and Honda and all my guys who worked really hard this winter.” “It was a really tough race,” said Elias. “But one of the best of my life. I feel sorry for Valentino, but it was a really close start and we all reached the end of the straight bunched together. I was right next to Shinya Nakano and when I tried to avoid him I clipped Valentino. I went to apologise to him after the race. After that I managed to find a good rhythm and was able to fight back. I want to thank the fans for being the best in the world.” Melandri said, “It was a very difficult race, but at least we have taken some very important points. The changes we made to the bike during the warm-up did not work as well as we hoped and we took a bit of a backwards step. I made a good start but did not want to push too hard and risk the points. I am still not very comfortable with the front end of the bike so we’ll have to work on that.” Rookie Stoner, in sixth, said, “I honestly didn’t expect that after missing nine days of testing, but thanks to the LCR team for giving me a good bike to be able to do it. I got a good start and when the Rossi crash held people up I got away with the leaders and held on.” “I knew a top ten was possible,” said Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V), who finished eighth. “When I saw Rossi go down I knew this would be a tough race. The front was moving every time I pushed but we know what we’ve got to do to improve the bike and we’ll get better than this.” Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) finished tenth and said, “I hope the situation improves. Tomorrow we will remain here testing and the team has many solutions to try. The main problem occurs in the first phase of the corner and this slows me down considerably. I don’t want to be struggling for the 10th and the race results of the other Honda bikes shows we must be able to exploit the potential we have.” Capirossi thus heads the points table from Pedrosa as the MotoGP paddock prepares to head to Qatar for the next race on April 8. Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) won his first 250cc Grand Prix from Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) with Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) stealing third place in a stirring three-way fight with his team-mate Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) and Hector Barbera (Aprilia). Lorenzo made the early running in a lead group that contained the first five finishers. The only man missing at the end of 26-laps was rapid rookie Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) who crashed out on lap two while running with the fast men at the front. Barbera made several attempts to deprive his team-mate Lorenzo of the lead until he managed a pass on lap six. Dovi meantime was holding third while a dejected Sebastian Porto (Repsol Honda RS250RW), who had struggled with here all weekend, retired to the pits while way down the field. Lorenzo had now recovered the lead from his team-mate and was joined by de Angelis as they gradually pulled clear of the chasing group of Dovi, Barbera and Takahashi. But third was where was the action was and as the closing laps counted down the struggle intensified. Takahashi made some brave, clean moves around the outside of Barbera while Dovi tried to hold them both at bay and going into the stadium section for the final time, it was Dovi who capitalised best on the cut-throat action to broach the line in third. Martin Cardenas (Würth Honda RS250RW) finished inside the top ten in eighth. “We had problems all week with the chassis,” said Dovizioso. “But third today is good and it makes all the hard work worthwhile. We’ve still got to make sure we can keep making improvements to make sure we are right on the pace in Qatar.” Takahashi said, “I really enjoyed today. The bike was so good I didn’t realise that my race rhythm was so high. Then the tyres started moving around a bit and I had to slow down slightly. Then I could settle down and push again.” Spanish hope Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) gave the crowd the result they wanted in the 125cc race with his maiden win at home. Lukas Pesek (Derbi) was second and Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) third. Reigning World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) crashed out after 11 laps. Bautista had the race under control after pulling out a lead over early pace-setter Pesek. He had a three second advantage over his Czech pursuer at the flag. But the action for third place was fraught throughout this 23-lap race Pasini fully deserving his podium finish. First Honda rider home was Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) in eighth who said, “I was physically not at one hundred percent and couldn’t breathe properly. I also felt weak. And I had problems with the quickshift again. For ten laps it was fine and then it wasn’t. So I just tried to hang onto my position.” Luthi said, “This has been a bad weekend from start to finish. I needed four pain-killing injections in my arm and I had to wear a brace on my shoulder too. But the engine bogged on the line and I was lying 23rd on the first lap. Then I caught up some places but then hit a bump and crashed all my fault.” Fifteen-year-old rookie Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) finished 17th, one place behind Sandro Cortese (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R), and was the third highest Honda finisher. He said, “The bike was hard to steer on a full fuel load, but I learned a lot today.” HONDA TEAM QUOTES: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda, 2nd: “To start like this is amazing for me! I want to thank my team because they have worked really hard all this weekend and during the winter. And also a big thank you to Michelin because they gave us really good tyres. The race was difficult for me because at the end I was really tired and the tyre was spinning and sliding, so I think this result is very good. I didn’t get a good start and I had to pass many riders, which took a long time. Loris was already gone, so I had to catch him up and when I did I was already tired. I wasn’t really dreaming of the race win because I knew he was saving his tyres. He pushed hard at the end of the race and my front tyre was sliding a little bit. I was not too confident, so I had to give up because I prefered to finish the race. I’m very happy with the result today.