As the curtain falls on the 2010 season, Arai’s riders are already looking to 2011
DANI PEDROSA, REPSOL HONDA
Race Position: 7th Championship Position: 2nd
“THIS WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST RACES OF MY LIFE!”
A brilliant performance from Dani Pedrosa saw him light up the early part of the race and for the first eight laps it looked like the 25-year-old Spaniard was capable of pulling off a stunning victory. An exceptional first lap saw him climb from eighth on the grid to fourth after the first corner, before launching an audacious attack into turn two and claiming two more places. This was Pedrosa at his totally-committed best and he proceeded to hunt down Casey Stoner in front, setting the fastest lap of the race on the way. By the end of lap seven the gap to Stoner was down to 0.062s, but almost inevitably fatigue began to set in for Pedrosa, who is still riding well below 100 per cent fitness after his recent collarbone injury and subsequent surgery. Unable to maintain his early pace he gradually slipped to seventh place at the chequered flag, which was good enough to comfortably secure second place in the World Championship ahead of Valentino Rossi, who took the final podium position. Jorge Lorenzo won after a two-thirds distance pass on Casey Stoner, who finished second.
“This was the one of the hardest races of my life and also one of the ones I can feel most proud of. Honestly I was not sure at all before the start that I could do 30 laps today, but I managed to do it and I’m very happy now, and also exhausted. I made a good start and to stay with Stoner in the early laps was amazing for me. I fought as hard as possible to maintain the pace for as long as I could and it was during this period that I set the fastest lap of the race. But of course my strength was ebbing away little by little and I was caught by the group behind me. From then on I just concentrated on staying on the bike and finishing the race; I was counting down the laps. To finish second in the championship was not our goal at the beginning of the season of course, but only we know how hard it has been to keep second place after the crash in Japan. We will take our time to recover after this race and we can also have a useful test on Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for next year.”
NICKY HAYDEN, MARLBORO DUCATI
Race Position: DNF Championship Position: 7th
“I AM BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULT…”
Nicky Hayden got a great start from the second row of the grid and the American was third into the first turn, passing Dani Pedrosa for second to give chase to his team-mate Stoner at the front. However, on the third lap he lost the front of his GP10 as he entered the super-fast turn one and his race ended early with a high-speed crash.
DANI PEDROSA, REPSOL HONDA
Race Position: 7th Championship Position: 2nd
“THIS WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST RACES OF MY LIFE!”
A brilliant performance from Dani Pedrosa saw him light up the early part of the race and for the first eight laps it looked like the 25-year-old Spaniard was capable of pulling off a stunning victory. An exceptional first lap saw him climb from eighth on the grid to fourth after the first corner, before launching an audacious attack into turn two and claiming two more places. This was Pedrosa at his totally-committed best and he proceeded to hunt down Casey Stoner in front, setting the fastest lap of the race on the way. By the end of lap seven the gap to Stoner was down to 0.062s, but almost inevitably fatigue began to set in for Pedrosa, who is still riding well below 100 per cent fitness after his recent collarbone injury and subsequent surgery. Unable to maintain his early pace he gradually slipped to seventh place at the chequered flag, which was good enough to comfortably secure second place in the World Championship ahead of Valentino Rossi, who took the final podium position. Jorge Lorenzo won after a two-thirds distance pass on Casey Stoner, who finished second.
“This was the one of the hardest races of my life and also one of the ones I can feel most proud of. Honestly I was not sure at all before the start that I could do 30 laps today, but I managed to do it and I’m very happy now, and also exhausted. I made a good start and to stay with Stoner in the early laps was amazing for me. I fought as hard as possible to maintain the pace for as long as I could and it was during this period that I set the fastest lap of the race. But of course my strength was ebbing away little by little and I was caught by the group behind me. From then on I just concentrated on staying on the bike and finishing the race; I was counting down the laps. To finish second in the championship was not our goal at the beginning of the season of course, but only we know how hard it has been to keep second place after the crash in Japan. We will take our time to recover after this race and we can also have a useful test on Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for next year.”
NICKY HAYDEN, MARLBORO DUCATI
Race Position: DNF Championship Position: 7th
“I AM BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULT…”
Nicky Hayden got a great start from the second row of the grid and the American was third into the first turn, passing Dani Pedrosa for second to give chase to his team-mate Stoner at the front. However, on the third lap he lost the front of his GP10 as he entered the super-fast turn one and his race ended early with a high-speed crash.
“I am bitterly disappointed with the result. After the warm-up this morning when I set the fastest time I really felt confident we could get a good result and I pushed hard from the start. The bike felt good and I was able to make up a few positions into the first turn, then pass Dani for second place. To crash just a couple of laps later is frustrating because I had the pace to be fighting for the podium out there. It is definitely not the way I wanted to end the season and my guys deserved more after another great job. We had our problems with the bike on Friday but we pulled something out of the bag and I had a competitive bike here. Overall over the past few races we have ended the season quite strongly and I am looking forward to taking that into winter testing and hopefully coming out with an even more competitive package next year.”
COLIN EDWARDS, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3
Race Position: 12th Championship Position: 11th
“IT JUST DIDN’T FEEL LIKE I HAD ANY GRIP”
It was a frustrating finale for Colin Edwards as he was unable to capitalise on an excellent practice and qualifying performance. Cooler and cloudier conditions saw him opt to race with the softer Bridgestone rear tyre; but the 36-year-old was hindered by a lack of acceleration grip and he slipped down to 12th by the chequered flag.
“I wanted to finish the season on a high to reward my crew for all their hard work, but that was way below what I was expecting and to say I’m disappointed and frustrated is an understatement. Right from the start it just didn’t feel like I had any grip when I accelerated. We’d set the bike up on the hard tyre for most of the weekend but we went for the soft option because the temperature was a little bit lower. But coming out of the corner I didn’t have the grip to stay with anybody and it is a big pity because the changes we’d made to the bike for the hard tyre this weekend had helped me feel much more confident and comfortable. Congratulations to Ben though on getting sixth overall. He’s been awesome and he’s only going to get stronger.”
HIROSHI AOYAMA, INTERWETTEN HONDA
Race Position: 14th Championship Position: 15th
“I HAD SOME GOOD EXPERIENCES THIS YEAR”
The last race of the season 2010 was not easy for Hiroshi Aoyama and his Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team. Aoyama had quite a good start but couldn’t match the speed of the other riders; in the middle of the race he improved his pace and shared the same lap times with all the other Honda riders, but was not able to maintain the momentum until the end of the race, and finished in 14th position.
“I want to thank my team and sponsors and all the people, who helped me this year. It was a tough year and not easy. Also the last race was tough and difficult; at the end I could finish the race, but I am not satisfied with the way I did it. I almost always finished the races in the points and I had some good experience this year, in my first year in the MotoGP class and I want to thank all the staff who have been involved in it.”
In Moto2 Czech rider Karel Abraham forced his Cardion AB Motoracing FTR machine to the front of what was a hectic and nailbiting race, from lights out to the flag. This is his first – and for the foreseeable future, last – win in the Moto2 class as he is moving up to MotoGP in 2011, riding a satellite team Ducati.
For more news and information on Arai please visit www.whyarai.co.uk
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