WEST IN THE POINTS AS DE PUNIET CRASHES OUT
The first world championship motorcycle Grand Prix for 14
years took place at Misano today and it was a race of very
mixed fortunes. Kawasaki Racing Team pilot, Anthony West,
managed a well-deserved eighth place while Randy de Puniet
crashed soon after the start and was unable to continue.
After flying off from tenth on the grid, West initially battled
with Marco Melandri but when the Italian moved further up
the field, it was Alex Barros, Colin Edwards and Toni Elias
who he had to tussle with. After some dicing, Edwards dropped
back and Brazilian Barros retired, leaving the Ninja ZX-RR
rider to fight with Elias. West boldly managed to fend the
Spaniard off, holding on to seventh, for around half the 28-lap
race but was overtaken just three laps from the end.
It was a strong performance from the 26-year-old West in
only his sixth outing on the Kawasaki. This, the 13th round
of the MotoGP world championship, saw him put in a fastest
lap of 1'36.246 mid race and, having scored championship points
at every round he's ridden, he's notched up an impressive
41 in total and sits at 15th in the current standings for
the season.
Things didn't go so well for Randy de Puniet, however, who
crashed just two corners into the race when the rear of his
Ninja ZX-RR came round on him. The 26-year-old Frenchman collected
Dani Pedrosa on his way into the gravel trap, and both riders
were unable to rejoin the race. It was a huge disappointment
for the Frenchman who had ridden brilliantly all weekend,
looking increasingly strong and confident at the Misano circuit.
Happy with his set up and choice of Bridgestone tyres, he
had his sights set on a podium finish but it was not to be.
However, having spent the past few days as a virtually permanent
fixture at, or near, the top of the timesheets during practice
and qualifying - and he was the fastest man in this morning's
warm-up session with a top speed of 244.6kmh - de Puniet will
be even more determined to prove himself at the next round.
The 57,321 fans who packed the circuit from early morning
left without the hoped-for celebration of an Italian rider
winning but there was a spectacular atmosphere at the track
nonetheless and there will be more to come at Estoril, in
Portugal, in a fortnight. Kawasaki will be back and will continue
to pursue that podium finish that has so far eluded them this
season.
Anthony West
Position 8th
"My start wasn't so bad, which meant I was in quite a
good position going into turn one, but as I approached the
second corner all I could see were guys flying through the
air. I didn't feel that strong during the first few laps.
In fact, to be honest, much of the race was really difficult
because I had a few small problems with the feel of the bike
all the way through. Although small, these problems made it
quite difficult to wrestle the bike around such a small and
tight track. I'm a bit annoyed Elias went past me towards
the end: just like he did in Brno! But I held him off for
most of the race, which is some small consolation. I think
he could see that I had to fight the bike at some parts of
the track as he was waiting behind me. Anyway, by the later
stages, the tyres were pretty well gone and I couldn't hold
him off. Still, top ten is not too bad, you've got to be happy
with that, and I got some more points. If we can improve the
small problems we had today, I'm sure we'll be running a lot
further up and I'll be able to go better towards the end of
the race. We're always working on things and have more time
to improve further during testing tomorrow."
Randy de Puniet
Position DNF
"I don't know what happened, we have to check the data
because when I tried to change direction, entering the left
corner, I lost the rear, touched Pedrosa and crashed. I don't
know if I used the rear brake or not, I want to check our
data so I have a better idea about what happened. Obviously,
I'm disappointed. I feel I did really well over the weekend
so, to finish the race at the second corner is not very good.
Luckily, there aren't any big injuries: the footpeg went in
to my back when I crashed, and that hurts, but it's nothing
major. But yes, obviously, I'm not very happy."
Michael Bartholemy
Kawasaki Competition Manager
"Randy has been fast all weekend, but then he made a
mistake going into the second turn and that's where his race
ended. It's a shame because he had the potential to finish
on the podium today and I'm sorry for the two riders who were
the innocent victims of the crash. Anthony also had a hard
race today but, once again, he brought the bike home in the
top ten to continue his run of scoring points in every race.
Hopefully, with a full day of testing here at Misano tomorrow,
Anthony and his crew will be able to eliminate the small problems
that he had to contend with in today's race. Despite Randy's
crash today, we will head for the next race at Estoril with
confidence high, and with both riders determined to produce
a strong performance in the Portuguese Grand Prix."
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 44'34.720; 2. Chris
Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +4.851; 3. John Hopkins
(USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +16.002; 4. Marco Melandri (ITA)
Honda Gresini +22.737; 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro
Team +24.747; 6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda LCR +34.986; 7.
Toni Elias (SPA) Honda Gresini +40.896; 8. Anthony West (AUS)
Kawasaki Racing Team +41.774; 9. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha
Factory Racing +47.146; 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Konica Minolta
Honda +48.808; DNF. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing
Team +27 Laps
|
