MotoGP World Championship. Italian GP. Races
VALUABLE THIRD POSITION TODAY FOR DANI PEDROSA, WITH
A SECURE SECOND PLACE IN THE GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
The Repsol Honda Team rider already has his mind on the Catalunya
Grand Prix next weekend. A tough weekend for the rest of the
Repsol riders in Italy
Dani Pedrosa finished third at the Italian Grand Prix, after
a tough race where he was unable to fight for the victory,
in spite of using all possible resources. The race started
with the Repsol Honda Team rider in the lead at the end of
the straight.
Pedrosa took command of the test until the end of the first
lap, moment when Stoner, taking advantage of the greater top
speed of his Ducati, overtook the Spaniard on the finish-line
straight. A warning of what was to happen on a couple more
occasions throughout the race. The next time was just two
laps later, when local rider Valentino Rossi also passed Pedrosa
on the finish-line straight, taking first position a couple
of laps later to finally claim his third consecutive victory.
Pedrosa kept close to the Australian rider's wheel while
he saw how Rossi increased his advantage further ahead. The
Repsol Honda Team rider kept close watch on the current World
Champion, who during lap nine, at the end of the finish-line
straight, pulled the brakes too hard, a moment seized by the
Spaniard to recover second position, with Rossi one second
ahead. During lap No 13, Rossi had an advantage of close to
two seconds, while Dani still saw how the the main riders
equipped with Bridgestone tyres ran faster times. One lap
later, lap 14, and on the finish-line straight, Stoner took
advantage again of his superior top speed of his Ducati to
pass Pedrosa again. In spite of his attempts at keeping up
with the Australian, the Repsol rider had to give up and secure
his third position, as local rider De Angelis, also with Bridgestone
tyres, was getting dangerously close during the last few laps
thanks to his faster pace. A final third position for Dani
Pedrosa, who after Lorenzo's fall is now alone in second position
in the general classification, 12 points behind Rossi, who
maintains his lead.
Nicky Hayden, in another complicated race for the American,
who finished in a low thirteenth position. In spite of a good
start and completing his first lap in fifth position, the
Repsol Honda Team rider could not keep up with the pace set
by the leading pack due to problems with his tyres, falling
positions throughout the Italian race until he finally crossed
the finish line in thirteenth position.
In the quarter-litre category, an unfortunate race starting
out from the third row for Julián Simón, who
in spite of a bad position at the end of the straight, climbed
to eleventh position by the end of the first lap. The Repsol
rider stayed in a pack along with Mika Kallio, still leading
the World Championship, but eleven laps later he skidded off
the track at the famous “Arribiata” 1 and 2 bends,
losing contact with the pack. He lost his concentration, dropped
his pace, and ended up fighting for tenth position, finally
crossing the line in eleventh place. Mika Kallio and Hiroshi
Aoyama, riders who receive technical support from Repsol,
finished fourth and eighth, respectively, in a race which
was finally won by Marco Simoncelli.
It was not a good weekend for the 125cc Repsol riders either,
with both finishing outside the points range. Marc Márquez
got off to a good start, taking sixteenth position, though
the superior experience of his rivals and a few details concerning
adjustments to his bike's suspension finally relegated him
to a final nineteenth position. Bearing in mind this is his
first season and his first visit to Mugello, the result could
be considered as very positive, even more so looking at the
good times registered throughout the race. Teammate Esteve
Rabat did not get off to a good start, as when the red lights
blinked off, his bike stalled due to a problem with the clutch.
After pushing it and managing to start it, he spent the whole
race climbing positions, starting out the last of the 39 participants.
Lap by lap, he managed to climb positions until he was 25th;
but without an adequate setup, a better pace was needed for
any further progress.
Quotes
MotoGP
Dani Pedrosa >> 3rd at 4.867 secs.
“That was a really tough race because Valentino’s
pace was very, very fast. I got a good start and the rhythm
was really high, at first I was able to go with them, then
I had a battle with Casey. I tried to catch him at the end
but it was impossible.
It was great to be on the podium, it’s a good result
for the championship, but while consistency is always important,
we need to win more races. The engine was good today, our
main concern now is tyre consistency during the second part
of races. I was losing the front towards the end of today’s
race, so tyres are what we must focus on. It was very important
that Okada finished today, gathering a lot of data which we
will examine and discuss tonight. Valentino had his seventh
win here today, I hope it will be my turn at Catalunya.”
Nicky Hayden >> 13th at 50.440 secs.
