GRIP PROBLEMS CONSIGN PEDROSA TO 15th PLACE
Repsol Czech Grand Prix, Brno
Race day, Sunday August 17 2008
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa had a demoralising ride to
15th in this afternoon’s Czech Grand Prix, the Spaniard
badly troubled by tyre problems.
Pedrosa, returning from the hand and wrist injuries he sustained
during last month’s German GP, struggled throughout
the weekend with lack of grip, his Michelin tyres not up to
the expected level of performance in practice or today’s
race. Yesterday he qualified 12th in a rain-lashed qualifying
session. Despite the problems Pedrosa is still third in the
World Championship points standings, with six of eighteen
rounds remaining.
The 2008 MotoGP series continues at Misano in two weeks,
when Pedrosa will be rejoined by team-mate Nicky Hayden who
missed this race due to a foot injury sustained during an
X Games Supermoto event in Los Angeles on August 1.
Dani Pedrosa, 15th, third in World Championship
“This weekend has been a complete disaster. Today’s
race was the probably worst of my career. In fact I couldn’t
even race today, all I could do was ride. I couldn’t
control the bike, I didn’t feel safe. I was riding so
slow, I felt impotent and ashamed. I considered stopping but
I stayed out there to get some points. We really need a drastic
improvement from the tyres. I had no grip at the front and
no grip at the rear, from the first lap to the last. It was
therefore impossible for me to push any harder, even though
I was going very slow, three or four seconds slower than the
leader. I almost crashed twice, so I just tried to finish
the race. I did my best in very difficult circumstances, at
the end the tyre performance was even worse than it had been
during the early laps.”
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
“It is very difficult for me to comment, other than
to say that I am very disappointed with this weekend. It has
been a disaster for us. We tried many different settings solutions
to find better tyre performance but it was obvious from the
first laps today that Dani was in a very difficult situation
with poor grip. In fact I was worried that if he pushed harder
he might crash. The team has done its best here but we have
been restricted by tyre performance.”
MOTOGP RACE
1 V. ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 43'28.841
2 T. ELIAS SPA Alice Team + 15.004
3 L. CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 21.689
4 S. NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini + 25.859
5 A. WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team + 29.465
6 C. VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 30.608
7 M. MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team + 36.453
8 A. DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini + 36.750
9 A. DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP + 38.822
10 J. LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team + 39.573
11 J. HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team + 39.610
12 S. GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team + 40.892
13 J. TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha + 1'11.490
14 C. EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha + 1'21.133
15 D. PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team + 1'37.038
16 R. DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP + 1'38.407
Not classified
C. STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 16 Lap
|
