A FALL RUINS A BRILLIANT RACE BY DANI PEDROSA IN GERMANY
The Repsol Honda Team rider was leading the race - with a
gap of more than 7 seconds over the second placed rider, the
Australian Stoner. Tyre problems slowed Nicky Hayden down
and he finished in 13th position. Julián Simón
fifth in 250cc.
After both riders in the Honda Repsol Team had some very positive
practice sessions at the Sachsenring, the final result of
the German GP could not have been more disheartening. Dani
Pedrosa fell badly a the start of the sixth lap when he had
a lead of more than seven seconds over Stoner in second place,
and Nicky Hayden finished last, in thirteenth position, after
suffering tyre problems.
The race began perfectly for Dani Pedrosa who, after starting
from second position on the grid, moved into the lead at the
first corner. In spite of the heavy rain the Repsol rider
set a fast pace and this allowed him to quickly open up a
gap between him and the rest of the riders. On the second
lap he was already three seconds ahead and on the fourth,
it was up to 6 seconds. However, any hopes he had of extending
his lead in the overall classification vanished in an instant
at the beginning of the sixth lap, because he fell at the
end of the home straight as he braked before corner number
1, a right-hander, after losing adherence on his front tyre.
After a preliminary check in the Mobile Clinic he has been
diagnosed as having “a fissure on the index finger on
his left hand, at the base of the final phalange, a distorsive
trauma on the middle finger of the left hand, on the first
phalange - with a capsular injury that seems to affect the
extending tendon - a straight distension of the tibial-tarsal
on his righthand – with another suspected fracture on
the ankle - and bruising on his back and left elbow. His left
hand has been bandaged and immobilised and his right ankle
is also bandaged”, according to a statement made by
Doctor Costa.
Dani Pedrosa will be transferred to Barcelona later today,
and there he will be examined again so that the exact reach
of his injuries can be diagnosed. At this moment his participation
in the American GP, in seven days, cannot be guaranteed.
His teammate Nicky Hayden also had a race to forget. The
Repsol rider finished thirteenth, last, after having rear
tyre problems. The American even had to make a pit-stop to
change the tyre. From the very first lap he was unable to
keep up with the chasing pack due to a total lack of traction
on the rear wheel of his Honda Repsol RC212V. Seeing this
problems Hayden chose to make a pit-stop on the seventh lap
to replace his back tyre, rejoining the race again but he
could finish no higher than in thirteenth position.
Good result in the quarter litre because Julián Simón
was one of the stars of the race, in spite of the fact that
in the end he was not able to finish higher than in fifth
position. The Repsol rider started second on the grid and
moved into first position at the end of the straight, although
before the end of the first lap Marco Simoncelli had overtaken
him. Simón returned the compliment with an impeccable
braking manoeuvre at the end of the home straight, but the
Spanish rider had a scare and the Italian took advantage of
it to pass him again and make his way to the victory. The
Repsol rider was then involved in a fight for third position,
together with Barberá and Kallio. That is until there
were just four laps left, and when he was in third place,
Bautista caught up with them and both he and Kallio overtook
him, without him being able to do anything before he crossed
the finishing line. The Finn who has technical support from
Repsol, was fourth in the end, while his teammate, the Japanese
rider Hiroshi Aoyama, finished eighth after recovering from
a fall in the middle of the race.
In 125cc, a good performance by the Repsol riders who after
a bad start, with Rabat and Márquez finishing in ninth
and tenth position respectively. The race was won by the leader
of the World Championship the French rider Mike Di Meglio.
The two young promises in the Repsol KTM Team 125cc spent
the whole race involved in an intense battle. Rabat who started
ninth, lost five positions on the first lap. Moreover, several
mistakes as the race progressed forced him to recover positions
that he had already won. Márquez started in nineteenth
position, but he was on the outside of the corner at the end
of the home straight and he has lost several positions. Little
by little he overtook his rivals, reaching fourteenth position
on the third lap, in a group of nine riders that were fighting
for tenth position. At the end, and after a great battle between
Rabat and Márquez themselves, alongside Ianone, Koyama,
Nieto and Gadea, the Repsol riders crossed the finishing-line
leading the group. Rabat was ninth and Márquez tenth.
