MOTOGP ROUND 4, LEMANS, SUNDAY MAY 15

A tough day at the office for Arai riders in France.

DANI PEDROSA, REPSOL HONDA
Race Position: DNF          Championship Position: 3rd

“IT IS VERY UNFAIR, I DON’T DESERVE IT!”
Dani Pedrosa qualified in fourth place on the grid at Le Mans and was looking to build on his victory at the last race at Estoril; it was not to be, however as on lap 18 Marco Simoncelli challenged Pedrosa for second position with a pass that left little room for error. Pedrosa, refusing to give ground, hit the side of Simoncelli’s bike with his front wheel and the Spaniard was down – and while he got to his feet quickly, he was obviously grasping his right collarbone. Pedrosa left the circuit immediately after the race in order to check in Barcelona if a new operation would be necessary. Casey Stoner, Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda teammate rode to a dominant victory, with fellow Repsol rider Andrea Dovizioso second and Ducati’s Valentino Rossi third.

“I was having a good race, the goal was to ensure another podium and I had it in my grasp. But it counts for nothing. Simoncelli overtook me, I passed him back and I had the better line, he just came into me releasing the brakes and I could do nothing. I leave here with a broken collarbone and he with a ride through penalty, good for him! Yet again, I come out worse off. We only just recovered from the nightmare of the last operation and now I’m hurt again. It is very unfair, I don’t deserve it.”

CAL CRUTCHLOW, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3
Race Position: DNF         Championship Position:  11th

“I HAD THE PACE…”
After a superb sixth placed qualifying performance Cal Crutchlow's bid to claim a career best premier class finish was ended on the sixth of 28-laps, while he was lying in ninth position and preparing an attack on Ben Spies. Crutchlow was only 0.2s behind Spies when he lost the front at Turn 6; determined to get back in the race, Crutchlow's hopes of fighting his way back into the points were ended by a minor throttle issue that prevented him from continuing.

“I’m pretty disappointed because looking at how the race panned out I could have been in sixth place because when I crashed I was having a good battle with Ben. I’d caught him quite easily and was looking forward to a good race when I made a stupid little mistake in Turn 6. I touched the kerb and I lost the front. I literally fell off the side of the bike and that was it. It is disappointing because I had the pace to get another top eight, but these things can happen when you’re pushing so hard in a competitive class like MotoGP. I managed to get back on the bike but there was a problem with the throttle, so it was impossible for me to carry on. I showed my raw speed all weekend so I’m not going to be too hard on myself, though I was desperate to get a good result.”


COLIN EDWARDS, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3
Race Position: 13th         Championship Position: 9th

“I GOT ONE OF THE BEST STARTS I’VE HAD IN A LONG TIME.”
Colin Edwards battled to a determined 13th place finish after he’d tumbled out of seventh position at the first chicane on lap 14. The Texan had produced a stunning early charge to stay in contention with a group featuring Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo, but lost the front of his Yamaha at the first left-hander. Edwards lost his left footpeg in the slow speed fall but remounted and returned to the pits. Thanks to the quick work of his crew, he was quickly back on track and able to score three World Championship points – keeping him inside the top ten of the overall rankings after four rounds.

 “I got one of the best starts I’ve had in a long time and I just flew off the line but it was the usual jostle for position at the first corner. I got a bit of clear track in front of me and I could see Valentino was coming back to me a little bit and Dovizioso and Lorenzo were also just in front of him. I was losing four of five bike lengths though coming onto the back straight and then I’d also lose a bit more time at the next chicane because I wasn’t that fast through there. I could see the gap was staying at 1.5s and there was nothing I could do. I wasn’t making mistakes but neither were they. When I crashed, it didn't feel like I was doing anything too stupid. I was on the same line and I didn’t get in there too hot. I was already looking through at the next corner and then I was down. I broke the footpeg off but came back to the pits and went out again and salvaged a couple of points, which might prove valuable at the end of the year.”

NICKY HAYDEN, MARLBORO DUCATI
Race Position: 7th         Championship Position: 6th

“IT’S PROBABLY BEEN OUR BEST WEEKEND YET”
Nicky Hayden’s 10th placed qualifying position gave him plenty of work to do, but he ended up fighting over sixth place with Ben Spies and although he had to concede the position to his compatriot in the end, he was pleased with the progress made over the course of the weekend.

“We didn’t do ourselves any favors by starting 10th, but actually, we made a little step forward with the bike today. I got a decent start but was just really tight and lost some time. As the race got going, I was able to move up a bit and slowly bring back Spies and Colin. Colin crashed, but once I got in front of Ben, I wasn’t really able to get down in the 34s and get away like I needed to. Seventh isn’t a great result for us, but I would say that overall, it’s probably been our best weekend yet. When the track was cold, I was able to go quite fast – always in the top five in those conditions. I hoped for better in the race, but I’m looking forward to the next stretch; we’re about to really get into the season.”

Once again, Hiroshi Aoyama put his Team San Carlo Honda Gresini machine over the line in seventh place; he remains seventh overall in the title chase. Czech rider and MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham finished 10th and is now 13th in the championship standings

Round 5 of MotoGP is at Catalunya, Sunday June 5.

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