Portuguese GP - Race
STONER RIDES AROUND PROBLEMS FOR A MERITABLE SIXTH
PLACE
 Casey
Stoner produced another example of the class and maturity
that made him World Champion as he overcame an unfortunate
technical problem to salvage a worthy sixth place. Shortly
after the start of the race a part of the on-board camera
on Casey's GP8 came lose, flapping dangerously between his
handlebars and front fairing.
After dropping all the way back to eleventh place, Stoner
showed great composure and skill to fix the problem himself
before putting together a sensational comeback that saw him
set the fourth fastest lap of the race on his way to sixth
place. That was enough to seal 10 crucial points that keep
the Australian holding firmly to fourth place in the championship.
Stoner's team-mate Marco Melandri paid a heavy price for
his difficulties during practice, having never found a suitable
set-up for this circuit. The Italian struggled to thirteenth
place and is looking forward to the next race at China, which
should be more suited to the characteristics of his bike.
CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 6th in the race,
4th overall on 40 points
"It was incredible what happened today, we had a problem
which was no fault of the bike from the beginning of the race.
I didn't understand what was going on and wasn't sure if an
important part of the bike was involved. It was a major distraction.
Sometimes the piece would lock the steering and sometimes
it locked the clutch lever. It was a very difficult situation
but eventually I worked out a way to ride around it. Every
time I came down the straight I pushed it back into place
but the turbulence from the wind would blow it back out again
so it was very frustrating. I think a better result for sure
was possible without this but we have to take this as a positive
thing and not reflect on the negatives. It wasn't a good weekend
for us but the problem in the race was not a general fault
with the bike, just one of those things that happens from
time to time. We need to continue working hard in China, a
track that should be a little better for us, and hope for
a bit more luck."
MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 13th in the
race, 13th overall on 12 points
"The result in the race is a direct reflection of a
difficult weekend, during which we've been unable to find
a satisfactory set-up for the bike. All I can do is wait and
hope that this proves to be the second of the two worst races
for us this season and that things start to be more favourable
from China onwards."
LIVIO SUPPO (Ducati MotoGP Project Leader)
"I actually think this was one of Casey's best races.
He had the composure to take control of the situation when
a quite unusual problem came out. He was able to hold his
nerve and he produced an outstanding ride, with the fourth
fastest time of the race and important points for the championship.
It's been a strange weekend but Casey is still in there, his
potential remains intact and we're happy about that. As far
as Marco is concerned I think we have to focus on the positives
and work from them towards a solution."
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