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda, 3rd: “It wasn’t pretty with a few guys dropping out, but nonetheless we’ll take the 16 points and the podium. Last year I crashed out so it’s nice to get off and running with some momentum. We were testing here two weeks ago and at that point we didn’t have a chance. But we’ve made a big step, so thanks to the team and Honda and all my guys who worked really hard this winter. And thanks to Repsol and Michelin too because my tyres were actually really good today. We’ll be back testing here in the morning and we’ve still got a lot of work to do to improve. I was there with the leaders right at the beginning of the race but I didn’t quite have the pace. In turn one I was running a little wide and I’ve got to get some more traction and get the bike to turn better. It’s early man – it’s only round one and we’ll try and get stronger.” Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda, 4th: It was a really tough race, but one of the best of my life. I feel sorry for Valentino, but it was a really close start and we all reached the end of the straight bunched together. I was right next to Shinya Nakano and when I tried to avoid him I clipped Valentino. I went to apologise to him after the race although these things do happen in racing. After that I managed to find a good rhythm and was able to fight back. It was a real shame that after all that effort I could not get on to the podium, but I’m still really happy. I think the spectators really enjoyed it, but I want to thank them for being the best fans in the world.” Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda, 5th: “It was a very difficult race, but at least we have taken some very important points. The changes we made to the bike during the warm-up did not work as well as hoped s we took a bit of a backwards step. I made a good start but did not want to push too hard and risk the points I had. I am still not very comfortable with the front end of the bike so we’ll have to work on that. I am confident and HRC are giving us lots of support, the test sessions tomorrow and the day after will help us improve my feeling with the bike.” Casey Stoner, LCR Honda, 6th: “I honestly didn’t expect this after missing nine days of testing so I’m very happy with this result and the support from the LCR team, they have done a great job this weekend. I made a great start and with the mix up at turn one with Rossi crashing I was able get away with the leading group. We had changed the set-up with different front forks after the problems in qualifying and the bike was much better in the race, but still not perfect, I was running wide in some corners. I want to congratulate Dani Pedrosa for his great ride into second place, he did a great job today. Physically, my shoulder was no problem although my first MotoGP race was hard work.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 8th. “You know how it is you always want more. I knew a top ten was possible. I saw Valentino go down I knew it would be a strong race pace I tried to stay consistent with grip but every time I pushed the front started sliding. We will improve ride ability we know what we have to do to the bike to get better. We brought a lot of stuff here to try and improve but didn’t really get the chance. I just want to thank my Dad’s team, Honda, Michelin and everybody who has helped us get where we are so far. I wouldn’t be where I am today without those guys.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minola Honda, 10th: “I had a good start from the sixth row. I knew it would have been very hard to recuperate from there. I hoped to get a good position, even if in this moment I am not really able to drive as I would. I hope the situation will quickly improve; tomorrow we will remain here testing just for this. The KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team technicians have prepared many solutions to be tested, but up to now, the situation has never radically changed. The main problem occurs in the first phase of the corner covering: I need to wait more than I would to set the ideal line and this slows me down considerably.I’m not here struggling for the tenth position and the race result of the other Honda bikes shows that we must be able to exploit the potentials we have at the most.” 250cc. Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 3rd. “I knew I could do well today and for this reason I’m not really surprised about the third place. Of course, we had some problems during the winter test and the past two days, but this is also because I don’t really like this track. In the morning’s warm up we have taken off the rear seat pad and things went much better. Actually, it is a big adjustment as it changes the position on the bike and so the set-up. We hadn’t got the time to adjust the suspension, but during the race the bike was better compare to yesterday. In the last lap, I knew Barbera would have tried to overtake Yuki and when they both went wide I braked early and could exiting the curve much faster. I kept a tighter line but he closed a bit and we touched.” Yuki Takahashi, Humangest Honda: 4th. “I really enjoyed today. I started very well and at the beginning the bike was so good that I didn’t realize my rhythm was high. Unfortunately, though, the rear tyre started sliding too much and I had to slow down. Then, the situation settled a bit and so, in the final part of the race, I could push again. The last three laps have been very tough and my goal was to get on the podium. I wasn’t able to do it just for few tenths of a second, but fourth place is a positive result, even because we have gathered important information for next races.” Martin Cardenas, Wurth Honda BQR: 8th. “I am very happy with my race and the bike was very good I am very happy with the way the team worked. I got a good start and was just behind the lead group. But once they pulled a few seconds away from me no way I could keep the pace because the front tyre was sliding I saw three crashes and decided it was best to make sure I held my position the finish.” Arnaud Vincent, Molenaar Honda 10th. “During the race the conditions were much different to practice, the wind was from a different direction. I rode every lap at the maximum possible and I am really happy with the bike and the team. The engine was very good but