British GP - Race
'GENIUS' STONER WINS AT TRICKY DONINGTON, CAPIROSSI
ON THE CHARGE UNTIL HE FELL
 Ducati
Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner continued his remarkable
run of performances with a masterfully judged victory in treacherously
slippery conditions at rainy Donington Park today.
Team-mate Loris Capirossi was charging hard in the late stages
when he crashed out of fifth place. Stoner and his Desmosedici
GP7 have proved themselves at all kinds of racetracks and
in all kinds of conditions so far this season - this was their
fifth victory from eight races. The Australian didn't get
the best of starts, entering the first corner in twelfth,
but he stayed cool and cautious until he'd got a good feel
for the conditions.
Then he started moving forward, taking the lead from Colin
Edwards just after half-distance and increasing his advantage
to over 11 seconds as the track began to dry, cannily cooling
his tyres through any wet patches. Capirossi came through
from 12th and was the fastest man on track at one point before
he slid off without injury at Redgate.
CASEY STONER, 1st, World Championship leader on 165
points
"This proves to people that the Ducati doesn't just
have power. We've been improving the bike and now it doesn't
have any particular weak points, we just need to improve it
as a complete package. Obviously today it was the best bike
out there. I got a perfect jump at the start, a perfect clutch
release, but then I must've hit a white line and it spun up
straight away. I was panicking a little bit because everybody
was zooming past and I thought I'd be last into the first
corner. We still got in there in a reasonable position and
we were able to pick our way through. Colin seemed to be nice
and smooth, but I knew I could go quicker. Then I saw the
track getting drier and drier. I was worried about destroying
the rear tyre, so I started going over all the wet patches.
When we got to the last five laps the tyre still had a pretty
good feeling and it looked pretty good at the end of the race,
considering it was our softest option. I'm not looking at
the championship yet, I'm just enjoying all these races whether
I win or don't finish on the podium. It's just nice to be
out there, I've got the confidence in myself and in the bike
to really get involved in the race and really enjoy it."
LORIS CAPIROSSI, ritirato, 9° in classifica con
57 punti
"I'm really sad about the crash because I was feeling
really good and very confident. I didn't get a perfect start
but I pushed very hard and caught a lot of people until I
got into fifth place. My rhythm was really good and I was
feeling pretty confident, so when I saw Valentino [Rossi]
and Chris [Vermeulen] ahead I thought I could also catch them
because I was lapping a second a lap faster. Unfortunately
I lost the front at turn one and my race ended there. The
tyres were working brilliantly, even though we were using
a softer type. It's a shame but I'm happy with my pace and
because my feeling on the bike continues to improve. If we
can keep moving forward like this at Assen I think we can
do well."
LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project director
"I think that this victory proves once and for all that
top speed isn't Casey's advantage, because top speed means
nothing at this track, especially in these conditions. Casey
is a genius, he is so good at managing a race. He started
today's race very calmly, then when he was ready to go, bang,
he could go away at the front. I'm really sorry for Loris
because he was also going so well. But he is okay after his
fall and the fact that he obviously found a good feeling for
the bike is a very positive point. Once again the Bridgestone
rain tyres were fantastic, especially considering the lack
of grip here. As always, our thanks to them and also to Shell
Advance for today's performance. This weekend, the Shell scientists
and Ducati team worked closely to organise the airfreight
delivery of an alternative blend of Shell V-Power Racing fuel
from the Shell Global Solutions laboratories in Hamburg, Germany
that gave us extra flexibility to adjust the engine settings
for today's race."
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