Arai riders bag points in Indy, Pedrosa scores second place.
DANI PEDROSA, REPSOL HONDA
Race Position: 2nd Championship Position: 5th
“WE ARE VERY HAPPY!”
Dani Pedrosa rode superbly at the Indy Brickyard to finish second behind Casey Stoner. Pedrosa made one of his trademark flying starts and took an early lead, however Stoner passed him on lap seven and checked out while Pedrosa maintained second position comfortably, fending off the Yamahas of Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies. Spies went on to pass his team-mate to claim the last step on the rostrum.
“We are very happy with second place for several reasons. After the qualifying session, we had to work hard to reduce the one-second gap we had from Casey, it wasn’t normal to be so far away from him. I knew that my race pace wouldn’t be as fast as Casey’s, but the team did a very good job, helped me to feel more comfortable with the front and I was able to find a good rhythm, just 3-4 tenths slower than Casey. It was a tough race being alone, but I focused on my lap times and I made my best lap at the end, so I’m happy with my performance and the bike. To get 20 points is not so bad after the crash in Brno and I look forward to going to Misano to try and take another step forward.”
CAL CRUTCHLOW, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3
Race Position: 11th Championship Position: 15th
“IT WAS IMPORTANT TO FINISH THE RACE…”
Cal Crutchlow’s reward for a weekend in which he worked tirelessly to improve the front-end feeling with his Yamaha YZR-M1 was his best finish since the Catalunya race in early June. He maintained a consistent pace throughout the race having led Loris Capirossi, Toni Elias, Randy de Puniet and Hiroshi Aoyama in a frantic opening few laps. A series of strong laps in the final stages saw him snatch 11th from Marco Simoncelli on the final lap to end his recent run of disappointing results.
“Firstly I want to say a big thanks to all my guys in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. They never gave up all weekend, even when we were struggling a little bit and it might sound silly, but I don’t think any of us in the garage have ever been so pleased to get an 11th place. After the bad recent run it was important to finish the race and I did that. The result wasn’t the best but my speed at the end of the race was really good and I’m happy about that, so there are a lot of positives to take to Misano. At the end of the race I was lapping faster than Jorge Lorenzo. I was a long way behind him but that still gives me a lot of encouragement. I’ve needed to finish races to gain some experience and I’m glad we did because I learned a lot this afternoon.”
COLIN EDWARDS, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3
Race Position: 7th Championship Position: 8th
“I NEEDED FRED FLINTSONE BEHIND GIVING ME A PUSH!”
Colin Edwards, wearing a patriotically painted one-off Arai RX-7 GP, made a fast start from the second row of the grid but as the pack jostled for position in the tight first section of the 2.62 mile track, Edwards was bumped back to eighth. He was involved in an exciting early battle with Alvaro Bautista, Ben Spies and Valentino Rossi before the field began to stretch out at the halfway stage of the race. With temperatures reaching close to 30 degrees, Edwards was left in a personal duel with Bautista until lap 23 when a big front-end slide cost him crucial time. With his front tyre starting to push more and more, Edwards decided to slow his pace to secure seventh place.
“I thought I got a fantastic start but the problem is the Yamaha is lacking a bit of grunt. I needed Fred Flintstone behind giving me a push to go faster, so I had a few people come by me on the run to the first corner. The first few laps I felt I could go faster but with Bautista sitting in front of me, I’d get close and then coming out of the corner he would just grab a few metres on me. In the twisty stuff at the end of the lap I was gaining it all back and at the last corner I almost ran into him. I really wanted to beat Bautista but he started to ride really well in the second half of the race. I was on his back wheel and looking for an opportunity to make an overtake but I lost the front at the end of the back straight and that was a warning just to back off and take seventh. The front tyre lost a fair bit of grip in the last few laps though I wasn’t the only one to have a problem. But I was top non-factory rider, I got another top ten and I moved up another place in the Championship, so it wasn’t a bad afternoon's work.”
NICKY HAYDEN, MARLBORO DUCATI
Race Position: 14th Championship Position: 7th
“WE THOUGHT THE SOFT FRONT TYRE COULD BE A GOOD OPTION.”
Nicky Hayden, who like Edwards was wearing a one-off Arai – this one celebrating his sister’s wedding – got a great start at what is his true ‘home’ race and was riding strongly in the top four. But the decision to use a soft front tyre didn’t pay off, and after seven laps he steadily lost ground before finishing in fourteenth place.
“It was a really tough day. We thought the soft front tyre could be a good option for the race, but unfortunately it only worked for seven or eight laps. Then I began to steadily lose ground until it even began shaking on the straightaways, and I had to come in. Since you’ve got to finish to get points, I went back out, and it was actually worth getting two points. I got a good start and was up front the first few laps, and that was the first time I put up a real fight in the dry all season. My bike felt fast in a straight line, and with this new gearbox, I could get out of that last corner and keep guys in the draft early on. We’re on our first race with this bike, and maybe we don’t know enough about what it needs.”
Hiroshi Aoyama took his San Carlo Honda Gresini to 9th place, and is 10th in the Championship. Karel Abraham DNF’d his Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati and moves to 13th overall in the standings.
For more information on Arai helmets please visit www.whyarai.co.uk
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