Excellent win for Stoner in tricky Italian contest
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Casey Stoner wrapped up the Gran Premio d’Italia Alice action in style with victory in another wet-dry MotoGP race.
In the second flag-to-flag race in two rounds Casey Stoner ended Valentino Rossi’s Mugello winning streak with a polished performance to give Ducati their first ever victory at the circuit.
Much of the race came down to tactics again in front of the 80,000-strong Italian crowd as the riders once more started on a wet surface and completed the 23 lap contest on slicks, with Stoner this time judging things to perfection.
The Australian retook the championship lead as he crossed the line a second in front of former leader Jorge Lorenzo, who also rode well after the scare of crashing on the sighting lap.
Lorenzo’s Fiat Yamaha colleague Valentino Rossi completed the podium in third place as his seven-year wining run at his beloved home track came to an end, the Italian hero crossing the line two seconds behind Stoner and less than one tenth in front of Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso.
It was a shame for Dovizioso to miss out on the rostrum on the last lap once again, having held the race lead early on, on wet tyres. Likewise, his compatriot Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) was leading at one stage – later in the race – but he fell away in the final laps to finish fifth.
James Toseland made a brave decision to come in first and change bikes when running towards the back of the field and he just missed out on equaling his best MotoGP result of sixth as he was outdone by his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards on the last lap, having also dueled with LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet who was eventually eighth.
Niccolò Canepa (Pramac Racing) will be delighted to have achieved his best result to date as the second highest Ducati rider in ninth at his home race, with Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) completing the top ten behind the young Italian.
Dani Pedrosa hit the deck and crashed out on lap 14 having already damaged his hip earlier in the weekend, the Spaniard stretchered away from trackside. He will face an anxious wait to see if he is fit for his own home race at Barcelona in two weeks. Honda satellite rider Yuki Takahashi also crashed out with 13 laps to go.
What the riders have to say:
1 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 45'41.894
“At the beginning we started off really well and I had a good feeling with the bike, it was working well, but as soon as the dry patches started appearing our tyres started destroying themselves and there was no grip. I just tried to maintain the gap to the other riders until I could get onto the slicks and then I knew I wouldn’t have such a disadvantage.”
“Once I got onto the slicks I found a good feeling immediately and I was able to get to the front quite quickly, but then I started having a problem with the clutch,” Stoner continued, “The RPM was going up to the limiter and there was no forward momentum. I just tried adjusting it and I managed to get it hooked up again, but it was still difficult on the corners.”
The young Australian went on to add, “It was a really hard race and I just wanted to finish it. I just tried to stay smooth and keep the same lap times even if I couldn’t ride the way I wanted to. On the last lap I pushed in areas where I hadn’t done so all through the race, and I made a mistake so I was lucky to hold onto the victory. But I think the team did a great job and we are very grateful for this win.” (motogp.com)
2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 0'01.001
"Honestly, this is as good as a win for me and I can't really believe the race today, it was like a movie! This morning in warm-up I was quite worried because I was slow in the rain, then on the sighting lap I slid off into the gravel pit. All I could think about was making it back to the pits as quickly as possible in case there was still a chance to make the grid and luckily I made it just in time. My team had the second bike ready and I was able to still start from the pole position. On the grid I tried not to think about the crash, I just tried to focus. But then I had a big slide off the line and the first part of the race wasn't so good for me. I have to say the biggest thank you to my guys today for getting the damaged bike ready in such a short time; it was a brilliant job and after I swapped bikes everything changed. From then on I had a great rhythm and I was able to stay on fighting to the end and take this second place. It's a really amazing result because things could have been much worse today, so thank you again to everyone for making it possible. I'm really happy with this result." (yamaha-racing.com)
3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'02.076
"Of course I am disappointed not to win again in Mugello but seven times in a row is not so bad and the important thing is that I made it onto the podium. It's a very special moment in Mugello, with all the fans below, and I would have been very sad to have missed that! It was a very hard race today and once again the weather was a problem for us, we're very unlucky in these half-and-half races and I think this is my first podium in one. In the wet we were very fast because we had found a great setting, but then when we changed bikes we made a mistake and chose a front tyre that was too hard, so it took me a long time to be able to put enough temperature on it and I lost a lot of time. At the end I was able to ride better and I knew that I had to make it onto the podium, so I am happy for this. Of course after Le Mans this is a big improvement and these points are important because it's very close between the three of us." (yamaha-racing.com)
4 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'02.129
Although he came close to reclaiming third from Valentino Rossi, Dovizioso said the result showed that he is not right up with the frontrunners in normal conditions yet.
"We are getting closer, but still not close enough to win," he said.
"We need to keep on working because we are still not as competitive as the fastest riders, especially in dry conditions. We'll use this result to give us an extra boost of motivation."
While admitting that he still needs to make further progress, Dovizioso said he was delighted with how competitive he had been at Mugello.
"The sensation of leading the race in front of my home crowd was incredible and I think overall we had a good race, he said.