we have some work to do on the chassis but that will come step by step.” Arturo Tizon, Wurth Honda BQR: 12th.”I thought I would do better today, I’m happy with 12th place and four points but I expected to run a better pace. The bike was perfect today all race until the tyres went off. But I’m pleased for the team who have worked hard for me all weekend.” Jordi Carchano, Stop and Go Racing: 18th. “I had a clutch problem from the warm up lap. I tried a practice start and burnt the plates. Back on the grid I had no time to check it. I stopped after one lap and the tam fixed the problem. I was many laps behind but I rode out the race because I need the experience and to learn about the bike.” Sebastian Porto, Repsol Honda: dnf retired at the pits. “There is not too much to say just that we are not able to the bike to work the way I need it to so I am comfortable. We have worked hard, the team and Honda have done all they can to help me and I am thankful for that.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: dnf crash. “I am really disappointed with today. I got a good start but in the fast left corner the front tyre slid away and I lost the front end and crashed. It was my own fault the front tyre was cold and I pushed too hard on the first lap. In Qatar we have the possibility to work hard and try to be better.” 125cc. Gabor Talmacsi, Humangest Honda: 8th. “Physically I didn’t feel at 100%, I couldn’t breath properly through my nose and I was weak. Also, as it happened during practice, a quick shift problem slowed me down. For the first ten laps everything was good, but then it started not working and so I thought to keep my eighth position. Here Aprilia machines were very competitive, but I’m sure that in Qatar it will be better for us.” Sandro Cortese, Elit Honda, 16th: “The bike was really good today and the whole race was good until the last corner. I was leading the group I was in as we came to the corner so I took a line little more to the inside to protect my position but in the middle of the corner Corsi hit me and I high-sided off the bike. I am not very happy about it but that’s racing. I’m OK apart from a badly bruised left hand.” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 17th. “I got a good start and running up to the first corner everybody went to the right and I went outside but turning in I got bumped out and lost places. That was the first time I had raced with a full fuel load and it made the bike difficult to turn. I was running 1m 51s laps and had to push hard to get into 1m 49s times when the fuel load went down. When I found my rhythm I caught the group in front of me and passed them. On the last lap I had to be aggressive to hold on. It was my first grand prix so I am quite pleased in the circumstances. I learned a lot today.” Mike di Meglio, FFM Honda: 21st. “During the warm up, this morning, I crashed after 4 laps; I entered a corner a bit too fast and then I was on the ground. The Team FFM Honda GP 125’s technical staff made a really good work to provide me a bike for the race and they had to change some important parts such as exhaust in very short time. I started quite well and I was 11th in the first laps of the race but I quickly felt that there was a problem with the rear of the bike. Each lap, I lost places and the machine became more and more difficult to ride properly. It was impossible to keep the right trajectory because the rear was very unsteady and this made me loose precious time lap by lap. I hope we will solve this problem for Qatar Grand Prix in 2 weeks.” Lorenzo Baroni, Humangest Honda: 22nd. “I made a good start, but all the time I was changing gear I had to close the throttle and this problem made me lose time. Also, my injured left foot was a bit painful today and so I couldn’t push as I would and score some points. Anyway, I’m happy to have finished the race: it has been a great emotion racing in front of all these people.” Michele Conti, Valsir Seedorf Racing: 29th. “During the test and practices of this GP I’ve learned to be more aggressive in curves like other riders. Unfortunately today I rode like in the European Championship. I’m happy to have raced: is important for me to accumulate experience. I think I can improve in few time my performances”. Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 33rd. “I a little disappointed with my race I have a lot to learn and that’s why we’re here. My start was not so bad and the bike was good or the first few laps and I passed a few riders. But I started to have trouble with the feeling from the front and could not go faster.” Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: dnf crash. “The whole weekend from A to Z was a bad. Today I raced with a brace on my injured collarbone and I had four pain killing injections. Then off the start the engine bogged down and I was only 23rd at the end of the first lap. When I caught the group ahead and got into 16th place I hit a bump and crashed. It was my fault entirely. I am not so pleased with myself.” Fabrizio Lai, Valsir Seedorf Racing: dnf retired at the pits. “I like this track and last year I was on the podium. This year I made a mistake during the official session that compromised the race, too. The shoulder and, above all, the hand ached and I had problem facing the corners. During the first lap I overtook 10 riders easily but then I lost positions due to the hand ache. I preferred to retire because I didn’t want to take the risk to crash out again. I could had been the best of Honda riders today”¦ but we have to recover the gap from Aprilia and KTM to became competitive again “. Aleix Espargaro, Wurth Honda BQR: dnf retired at the pits. “The bike was not so bad today. My start was OK but I didn’t catch so any places. Then I saw I was catching the group ahead so I pushed to catch them. When I caught them I was OK but my boot zip broke and it was flapping about. Somehow my foot came off the footrest and went under the bike and it hurt so much I had to stop. I have to go to the clinic but I don’t think it’s too serious.” Tito Rabat, Wurth Honda BQR: “It was a very important for me to finish the race today and I did. Racing with the world championship riders was good experience for me as I prepare for the Spanish Championship. I enjoyed the race and learned a lot and I have to thank everybody in the BQR Honda team who have worked so well for me this weekend.”
