ROSSI BATTLES ON AFTER CRASH TO TAKE VALUABLE TITLE POINTS
 A
rare mistake from Valentino Rossi resulted in a first-lap
crash for the Fiat Yamaha Team rider today, but he remounted
and made up a gap of more than 20 seconds to pass two riders
and finish in 11th place, despite riding with a broken gear-shifter
and a bent handlebar. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo rallied
in the later stages of a difficult race to finish sixth, whilst
Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards kept the Yamaha flag flying on
the podium by taking third.
Rossi had slipped back some places when he made his mistake
at turn five and slid into the gravel, unfortunately taking
Randy de Puniet with him. Points were still a possibility
however and he re-joined the race, despite the damage to his
bike and a gap of 24 seconds to Marco Melandri, the next rider.
He then embarked on a heroic ride, consistently lapping as
fast as the leading riders and closing the gap lap by lap
until he finally came within sight of Melandri, eventually
passing him on lap 19 of 26. Four laps later he passed Toni
Elias to take 11th and five championship points, finishing
46 seconds behind race-winner Casey Stoner.
With Rossi’s closest championship rival Dani Pedrosa
finishing second, his gutsy ride could prove crucial in the
championship race. The Italian’s first non-podium finish
since the opening race of the season means he has surrendered
his title lead to Pedrosa but he is adrift by only four points,
the pair on 171 and 167 respectively. Lorenzo retains fourth
place in the championship, 28 points behind Stoner with exactly
half of the season remaining.
Valentino Rossi
Position: 11th Time: +46.025
“After seven podiums in a row I made a mistake today
– this is racing! I am very disappointed because we
made a change to the set-up of the front and it worked very
well, and I could tell from the warm-up lap that my bike was
very good today. Unfortunately I made a mistake at the first
left; I arrived too fast when the tyres were still cold, I
was too hard on the brakes and I lost the rear. I am sincerely
sorry to Randy de Puniet and all of his team. After the crash
I had a bent handlebar and no gear shifter, but despite this
I was able to do the third fastest lap time, 37.1! I know
I could have been faster than Pedrosa today and, although
it’s easy to say now, I think I could have fought with
Stoner for the win. I am glad for these five points and although
we have lost the lead we are not far behind Pedrosa. I am
looking forward now to some more technical improvements for
my bike and being fast, together with Bridgestone, at every
track.”
Davide Brivio
Team manager
“This was a good race for Valentino, except for the
first lap! The crash was unfortunate and we’re very
sorry to Randy de Puniet and the LCR team; we apologise to
them all and we hope that Randy is okay. Once Valentino remounted
what he did was simply amazing, especially without a gear-shift
and with a bent handlebar! For several laps he was the fastest
rider on the track, which shows once again his spirit and
determination, although it’s also disappointing because
it’s clear that we could have done a good race today.
These five points today are incredibly important because they
have kept the gap to Pedrosa to just four points, with half
of the season still remaining. Now we will just have to start
again in Sachsenring and hope for a better weekend!”
Results
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 42'12.337
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda + 11.310
3. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha + 17.125
4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda + 20.477
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP + 27.346
6. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 28.608
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki + 32.330
8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 34.892
9. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha + 38.566
10. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team + 38.817
11. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 46.025
12. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team + 48.213
13. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro + 59.594
NOT CLASSIFIED
Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 19 Lap
Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 26 Lap
Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 26 Lap
Championship Standings
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 171
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 167
3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 142
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 114
5. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 98
6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 79
7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 70
8. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 60
9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 57
10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 57
11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 51
12. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 33
13. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 32
14. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 32
15. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 25
16. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 24
17. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 22
18. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 16
19. Tadyuki Okada (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 2
20. Ben Spies (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2
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