"I'm satisfied. I fought like hell to take third and we were so close - only 53 thousandths from the podium! I think our race strategy was good, we changed the bike at the right moment and I pushed as hard as possible to maintain my position.
"With three laps to go I tried to keep in contact with the others and when Rossi overtook me, I managed to stay with him. Then I tried to slipstream him out of the last corner but I couldn't make it. Anyway, all in all it was an exciting race and a positive result." (autosport.com)
5 Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 0'03.274
“I tried to do my best but the conditions were a bit strange and I think I made the right decision about when to change onto slick tyres,” Capirossi said at the end of another wet-dry contest. “Then my pace was really good and the rhythm was constant. I tried to stay in contact with Casey (Stoner) and although the bike was good in general we were losing out because of top speed, so we look forward to getting the new engine in Barcelona.”
Asked whether he thought the new engine would make an immediate impact on results at Catalunya, Denning replied, “We only have the data and I don’t want to say too much until the thing is plugged into the chassis, because we just don’t know until then.” (motogp.com)
6 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'24.451
“It was a rerun of Le Mans. We’ve got some issues that we need to figure out; I’ve always been a front end guy, and I’ve got no confidence in the front –I’ve always been a good rain rider too! I just don’t have any confidence,” explained the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider. “We’ll adjust, we’ll do some work, but as soon as we came in I just put my head down and saw the guys coming back to me. I think that I rode a pretty good race after that.”
Edwards finished sixth after a late pass on teammate James Toseland, once again pipping the Briton on the final laps. Had it have stayed dry for the entire day, the American would have been disappointed with anything outside the top handful of riders.
“We were looking like finishing top five easily in the dry, all weekend we were thereabouts on average times. We would have been a little better in a completely dry race, but that beginning is what gets me.
“As far as the weather goes, we just have to look at it like this: If it rains in Qatar, then we’re screwed for the rest of the year! It’s kind of what’s happened now, with it raining nearly every race,” he joked. (motogp.com)
7 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'25.621
"That's my best result of the season and I'm happy with that because I feel I should be fighting around the top six on a regular basis. I started the race with quite a hard spring in the rear shock and in the first few laps I was in trouble. I hadn't planned on coming into the pits so early for my dry bike but I had no choice. I was losing a lot of time so it was definitely a gamble worth taking. The first couple of laps on slicks were eventful while I was trying to get the hard tyres to temperature, but once I'd got a rhythm going I felt pretty confident and I was pleased I'd decided to come in early. The section of track with the new tarmac was a bit scary because that never dried through the whole race, but you could ride the rest of the track pretty much flat-out and coming in when I did definitely helped gain me a lot of places once I'd picked up my pace. I had a really good dice with Randy and there were a few good overtakes. It's the first race I've enjoyed for a while because for most of it I was fighting for the top six. That's where I was a few times last season and that's where this bike and team deserve to be. Hopefully I can push on in Catalunya." (yamaha-racing.com)
8 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 0'26.046
“Unfortunately the conditions were the same of Le Mans race but today's result is a bit better. I took a very good start but after some laps in the wet I did not feel pretty confident and was slower compared to the others; probably I have been too cautious”, he explained.
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“I changed my bike at the right moment but, for two laps, I struggled to set my rhythm especially on the damp parts of the track. Anyway I had fun battling with Toseland and tried many times to leave him behind but it was impossible. At two laps to go Edwards caught us and I pushed to end 6th but was too late. Eighth position is not so bad in these conditions but we could get that sixth place in the pocket. Thanks to my Team once again for their good work”.
9 Niccolo Canepa Ducati ITA 0'31.815
10 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'34.814
11 Marco Melandri Kawasaki ITA 0'35.090
12 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0'39.122
13 Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 0'52.462
14 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'52.478
15 Alex De Angelis Honda SMR -1Laps
Pedrosa to undergo further hip test after Mugello crash
Sunday, 31 May 2009 (motogp.com)
Manager Alberto Puig reveals that crash impact will need further examination.
A big crash after changing to slick tyres proved to be a miserable finale to a bad weekend for Dani Pedrosa, as the Spaniard not only failed to earn points on a day in which his three title rivals took to the podium, but also took a further hit to his injured hip.
The Repsol Honda rider had incurred what was identified as a tendon injury to his hip during practice, and suffered the misfortune of hitting the Mugello gravel in exactly the same place when thrown from his 800cc bike. Manager and mentor Alberto Puig was unable to give a medical opinion on his colleague, but did reiterate the tough nature of the fall.
“Everyone saw the crash. Dani hit the same place that was already in a bad way when he crashed, and we will have to wait until tomorrow to see what the seriousness of the situation is. There is just one more test to do, and I suppose that tomorrow we will be able to do it. I’m not a doctor, so I couldn’t say when he’d return to action or anything like that,” said the former rider.
“Dani had this hip problem on Friday, and from then on things got worse. Now we just want to make sure that the pain that he has now is from the original incident, and that today’s crash didn’t cause any more damage.”
Pedrosa will hope for a return in time for his home race, the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, in two weeks time.
and an Amazing saves from the 250 race/QF i just had to share
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