Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
MotoGP Results From Catalunya:
1. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 25 laps, 44:03.255
2. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, -0.159 second
3. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, -13.923 seconds
4. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, -19.213 seconds
5. Colin EDWARDS, Honda, -21.205 seconds
6. Ruben XAUS, Ducati, -22.847 seconds
7. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, -24.014 seconds
8. Max BIAGGI, Honda, -24.104 seconds
9. Norick ABE, Yamaha, -35.676 seconds
10. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, -40.775 seconds
11. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, -40.862 seconds
12. Neil HODGSON, Ducati, -56.157 seconds
13. Shane BYRNE, Aprilia, -63.679 seconds
14. Andrew PITT, Moriwaki, -65.933 seconds
15. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, -78.199 seconds
16. Michel FABRIZIO, Harris WCM, -78.515 seconds
17. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, -1 lap, pitted
18. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, -5 laps, pitted (three times)
19. Gregorio LAVILLA, Suzuki, -1 lap, DNF, mechanical
20. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, -4 laps, DNF, crash
21. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, -7 laps, DNF, mechanical
22. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, -9 laps, DNF, mechanical
23. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, -13 laps, DNF, mechanical
24. Kurtis ROBERTS, Proton, -20 laps, DNF, mechanical
25. Alex BARROS, Honda, -21 laps, DNF, crash
26. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Aprilia, -25 laps, DNS
MotoGP World Championship Standings:
1. GIBERNAU, 106 points
2. ROSSI, 101 points
3. BIAGGI, 80 points
4. CHECA, 49 points
5. BARROS, 48 points
6. EDWARDS, 44 points
7. MELANDRI, 38 points
8. CAPIROSSI, 34 points
9. ABE, 28 points
10. HAYDEN, 27 points
11. TIE, BAYLISS/XAUS, 23 points
13. NAKANO, 20 points
14. TAMADA, 15 points
15. ROBERTS, Kenny, 12 points
16. TIE, BYRNE/HOFMANN, 10 points
18. HODGSON, 9 points
19. FABRIZIO, 7 points
20. AOKI, 6 points
21. HOPKINS, 4 points
22. McWILLIAMS, 3 points
23. PITT, 2 points
24. ROBERTS, Kurtis, 1 point
More, from a press release issued by John Hopkins’ publicist:
HOPKINS SUFFERS DNF AT CATALUNYA
BARCELONA, Spain (June 13, 2004) – Suzuki’s John Hopkins had a plan for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Catalunya, but his strategy fell to the wayside 18 laps into the 25-lap final when his Suzuki GSV-R fell down to two cylinders and he was forced to pull off the circuit and park the bike. It ended a weekend that left Hopkins with mixed feelings of both hope and frustration.
“I knew with the tire situation being what it was that I was going to have a challenge this weekend,” Hopkins said. “I got off to a decent start and found myself in a good group of riders. I established a good rhythm out there, which is something I haven’t been able to do in some time.
“As the race shook out I was tucked in behind a good battle between my teammate Kenny Jr. and Nicky Hayden. About halfway through the race I decided to pick up the pace and try to close in on those two and that’s when Nicky’s bike blew up in front of me. Then I regrouped and was going to try to get up with Junior and I heard something a little strange in the motor. On the next lap as I powered down the front straight the bike went down to two cylinders and I just pulled off, leaned the bike on the wall and walked back to the pits.”
Hopkins said enjoyed his race while the race lasted.
“The tires we ran were so hard that I was spinning it up everywhere,” he explained. “That was really pretty fun. The computer showed that the rear wheel was spinning as much as 59 kph (37 mph) faster than the front exiting nearly every turn.”
Hopkins said adrenaline took care of the pain with his broken thumb. “I’m just now getting the throbbing sensation,” he said an hour after the race.
Hopkins now turns his attention to Assen, Holland, which will run on Saturday, June 26.
“Even though this weekend ended badly I feel we came away with some positives,” Hopkins said. “Qualifying proved Suzuki is really beginning to make positive strides. I think we had a top-10 finish in the works today before the engine problems. By Assen, Bridgestone will have some time to get the tire issues sorted out and I’ll have a few weeks to heal.”
