PEDROSA WINS BIG TO LEAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, HAYDEN BATTLES
TO GREAT FOURTH PLACE
Total Weekend Attendance: 243.004, Race Day Attendance: 131.563
Spanish Grand Prix, Jerez
Race day, Sunday March 30 2008
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa scored a dominant victory
in front of 131,000 sun-drenched fans at Jerez today, his
team-mate Nicky Hayden running in the leading pack for much
of the race to finish a strong fourth.
Pedrosa took over the lead from holeshot man Hayden at turn
two and stayed out front for the rest of the 27 laps, setting
a red-hot pace that put him and his Repsol Honda RC212V almost
four seconds ahead at half distance. The Spaniard crossed
the finish line 2.8 seconds in front of Valentino Rossi, having
smashed both lap and race records. Pedrosa’s fifth premier-class
success continues an amazing run of Jerez results, following
runner-up finishes with Repsol Honda in the 2006 and 2007
MotoGP races and victory in the 2005 250 event aboard his
Honda RS250. The 22-year-old received his winner’s trophy
from King Juan Carlos, a keen motorcycle fan. Pedrosa’s
latest Jerez success was a poignant moment for his mentor
Alberto Puig who became the first Spaniard to win a premier-class
GP when he won the 1995 Jerez event riding a Honda NSR500.
Hayden’s hard-fought result proved that the 2006 World
Champion is really building momentum after a tough weekend
at the season-opening Qatar GP. Just a tenth off the front
row in qualifying, Hayden got a storming start that gave him
the chance to run with the leaders. He did just that and was
very much in the hunt for a podium finish, chasing Rossi and
Jorge Lorenzo, until he had a close call at turn one with
five laps to go.
Dani Pedrosa
race winner, World Championship leader
Front tyre: 16" Michelin slick medium Rear tyre: 16.5"
Michelin slick hard
“This is my first MotoGP win at Jerez and I’m
very happy about today’s performance because it comes
after a difficult winter during which we couldn’t test
so much after I crashed and broke my right hand in January.
To score good results in two complicated races and lead the
championship is very important. I got a good start, not spectacular
like in Qatar, but effective, so I was able to take the lead.
I did my best, I focused on not making mistakes and I was
able to manage the race all the way to the finish and get
a win in front of the Spanish fans. The crowd gave me incredible
support, I hope they enjoyed the race, and it was an honour
to get my trophy from the King. Today we are happy but we
know that we have to keep working because Yamaha and Ducati
are very competitive. We stay here for two days testing that
will be crucial in helping us continue development of the
RC212V in preparation for the next races.”
Nicky Hayden
fourth place, seventh in World Championship
Front tyre: 16" Michelin slick medium Rear tyre: 16.5"
Michelin slick medium
“It was fun to be competitive, to come into that stadium
section the first lap with 130,000 people coming alive, bombs
going off, it was cool, it was nice to be there in the mix.
Obviously we’d like to have been having some bubbly
afterwards, but the bike worked the best it’s worked
all weekend and I was pushing hard. After I dropped back a
bit I made a run on them, I was trying to give those guys
a fight. Then I stayed on the brake a bit too long into turn
one and pretty much crashed. It was elbow down and I thought
it was done, but the front tyre was good, so I picked it up
on the knee and saved it. You can ride these bikes so hard
now and the front tyres are so good, that’s the first
time I’ve done that. All in all it’s been a good
day for Repsol Honda, so thanks to my team and for the support
from all the guys. We came in here a lot more competitive,
hopefully we can keep rolling from here and keep moving up.”
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
“That was an excellent race for the Repsol Honda team,
we are really happy. The whole team has done a great job here,
worked so hard and I want to thank them for that. I also want
to thank Michelin, the tyres worked so well here. Dani had
a great race, his concentration level is incredible, and it’s
also great to see Nicky back up there and enjoying a strong
race.”
Race Results
1 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 45'35.121
2 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 45'38.004 +
2.883
3 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 45'39.460 +4.339
4 Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 45'45.263 +10.142
5 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 46'02.645
+27.524
6 James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 46'02.929 + 27.808
7 John HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 46'03.417
+28.296
8 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA 46'03.570
+28.449
9 Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 46'07.690
+32.569
10 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 46'10.212
+35.091
11 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 46'17.344
+42.223
12 Marco MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 46'19.619
+44.498
13 Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 46'20.928
+45.807
14 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 46'20.992
+45.871
15 Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team DUCATI 46'44.679 +1'09.558
16 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team DUCATI 46'49.563 +1'14.442
Not Classified
5 Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 9'10.348 144.661
22 laps
14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 3'31.127 150.836
25 laps
Circuit Lenght: 4423 m
Fastest Lap (new record) 2008: 1.40.116 Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
Circuit best lap 2008: 1.38.189 J.Lorenzo (Yamaha)
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