“This morning we made a nice step, we made a suspension
adjustment and the bike felt a lot better, so we had a pretty
good pace. We were certainly unlucky in the race. I got an
awesome start, felt pretty good, but it was clear from the
beginning that we had a problem.
Guys started coming past and there was nothing I could do,
there was no way to defend. So I just tried to get to the
finish and get a couple of points. They’re checking
the data now to see exactly what happened. Like I said, we
were quite unlucky, I knew we didn’t have Rossi’s
pace this morning, but we had enough pace to be in there,
to be quite competitive. I don’t know yet which engine
I’ll be using next weekend. To be honest, I’ve
been concentrating on this race, so I haven’t thought
about it yet.”
Tadayuki Okada >> 14th at 58.849 secs.
“We finished the race and this was the most important
thing of all – we have gathered plenty of data which
we can now analyse. We still have some issues with edge grip
and this is the next step to improve the engine – the
bike was sliding today so I couldn’t fully use its power.
The engine’s strong point is its higher rev ceiling
which gives an advantage on the straights, but we still need
to improve driveability. My thanks to Repsol Honda and to
HRC for all their work with this engine. It was very exciting
for me to race in a GP again – it felt really amazing
when I crossed the finish line!”
250cc
Julián Simón >> 11th at 19.751 secs.
“I got off to a reasonably good start, though I fell
a few positions at the first bend, because I was badlt placed
and my rivals found it easy to overtake me. Then I recovered
a few positions, and was in a pack with Kallio, whom I tried
to follow as he is our best reference given he rides the same
bike.
I tried to follow him as best I could, and was doing so quite
well, but at the two fast right-handers I skidded off the
track and lost my pace and concentration. I had a struggle
with Wilairot, and was unable to round off a good weekend.
We've worked hard, but there's still a lot to do about the
engine, because we lose a lot of time on the straight. As
for me I'm working on improving my riding style on this bike,
which on some circuits isn't the best possible. We're not
going to stop working until we have a good race.”
125cc
Esteve Rabat >> 25th, at 56.360 secs.
“It was a very tough race, because at the start I had
problems with the clutch, which suddenly released, and the
bike stalled. I pushed it to start it up again, and spent
the whole race alone, without being able to do any drafting
or follow anyone's wheel.
To be honest I was very slow, and I'm not here to finish
in 20th place. The important thing is to not lose hope and
keep moving. Luckily, next week there's another race, in Montmeló,
so I don't have to wait that much to to better.”
Marc Márquez >> 19th at 33.868 secs.
“It was a complicated weekend, because on Friday we
ran on a wet track and it's a difficult circuit. Yesterday's
setup wasn't the best, and during the warm-up we tried out
something else, though we didn't improve much, so we went
out and raced not really knowing what would happen. The bike
had improved slightly, but not enough.
The mechanics have done a great job, and I'd like to congratulate
the whole team for their enormous effort over the weekend.
The race was quite tough. It was very hot and I had a bit
of a hard time on the bike. The engine was running well, but
the suspension was not set up correctly. We have to look at
the good side, and that's the progress achieved over the weekend.
Now we have to think about Montmeló, and take another
step forward.”
Official Results
MotoGP
1. Valentino ROSSI (YAMAHA) 42:31.153
2. Casey STONER (DUCATI) at 2.201
3. Dani PEDROSA (REPSOL HONDA) at 4.867
4. Alex DE ANGELIS (HONDA) at 6.313
5. Colin EDWARDS (YAMAHA) at 12.530
13. Nicky HAYDEN (REPSOL HONDA) at 50.440
14. Tadayuki OKADA (REPSOL HONDA) at 58.849
250cc
1. Marco SIMONCELLI (GILERA) 40:19.910
2. Alex DEVÓN (APRILIA) at 0.499
3. Thomas LUTHI (APRILIA) at 0.712
4. Mika KALLIO (KTM) at 7.403
5. Mattia PASINI (APRILIA) at 12.542
11. Julián SIMÓN (REPSOL KTM) at 19.751
125cc
1. Simone CORSI (APRILIA) 39:59.020
2. Gabor TALMACSI (APRILIA) at 0.019
3. Pol ESPARGARÓ (DERBI) at 0.036
4. Mike DI MEGLIO (DERBI) at 0.135
5. Bradley SMITH (APRILIA) at 0.178
19. Marc MÁRQUEZ (REPSOL KTM) at 33.868
25. Esteve RABAT (REPSOL KTM) at 56.360
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