Quotes
MotoGP
Dani Pedrosa >> fall
“It was a little strange. I had only just touched the
brake and I crashed. It was a real pity because I’d
got a great start and was going well.
I had a good feeling. The front felt perfect, the rear was
sliding just a little, but the general feeling was good considering
the track conditions. It is a real pity.”
Nicky Hayden >> 13th at 2 laps
“Today was a bit of a disaster, really. All weekend
in the dry we had been going okay but conditions changed a
lot for the race. I was actually glad it was raining because
the bike has been working good in the rain recently, but the
race turned into a disaster.
The tyre choice wasn’t good and something also didn’t
look right on the electronics, seems like it was a combination
of problems. We came in and changed the rear tyre to a slightly
different compound. Things were a lot better when I went out
but I was right in the middle of everybody and I didn’t
want to get in the way of people racing. We got a few points.
Now it’s Laguna next weekend, so we’ll just keep
pushing and hope to catch a break somewhere along the way.”
250cc
Julián Simón >> 5th at 8.132 secs.
“I started well and I was convinced that this race was
going to be a very good one for me. I moved into first place
and straight away Simoncelli took advantage of a mistake that
I made with the accelerator and he overtook me. Then I had
a great battle with Barberá and Kallio, and we all
set a fast pace.
But Kallio had a problem and he slowed the pace down, this
helped Bautista and Pasini to catch us. Bautista overtook
us and on the last few laps it began to get more difficult
to keep up with them since they were taking corners faster
than me. It was very difficult, I had several frights and
although I tried my best it was not possible to do better.
The objective was to finish on the podium, but I was not able
to in the end. Even so in general, I am happy with the team`s
performance ”
125cc
Esteve Rabat >> 9th at 32.311 secs.
“I did not have a very good start and soon after that
entering the straight, I went off the track and several rivals
passed me. I had to recover my position and this is how the
whole race was for me, because when I returned to the front
of the group I went off the track at the same place again.
In this race I made a lot of mistakes and so I spent all
my time fighting to get back to my original position. And
things got worse as it began to rain a little and I almost
fell, but I was able to finish ninth. On the one hand I am
happy, because I thought that it could have been worse, but
on the other I cannot make so many mistakes and I should concentrate
much more. I will take advantage of the summer break that
we have now to regain my confidence, to train a little more
and go to Brno, one of the most difficult circuits in the
calendar, in good form.”
Marc Márquez >> 10th at 33.034 secs.
“The start was not very good because at the very first
moment the engine was flooded a little. Then I was able to
overtake some riders and move up a couple of positions. I
am happy, because at this circuit everything, in general,
was hard for me, since on the slow part I didn't have enough
power and the others got away from me.
We started on a dry track, but halfway through the race
a few drops fell and we had to slow down, although not a lot,
the riders I was with rode well, with a lot of confidence.
Then it rained a little more and that interfered with our
riding. In the end, my teammate Rabat ovetook me, but I knew
where to overtake him again, but three curves before that
point Ianone overtook me and I had no time do anything else.”
Official Results
MotoGP
1. Casey STONER (DUCATI) 47:30.057
2. Valentino ROSSI (YAMAHA) at 3.708
3. Chris VERMEULEN (SUZUKI) at 14.002
4. Alex DE ANGELIS (HONDA) at 14.124
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (HONDA) at 42.022
13. Nicky HAYDEN (REPSOL HONDA) at 2 laps
NC. Dani PEDROSA (REPSOL HONDA)
250cc
1. Marco SIMONCELLI (GILERA) 45:36.703
2. Héctor BARBERÁ (APRILIA) at 2.257
3. Álvaro BAUTISTA (APRILIA) at 2.423
4. Mika KALLIO (KTM) at 4.150
5. Julián SIMÓN (REPSOL KTM) at 4.846
125cc
1. Mike DI MEGLIO (DERBI) 40:03.710
2. Stefan BRADL (APRILIA) at 2.010
3. Gabor TALMACSI (APRILIA) at 2.733
4. Bradley SMITH (APRILIA) at 2.847
5. Simone CORSI (APRILIA) at 9.117
9. Esteve RABAT (REPSOL KTM) at 32.311
10. Marc MÁRQUEZ (REPSOL KTM) at 33.034
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