More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:
ROSSI ON TOP AGAIN AS YAMAHA RULES IN CATALUNYA
Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha rider and reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi won his second consecutive Grand Prix in Catalunya today, leading a charge of three Yamahas into the top four places. Rossi’s team-mate Carlos Checa rode a fantastic home race to finish fourth after starting 12th on the grid, whilst Yamaha Tech 3 pilot Marco Melandri landed the first podium of his MotoGP career, finishing third behind Honda rider Sete Gibernau.
Starting from second on the grid, Rossi took a close lead from Gibernau for two laps before running wide and surrendering his place to the Spaniard. He then stuck close to Gibernau’s heels as the two quickly opened up a distance from the chasing pack. Checa meanwhile began to move up through the field with a series of bold passes, finding himself in fifth by lap 12 and fourth a few laps later. Rossi and Gibernau swapped the lead twice more, before Rossi passed his rival once again two laps from the end, hanging on to win by less than two tenths of a second ahead of Gibernau. His back-to-back victories are the first for Yamaha in the premier class since Garry McCoy scored two in a row in 2000. Rossi now sits five points behind Championship leader Gibernau in the standings, whilst Checa moves up to fourth.
VALENTINO ROSSI (1st)
“I’m really really happy to have won, first in Mugello and now here; they’re both very important races for me. We’ve done a lot of fast work this weekend and my team and Michelin have worked so hard to improve the bike; we’ve literally been working every second we’ve had. After warm-up today we made another change to the bike, which paid off. It was a really hard race at the top level, and we went at a very hard pace. Sete and I were more than ten seconds ahead of the others. At one point Sete was able to get away but then he started to spin and slide so I was able to get in front again. To have won three races at this stage of the Championship is fantastic. I’m really happy to see the other M1s up front as well. Today was less dramatic but more tactical than Mugello, but still a great race.”
CARLOS CHECA (4th)
“That was a good race as I started from 12th and finished fourth. I passed many riders during the race and for me this is proof that I could do well after what happened in Mugello. I had much more confidence in the front braking today so it was easier to pass people. By the time I caught up with Marco he was pushing hard but I couldn’t keep the same pace anymore because of the tyres. I am so pleased with this result after yesterday’s qualifying and my fall yesterday morning. This afternoon I recovered the feeling and pace. Tomorrow we have a test and I hope we can make some more improvements, especially on the softer tyres for qualifying.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO, GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“What a race! It’s been a very good day; unbelievable. We’ve had two victories at two circuits which we expected to find difficult. Yamaha and the team have worked so well and we’ve got a fantastic rider. Valentino rode a perfect race. This is a good day for Yamaha; Carlos had a brilliant race; it was very difficult for him starting from the fourth row but he didn’t stop fighting for the whole race and finished fourth. It’s good to see Marco doing well and Yamaha filling three out of the four top places. We are now really looking to enjoy the rest of the season! Thanks to everyone involved, today all their hard work and effort has paid off again.”
JEREMY BURGESS, VALENTINO ROSSI’S CREW CHIEF
“We made some changes this morning and maybe they worked! This is a terrific result. We’ve now won consecutively at Mugello and Catalunya, which are fast circuits where the opposition has the advantage on speed, so we are really pleased with the results.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
UNLUCKY DAY FOR HARD-CHARGING DUCATI MARLBORO MEN
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss had a luckless day at scorching-hot Catalunya today, Capirossi coming home in tenth after an off-track excursion in the first lap, Bayliss tumbling out of a frantic battle for fifth position. The results may not bear it out but the team believes that today’s race was one of its most promising outings of the season so far. Both Capirossi and Bayliss were very competitive on race tyres here, thanks to ongoing development work by the team, Ducati Corse and their technical partners Michelin and Shell Advance.
“I’m disappointed because today’s results could have been so much better,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “Loris was unlucky to get pushed off the track on the first lap. Troy was also unlucky – he was running very strong when he fell. These things happen in racing but despite one DNF and one tenth place I still feel that this could have been one of our best races this year because rhythm was good enough to have put both our riders to the top five or six. Following our recent tests we now have a much better base set-up, so we can focus on making only small adjustments, which helps the riders get familiar with the bike and therefore more confident.”
The Ducati Marlboro Team stays at Catalunya tomorrow to test the latest version of its twin-pulse engine with both riders.
CAPIROSSI TENTH AFTER OFF-TRACK EXCURSION
Loris Capirossi had a tough Sunday at Catalunya. During morning warm-up the Ducati Marlboro Team man ran off the track at turn one and fell from his Desmosedici. Then he was an innocent victim of a collision on the first lap of the race, running off the track at turn four and rejoining in last position.
