ROSSI RULES AT LAGUNA WITH FIRST AMERICAN VICTORY
Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi took his first career
win on American soil today, emerging victorious after an epic
duel with Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca. The Italian, who signed
a new two-year deal with Yamaha this week, has now won four
races this season and is 25 points clear at the top of the
championship.
Rossi started from second and was able to pass Stoner on
the brakes during the first lap to take the lead. From then
on it was clear that the pair were in a class of their own
today as they gradually pulled out a gap from the chasing
pack, trading passes with one another but with no one else
able to stay with them. Stoner was often faster than Rossi
on the straight but the seven-time world champion had the
advantage in the twisty parts of the track and he was able
to gain the lead back on the brakes each time the Australian
passed him. With only 100ths of a second between them most
of the time it looked like being a nail-biting race to the
end, but on lap 24 of 32 Stoner made a mistake and ran off
the track and into the gravel. This allowed Rossi some breathing
space for the final eight laps and he eventually crossed the
line 13 seconds clear of Stoner, who had been able to remount
and still finish second, such was the gap the pair had pulled
out from third-placed Chris Vermeulen.
It was a black day for the other side of the garage however
as Jorge Lorenzo, Rossi’s team-mate, took a huge tumble
on the first lap and broke the third and fifth metatarsal
bones in his left foot. He now faces a battle to be fit for
the next race in Brno, in a month’s time. With Dani
Pedrosa missing the race this weekend, Stoner has now moved
into second in the championship behind Rossi with seven rounds
remaining.
Valentino Rossi
Position: 1 Time: 44’04.311
“What a race today! We made some modifications to our
bike after warm-up and these gave us the last few tenths that
enabled me to fight with Casey today; the result was just
fantastic. I got a good start and I was able to pass him in
the first lap, but I knew I had to try and stay in front of
him and it was impossible to relax even for one second. My
M1 was brilliant and so were my Bridgestone tyres; I really
only made one mistake, at the corkscrew when I went a bit
wide but in fact the dirt had quite good grip also! Casey
was a bit faster on the straight than me but I was stronger
on the brakes so I had to make all my passes there. I don’t
know how many times we changed the lead but it was a lot and
it was great, great racing for me and I think also for the
fans, because it’s been a while since we’ve been
like this. To stay in front I had to do high 21s at least
on every lap and I want to thank my team and engineers for
giving me a bike that could do this. I had a great rhythm
and I am really so happy to win for the first time in America.
About the passes, I am sorry that Casey thinks some of them
were a bit strong but I really don’t agree; I passed
only on the brakes, I braked in the same places every time
and we never touched. Of course this was an aggressive race,
but it was definitely a fair one. Now we have the summer break
and I am looking forward to relaxing a bit, but not too much
because it’s going to be a hard fight for the final
seven races and we must keep the concentration!”
Davide Brivio
Team Manager
“Although it was not there, we saw the “heart”
on Valentino’s helmet again today! This is a great victory
because throughout the entire weekend we were at a disadvantage,
but nobody ever gave up and we worked until the very last
minute to find a way to help Valentino to fight with Casey.
We tried to optimize everything we had and at the end “The
Doctor” completed the operation! This was a race Valentino
did not want to lose. This is Valentino, one who never gives
up and fights until the end. I would like to make big congratulations
to him and thank the team and all the technicians! It is good
to go on holidays with a 25 point advantage and now we must
recharge the batteries for the last seven races. I hope to
see battles like this one until the end of the championship.
On another note, we’re very sorry for Jorge today and
we wish him the best and look forward to seeing him back in
Brno.”
Results
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 44'4.311
2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro + 13.001
3. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki + 26.609
4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP + 34.901
5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda + 35.663
6. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP + 37.668
7. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team + 41.629
8. Ben Spies (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 41.927
9. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha + 43.019
10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 44.391
11. Jamie Hacking (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team + 46.258
12. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team + 55.273
13. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 55.521
14. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha + 1'02.380
15. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 1'08.207
16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro + 1'10.962
17. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1 Lap
NOT CLASSIFIED
Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 32 Lap
Championship Standings
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 212
2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 187
3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 171
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 114
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 103
6. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 100
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 89
8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 84
9. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 72
10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 70
11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 61
12. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 46
13. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 41
14. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 40
15. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 38
16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 32
17. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 32
18. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 22
19. Ben Spies (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 10
20. Jamie Hacking (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team 5
21. Tadyuki Okada (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 2
Laguna Seca: Record Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 1'21.488
Laguna Seca: Best Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 1'20.700
|
