MotoGP World Championship. Czech GP. Races
TYRES WITH LITTLE COMPETITIVENESS RUIN ANY HOPES
OF A GOOD RESULT FOR DANI PEDROSA IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC GP
A lack of grip on the Michelin tyres did not let the Repsol
Honda Team rider Pedrosa fight for a good result
The Repsol Honda Team and its only representative in Brno
this weekend, the Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa, had a difficult
and disheartening Czech Republic GP, owing to a worrying lack
of competitiveness on the tyres supplied by Michelin. This
situation was similar to what his teammate Nicky Hayden had
to put up with a couple of weeks ago –he at the moment
is recovering from an injury he picked up when riding in a
supermotard event in the summer break - at Laguna Seca where
the American GP was held.
After the summer break it was hoped that Michelin would react
in Brno, but the tyres that the French firm took to the Czech
Republic were not in any way competitive under any conditions;
neither in the wet – Friday and Saturday – or
in the dry – during practice on the Saturday.
Pedrosa, who classified in 12th place on the grid –
fourth row – made a great start, ending the first lap
in 6th position. This was the best position that Pedrosa achieved
in the whole race, because from the second lap onwards the
Repsol Honda Team rider starting to drop down the field the
result of fighting just to stay on his motorbike. The race
did not have much to offer Pedrosa, he fell back to a disappointing
15th position –penultimate in the final classification.
The victory went to Valentino Rossi. Casey Stoner fell when
he was in the lead and the Italian has now increased the gap
he already had at the top of the standings to 50 points over
the Australian, in second place, and to 65 over Pedrosa, third.
There was another disappointing result in 250cc for Julián
Simón, he was not able to finish any higher than 12th
position. The Repsol rider started well from the second row
but before he reached the first corner he was blocked in by
several other riders and he fell back to 10th place at the
end of the first lap. After five laps he was overtaken by
Faubel, and on the same curve another two rivals took advantage
of the occasion to put him down in 13th position. In the end,
after some problems with his clutch lever which meant that
he was not very competitive, he finished 12th, just ahead
of Hiroshi Aoyama, a rider with technical support from Repsol.
The Japanese rider`s teammate Mika Kallio, was fifth.
In the first race of the day, 125cc, Esteve Rabat was 13th.
His teammate, Marc Márquez, was not so fortunate, he
fell on lap seven fighting with Rabat and Sergio Gadea. After
the off and the first few laps both the Repsol riders were
at the back of the main chasing group containing 14 riders.
Little by little they lost touch with the other twelve and
got into a fight with Sergio Gadea for 12th position. On the
seventh lap, owing to problems on the KTM 125 FRR`s set up,
Marc Márquez was not able to take corners safely and
so he fell after losing adherence on the front wheel when
braking on the slope down to curve 10. His teammate, Esteve
Rabat, stayed in 13th position to the end. Aware that he was
not in a position to fight back, he also had engine problems,
Rabat decided not to overload the motor and so he rode calmly
until he saw the chequered flag.
Quotes
MotoGP
Dani Pedrosa >> 15th at 1’37.038 secs.
“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.”
250cc
Julián Simón >> 12th at 29.772 secs.
“This was a complete disaster. I started well, but in
the middle of the straight Kallio and I think Simoncelli blocked
me in and I had to slow down so that we did not collide. On
the first lap several riders overtook me but then I fought
back and climbed a couple of places.
The engine was not working too well and I was overtaken again,
the bike did not let me ride comfortably at all and it wanted
to change gear too soon. But what is more even on the first
lap I had another problem, this is the real reason why I could
not go very fast. The clutch lever was loose and it was constantly
moving. I never got close to a pace that would have let me
finish higher in the classification. It was really complicated
in these circumstances and I fell down the field, with the
clutch lever moving around it was impossible to ride fast.”
125cc
Esteve Rabat >> 13th at 38.445 secs.
“I made a good start. I did not expect to win any points
as we had had a lot of problems with the set up and I thought
it was going to be beyond me. At the start I tried to go fast
but I fell in behind Gadea. The whole race was the same, behind
him, trying to go as fast as possible.
Towards the end I began to have problems at the front end,
the fork was sinking too much when I began to take corners
and then it would begin to bounce around. And I had some engine
problems again, but with a few laps left I had a cushion over
the rider behind me and so I decided not to force the bike,
finish the race and win some points. I had a lot to lose and
nothing to win and in the end I was the best placed KTM rider.
I want to thank the team since they have helped me a lot.
Now comes Misano, a circuit that I like a lot, and where I
will do the best I can.”
Marc Márquez >> fell
“In the race today all the riders were a second faster
and we had a set up that was prepared to go slower, so I could
not ride very fast.
The suspension was very soft and when Gadea overtook me
I tried to keep up with him but I fell when I was braking.
Now we have to think about the next race in Italy. The rain
that fell yesterday was good to clean the track – it
was very dirty on the Friday – and that meant we could
have gone faster. We should have chosen a harder set up, but
the conditions were the same for everybody and it was me who
fell.”
Official Results
MotoGP
1. Valentino ROSSI (YAMAHA) 43:28.841
2. Toni ELÍAS (DUCATI) at 15.004
3. Loris CAPIROSSI (SUZUKI) at 21.689
4. Shinya NAKANO (HONDA) at 25.859
5. Anthony WEST (KAWASAKI) at 29.465
15. Dani PEDROSA (REPSOL HONDA) at 1:37.038
250cc
1. Alex DEBÓN (APRILIA) 41:08.168
2. Álvaro BAUTISTA (APRILIA) at 0.280
3. Marco SIMONCELLI (GILERA) at 0.325
4. Héctor BARBERÁ (APRILIA) at 0.827
5. Mika KALLIO (KTM) at 1.249
12. Julián SIMÓN (REPSOL KTM) at 29.772
125cc
1. Stefan BRADL (APRILIA) 41:05.176
2. Mike DI MEGLIO (DERBI) at 0.881
3. Joan OLIVÉ (DERBI) at 4.070
4. Gabor TALMACSI (APRILIA) at 4.118
5. Nicolás TEROL (APRILIA) at 7.048
13. Esteve RABAT (REPSOL KTM) at 38.445
NC. Marc MÁRQUEZ (REPSOL KTM)
|