“The first-lap incident made my race very difficult,” said Capirossi. “Someone touched me at turn four, pushing me off the track. I got going again but I was last, so I just pushed as hard as I could, lapping faster and faster. But tenth was the best I could do. Without that first lap the race would’ve been much better for me.”
BAYLISS TUMBLES OUT OF FIFTH-PLACE BATTLE
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss was enjoying a storming race on his Desmosedici when he crashed out with just 4 of the 25 laps to go. The Australian was in the thick of a hectic five-man skirmish for fifth place when he fell heavily at turn four. Bayliss has been checked over by the Clinica Mobile staff, and although the X-Rays show he has no broken bones he is badly battered and bruised. Nonetheless he plans to test the “Twin-Pulse” engine tomorrow.
“There was a bit of a battle going on,” said Bayliss after a being checked over at the Clinica Mobile. “I ended up touching the back end of Xaus’ bike and down I went. It had been a tough race from the start because I’d been getting chatter from the first lap, but that could’ve been a good result for us.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:
SUPER SHINYA’S SHOW OF FAITH PAYS DIVIDENDS FOR KAWASAKI AT CATALUNYA
Shinya Nakano bounced back from his huge crash at Mugello with a vengeance this afternoon. The Fuchs Kawasaki rider brought his Ninja ZX-RR home in seventh place at the Circuit de Catalunya; the best result for Kawasaki since the factory returned to Grand Prix racing at the end of the 2002 season.
Nakano’s Fuchs Kawasaki teammate, Alex Hofmann, also had something to celebrate, as he finished an impressive eleventh; his best result of the season so far.
The race was a triumph for Nakano, the team and Kawasaki’s tyre partner, Bridgestone, just one week after the setback of Nakano’s terrifying crash in the Italian GP. But, the Mugello nightmare was a faded memory today, as Nakano rode a superb race on a modified rear tyre that had been constructed and delivered by Bridgestone in just three days.
Before a near capacity crowd of 102,000 both Fuchs Kawasaki riders comfortably completed the 25 lap race distance aboard their Ninja ZX-RR machines with no tyre problems at all.
Nakano was ecstatic with what he described as “a back from the dead” performance, which was highlighted by his brilliant last corner passing move on Max Biaggi’s factory Honda to secure seventh.
Hofmann missed a top tenth finish by just one tenth of second when he just failed to retake Loris Capirossi’s factory Ducati on the final lap, after a close battle over the closing five laps. Early in the race Hofmann lost some ground in a tight battle for track position in a packed field, dropping to 17th on the opening lap, but once the race settled he made consistent forward progress.
Nakano settled in 13th place early on, beginning his forward charge on lap seven and never looking back.
For two days of practice and qualifying both riders worked together with Kawasaki and Bridgestone engineers to compensate for the limited tyre choice for this race, and their hard work and dedication certainly paid dividends this afternoon. Hofmann and Nakano were the only two Bridgestone riders to finish today’s race in the points.
Shinya Nakano: 7th
“Last week I crashed at Mugello and thought I was dead, and then today I score my best result of the season. That’s racing, and that’s why I enjoy it so much. Towards the end of the race I could see Max Biaggi was spinning up the rear quite a lot, so I knew there was an opportunity to pass him into the last turn if I changed my line slightly. There were a lot of discussions about tyres in the paddock before today’s race, but I was never in any doubt that the rear that Bridgestone gave us today would last full race distance. Both Bridgestone and my crew did an amazing job this weekend, giving me a really good race set-up so that I was able to control the slides and stay with the factory Honda guys. In some corners I had something of an advantage, but then lost out again on the straights. I have to say, my team and the guys at Bridgestone deserve a big thank you for today’s result.”
Alex Hofmann: 11th
“Once again there was a problem getting the bike off the line and I dropped back quite a few places off the start. Then I was involved in a seven way battle and I got held up for too long by Neil Hodgson; I could pass him into the turns, only for him to retake the position on the straights. Towards the end I had a great battle with Loris. He would overtake on the straights and I’d pass him in the corners, but on the final lap he defended his line really well and I couldn’t quite manage to squeeze past him for tenth. Bridgestone did a fantastic job for us today. Like Shinya, I never had any doubt that the tyre would be good for race distance.”
Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“After what happened at Mugello, I am full of respect for Bridgestone and the job they did to make such a very competitive tyre in just three days. Our team never had any doubt that the race tyre was technically safe for race distance, and our riders and engineers worked perfectly to find a set-up that would deliver maximum performance. We did not get involved in trying to predict anything before the race, preferring instead to let the final result tell the story. Today Shinya was brilliant as he showed that nothing can slow him down. It was also a strong race by Alex, and in company with Bridgestone, we have a lot of confidence for the coming races.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:
ROSSI PIPS GIBERNAU FOR WIN BUT SETE STILL HOLDS TITLE LEAD
Epic premier class races are becoming regular events now and this race was no exception. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) got the verdict over Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) by a mere 0.159 seconds at the line after 25 gruelling laps of the 4.727km track in front of 102,000 roaring Spanish race fans. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) was third.
This was always likely to be a race which determined whether Rossi’s title challenge had real substance. Gibernau was racing at home and with two wins apiece going into the fifth race both riders were aware of the importance of levering an early season advantage.
Gibernau looked strong in qualifying and his times were not bettered over two days of wrestling for grid advantage. But the Spanish idol knew that grip was a major issue here and so it proved as Rossi seemed to get better drive in the closing stages of the race – when it really counted.
The race began at a frantic pace with Sete setting a fastest lap on lap two at 1m 44.641s. Rossi had nudged past him into turn one on the opening lap after Gibernau appeared to have the advantage, but Sete capitalised on a Rossi wobble into the La Caixa turn on lap two and took the lead.
By lap five Alex Barros (Repsol Honda RC211V) had crashed out and Max Biaggi (Camel Honda RC211V) was experiencing severe grip problems, eventually finishing eighth. Melandri was holding station in third and Makoto Tamada (Camel Honda RC211V) riding on Bridgestone tyres was as high as fifth before he dropped back on lap 12 and then pitted.
Gibernau and Rossi were in a class of their own and had stretched their advantage over Melandri to five seconds by mid-race distance. And at turn four Rossi swooped to lead Gibernau as both riders’ tyres started to feel the strain of a hot pace – the total race time was a full 18 seconds faster than last year.
Gibernau was looking slightly more ragged than Rossi in the closing stages and by lap 20 Rossi had a 0.6 second lead over Sete. But Gibernau was not done and on the next lap he was right on Rossi’s tail and on lap 22 he passed the reigning World Champion on the straight. But Rossi out-braked him into turn one on the penultimate lap and held on for the win.
“I said that tyre wear would be the big factor,” said Sete. “And we knew that the Yamaha had better traction so I used a slightly harder tyre. Yamaha has done a good job here – no other Hondas were close to me. There’s only one winner here and that’s Vale so congratulations to him.”
Colin Edwards (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) was fifth after a bad start had dropped him to 15th from 11th on the grid. “I was actually doing well at the start until I hit fourth gear and then nothing happened. But then the bike got going again and I started to pass people. I got stuck behind Bayliss and his bike is so fast that he always stayed ahead on the straights. But I got a good pace going again at the end.”
Max was philosophical about his eighth place. “We’d used the type of tyre I chose before and had no problems with it, but something was not right today. The bike became unrideable and the data confirmed that. Sometimes you have bad days like this and you just have to forget about it and keep working hard. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Barros felt bad about his result. “The team did a great job and I let them down,” he said. “In the race I knew I had to push and I had no warning when the tyre just let go. Trying to look on the positive side I can see we are more competitive both here and at Mugello than we were earlier in the season.”
Tamada too is staying positive. “I had some bad vibration,” said the tough Japanese. “I couldn’t ride properly eventually and knew I had to come back to the garage. But we’re staying here to test some new rubber and I’ll be back at Assen fighting at the front again.”
Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) is looking forward too after attaining his second front row start of the season but retiring from the race. “The race was a disaster,” he said. “During the race the bike seemed to lose power and I must have lost water because when the bike eventually stopped we discovered the radiator had been holed. Onto the next race!”
The World Championhsip points table lead is still Gibernau’s territory. He has 106 points to Rossi’s 101. Max is right up there with 80 and now Carlos Checa, who finished fourth, has grabbed fourth place in the title race with 49, one ahead of Barros on 48.
The chance of a 250 home win went down to a pulsating last lap duel between homeboy Danny Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW), the darling of Spanish crowd, and French interloper Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) with de Puniet getting the verdict by 0.108 seconds. Tony Elias (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) was a distant third, 9.5 seconds behind the demon duo.
The race pattern was set by the end of the first lap with the eventual rostrum finishers rampaging away from Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW), Fonsi Nieto, Sebastian Porto and reigning World Champion Manuel Poggiaili (all Aprilia). And by the end of the fourth lap the front runners had pulled out a five second gap over Rolfo.
Rolfo’s race was to end on lap 15 when Poggiali took out himself and the Italian Honda man with what appeared to be an ill-judged move. Rolfo was generous enough to put a consoling arm around the current Champion when other riders might have opted for a gravel trap confrontation.
After those two went out of the race, the fight at the front began to get serious. Pedrosa and de Puniet were riding so close, and so cleanly, that the two bikes were often only distinguishable by their colour schemes. They swapped the lead from lap to lap until the final tour of the 4.727km track.
Then it was a nail-biting final lap. They swapped the lead four times and just when it looked like there was no way back for either rider, the pair contrived to find a way through until World Championship points leader de Puniet kept Pedrosa at bay on the penultimate turn.
“I have to be happy with second,” said Pedrosa. “The race was really hard on tyres, especially the rear and we both rode at an absolute maximum. De Puniet was too good on the brakes in the final turns and I did all I could. That was a great race for the fans.”
Elias is getting back to form and said, “That was a good result from a difficult weekend. I tried to stay with Pedrosa and de Puniet and I had to ride at 120% to do that. I couldn’t, but third is okay and race by race I’ll get closer. The next race I should be able to stay with them.”
De Puniet now heads the points standings with 98 to Pedrosa’s 90 with Sebastian Porto, who finished fourth, now getting into the reckoning with 63.
If anyone was looking for early entertainment today, the 125cc class was where it was to be found with a six rider group fighting for every inch of track on the final lap. The winner was Spanish flyer Hector Barbera (Aprilia) who was down in 23rd place on lap two having badly fluffed his start from second on the grid. Andrea Dovizioso (Team Scot Honda RS125R) was second and Pablo Nieto (Aprilia) third.
Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia), who eventually finished fifth, made much of the early running and was never out of the tightly packed leading group – a group that was covered by only 0.7 seconds at the flag. The 1km long straight was where much of the action took place – and it was just as frantic as last week’s epic at Mugello.
Barbera’s third win of his career was without doubt his hardest fought victory. Dovizioso shadowed him for the final half of the last lap and looked in prime position to draft past him on the long sprint to the line. But Barbera had enough speed to deny the Honda man what would have been his third win of what is turning out to be a gripping season.
“That was so hard,” said Dovizioso. “I was second by just 16 1000ths of a second but at least the last lap turned out better than last week for me. The tyres were right on the limit in the final few laps and when I got overtaken by a few of the group two laps from the end I really had to work to get back to the front.”
Julian Simon (Angaia Racing Honda RS125R), who qualified 11th, finished 14th and said, “My start wasn’t so bad,” he said. “But Barbera caused me problems when he ran into Corsi and knocked him into my path. I couldn’t get into a good race rhythm after that. But I passed four riders in the closing stages.”
The World Championship points after fifth round shows Dovizioso out front with 96 points, Barbera now in second overall with 73 and Roberto Locatelli (Aprilia), who crashed out of the race on lap 18 of the 22-lap contest while riding in the leading group, holding third with 73 points.
HONDA TEAM QUOTES:
MotoGP:
Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 2nd : “I tried to play my cards well again today and we did the best we could with what we had. We knew we couldn’t use the same tyre as Yamaha and used a softer compound to try and have the same traction that they would have with the h! arder one. Obviously that meant that at the halfway stage their tyres would improve whilst mine deteriorated. I don’t want to give any excuses, I never have done, and I have to congratulate Valentino although I knew this could happen even though I gave 120%. I hope to keep going on the same path, have a chat with Honda about how we can improve the situation and do everything I can to make them understand that we have to face up to Valentino and Yamaha, who are improving a lot. I don’t feel as thoughI lost today – as far as I am concerned we have won because I am getting 100% out of what I have at every race”.
ColinEdwards , Telefonica MoviStar Honda : 5th : “I made a good start but I couldn’t stop them from coming past me and ended up fifteenth after the first lap. I kept my clam and started to pass riders but I lost a lot of time trying to get past Troy Bayliss. When he crashed I just concentrated on getting my rhythm together and in the end I was able to finish fift! h. Now we go to Assen – a circuit I know well after winning there several times in Superbikes – and I’m hoping to take a big step forward”.
Fausto Gresini: (Team Manager) : “Another exciting race in which Sete has given everything to try and win. It’s a good second place for him because he still leads the championship, even though the advantage over Valentino has been reduced a little. Sete was once again the first Honda rider and I am very happy because the only two Hondas in the top five were from our team”.
Max Biaggi, Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres),8th: “I’m very disappointed, after the practices I was ready to get a top result. In the warm-up I went out with a used tyre to prepare the second part of the race. I got a good start which took me into the top group. Then I began to get a problem in the rear tyre that just made everything impossible. In the analysis at the end of the race we realised that it was defective and that was the cause of the chattering that made the bike virtually impossible to ride. It’s a big disappointment and we need to put this result to one side and continue with our work in tomorrow’s tests at this track. I’m completely confident in Michelin and in the brilliant work they have always done. This is just a one off, a lucky one, but a one off.”
Sito Pons , Camel Honda (Team Principal) : “Max had a clear problem with his rear tyre and because of that was unable to fight for victory and above all to complete the fine work he had done in qualifying. The data analysis we did as soon as he got off the bike confirmed that Max was affected by a strange vibration that disturbed his control of the bike. Tomorrow we are staying on in Catalunya for another day to test and our objective is to resolve all the problems of this race.”
Gianluca Montiron, Camel Honda , (Makoto Tamada Team Manager): “Makoto Tamada suffered a serious deterioration in his rear tyre performance, which made the bike very difficult to ride. Despite having been up there for the first 12 laps of the race, he decided to retire, knowing that staying out there wouldn’t even have brought us any new data or information. We understand his decision and now we focus our attention on tomorrow’s test. As well as Makoto, tomorrow Bridgestone’s official test rider will come down to the track to help solve the problems quicker.”
Makoto Tamada, Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – Retired on lap thirteen: “I unexpectedly lost grip and then got these strong vibrations that made the bike difficult to control. To continue made no sense, not even to help with development. Tomorrow we will test some new material and we will try to find some solution to the difficulties we are currently having. I know Bridgestone will react and things will soon return to normal.”
Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team: retired: “Just so disappointed. This morning I went out on used tyres to get a feel for the conditions and it all felt pretty positive. I seemed to have problems all weekend with practice starts and in the race it was a disaster. Just couldn’t get any power down right up to turn one by which time half the grid had got past. During the race the bike seemed to loose power and I noticed some fluid on the windscreen that I guess must have been water because when the bike eventually stopped we discovered the radiator had been holed a small stone I guess. I’m definitely disappointed not to get a result again. Onto the next race!”
Alex Barros, Repsol Honda Team: crash: “I made a reasonable start and in the early laps was battling with Tamada and Max. The bike felt okay and the package was not so bad. I managed to overtake them both and I believed I could close the gap on the leaders and wait for the end of the race to take advantage of the harder compound Michelins that would have been in better condition after 20 laps. This was the only tyre that seemed to work for me this weekend. I had had front problems all qualifying. Push, push. In the race I knew I had to ride the machine I had make the best of it. In the end I have no warning no push. It just let go. Trying to look on the positive side I can see we are more competitive both here and at Mugello than we were earlier this season. I now want to fight for the front row and a race result. I feel very bad for the team they did a great job and I let them down.”
250cc:
Dani Pedrosa, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: (2nd.): “It was a really nice race and I enjoyed it a lot. It was a real learning experience for me riding so hard on spent tyres. In the head-to-head with De Puniet he was passing me on top speed and on the brakes, whilst I was quicker through the corners and on acceleration with the worn tyre. On the last lap I tried everything I knew I had to get to the stadium section first if I wanted to win but it wasn’t to be. In any case I am happy because we have completed our objectives I had a good race, the bike was fantastic thanks to the hard work of my team and we are back on the podium. I have to thank the crowd for the incredible support they have given me all weekend”.
Toni Elías (3rd) “I have to be happy with this result after a problematic weekend for us. It’s been tough but at the end of the day I’ve been able to score some really important championship points”.
“I got a good start and tried to go with the lead group but it wasn’t possible. I’m getting closer to them with every race and I hope that in the next few rounds I can catch them”.
“I gave 120% to follow De Puniet and Pedrosa but it just wasn’t going to happen”.
Hirosi Aoyama, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: (6th.): “I was way back on the grid and was relying on a good start but it didn’t work out that way and I found myself havi
