DANI PEDROSA, REPSOL HONDA
Race Position: 4th Championship Position: 4th
“IT’S NOT BEEN A GOOD WEEKEND FOR ME.”
With a strong breeze blowing across the Phillip Island, and darkening skies, the MotoGP race commenced with a rearranged grid following the withdrawal of Yamaha Factory riders Jorge Lorenzo, after a high side in the morning warm up left him with a severely injured finger, and Ben Spies who was still mildly concussed after a crash in Saturday’s qualifying. Nicky Hayden and Marco Simoncelli followed pole-sitter Stoner into turn one, with the Italian making an early move on Hayden to take second. Simoncelli then spent the remainder of the race tussling with Andrea Dovizioso, beating his compatriot across the line for his best MotoGP finish of second. Dani Pedrosa didn’t make one of his usual brilliant starts, fought back into contention but suffered with tyre wear in the closing stages; he eventually finished ten seconds adrift of team-mate Dovizioso in fourth. With the absence of Lorenzo, Stoner only needed 10 points to win the 2011 MotoGP Championship; his win secured the title.
“It’s been very tough, I didn’t feel comfortable throughout the weekend and the race didn’t start in the best way either. I had a problem with the wind at the start, I almost lost balance and I had to put the left foot on the floor at the same time as the red light went out, so I had a bad start. The first few laps were not so good, then I recovered slightly, I overtook Andrea and fought with him but the front tyre was finished in the last laps. When I tried to pull away I was losing the front, so I couldn’t keep him behind and then the rain arrived. It’s not been a good weekend for me, but I want to say congratulations to Casey for his title, he’s been the strongest this season, always on the podium, with no mistakes, so he deserves it.”
CAL CRUTCHLOW, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3
Race Position: DNF Championship Position: 13th
“IT WAS LIKE SYNCHRONISED CRASHING!”
Cal Crutchlow was unfortunately caught out by the tricky conditions in the final stages while he was preparing for a late attack on Hiroshi Aoyama. He’d fought well to keep Karel Abraham and Randy de Puniet at bay when he hit a wet patch of tarmac at Lukey Heights on lap 24; Aoyama crashed in identical circumstances right in front of Crutchlow but the 25-year-old was unable to rejoin the race and finish.
“I’m pretty disappointed because it has been a very difficult weekend, so to get a top 10 would have been a very positive way to sign off. I’d been having a really good battle with Abraham, Aoyama and de Puniet and was confident I was going to finish at least eighth. But I came into Lukey Heights and couldn’t even see any rain and the next thing I was down. The weird thing is Aoyama went down right in front of me on the same wet patch, so it was like synchronised crashing. I had no idea why I’d crashed and someone in the crowd told me it had rained really quickly and then stopped – it is a pity because that cost me a decent result but I’ll be looking to get back in the fight for the top 10 in Sepang next week.”
COLIN EDWARDS, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3
Race Position: 5th Championship Position: 9th
“THAT WAS ALL ABOUT SURVIVING…”
Colin Edwards finished the first lap in eighth place as he tried to judge the unpredictable gusts of wind to maintain a fast and consistent pace as the race unfolded. He was seventh when the rain shower soaked the track in a small section with three laps remaining. Edwards opted to stay out on slicks, rather than switch to his YZR-M1 set-up for the rain with only a small part of the track affected by the cloudburst – his decision paid off and he claimed his third top six finish of the season.
“That was all about surviving because the conditions might have looked great on TV with the sun shining but the wind was horrendous. We know the wind plays a big part here normally but it seemed particularly bad and it was impossible to judge when a gust was going to hit you from one lap to the next. I got into a pretty good rhythm and was happy to be running a consistent pace in eighth when all the late chaos happened. It is never a good feeling when you see rain spots on the visor with slick tyres on but there was only rain in a small part of the track. I knew it was a flag-to-flag situation but I never thought about pulling in for the rain bike. I was just riding as hard as I could, but as safe as I could, in the last couple of laps and fifth is a great result.”
NICKY HAYDEN, MARLBORO DUCATI
Race Position: 7th Championship Position: 8th
“I JUST ABOUT LOST IT!”
After a good start from the second row, Nicky Hayden was involved in a number of battles in the first part of the race, lapping at a competitive pace. When it began raining hard four laps from the end, making the conditions particularly tricky, Hayden changed motorcycles and went on to cross the finish line in seventh place.
“Conditions were really tough, with wind and rain off-and-on at different parts of the track. My start actually wasn’t amazing, but I think everybody else got away worse than I did. I was in a good position, but I really had no grip at the rear from the very beginning, and although I tried as hard as I could, I couldn’t defend much when guys started coming past. Eventually I blistered the rear tyre and was just trying to make it to the finish, and then when it started to rain harder, it felt really slick. I just about lost it, and when I saw Bautista go down, I decided to come in and change bikes rather than risk doing the same.”
Hiroshi Aoyama crashed his San Carlo Honda Gresini after the downpour at Lukey Heights, but remains 10th in the Championship. Karel Abraham finished 10th on his Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati, and is 14th in the Championship.
Round 17 of MotoGP is at Sepang, Sunday October 23.
For more information on Arai helmets please visit www.whyarai.co.uk
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
MOTOGP ROUND 15, MOTEGI, SUNDAY OCTOBER 2
Arai’s Dani Pedrosa takes first MotoGP victory in Japan!
DANI PEDROSA, REPSOL HONDA
Race Position: 1st Championship Position: 4th
“I’M SUPER HAPPY!”
Dani Pedrosa took his third victory of the season in a dramatic Grand Prix of Japan with Jorge Lorenzo alongside him on the podium in second position, and Casey Stoner in third – it’s the first win for Honda at this track since Makoto Tamada was victorious aboard his Camel Honda in 2004. Pedrosa made a fantastic start and was involved in the leading pack for the first four laps but Stoner ended up running off the track, narrowly avoiding the barrier. Andrea Dovizioso, while leading the race, was then given a ride through penalty for a jump start; Pedrosa took the lead and improved his pace lap by lap to take a comfortable win by more than seven seconds ahead of Jorge Lorenzo.
“I’m super happy with this victory, for the team that has been working so well, for HRC because this is the first win in Motegi with the Repsol Honda Team and for myself because it is the first time I’ve won here in MotoGP after doing so in 125cc and 250cc. The race was strange at the beginning with Stoner and Dovi really fast on the first few laps, they pulled away and then Casey had some problem and Andrea had a ride through due to his jump start. I was alone in front with Lorenzo very close, but I tried to put my head down and push every lap to pull away. I’m really happy because at this track I’ve had a mix of good and bad results and some bad injuries, so to come back one year later and win in MotoGP is fantastic.”
CAL CRUTCHLOW, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3
Race Position: 11th Championship Position: 13th
“WHERE DO YOU START AFTER A RACE LIKE THAT?”
Cal Crutchlow certainly had an eventful afternoon, but salvaged a deserved 11th place having twice run off the 2.983 miles circuit while trying to fight his way into the top 10. He also had to ride through the pitlane for jumping the start, but mounted a brilliant recovery to finish inside the points for the fourth successive race. Crutchlow was running in ninth place when he ran off track at Turn 3 on lap four after contact with Toni Elias; he dropped back to 15th and then lost a further 17 seconds when he was penalised with a ride through pitlane for a jump start. He returned to the track in last position but never gave up and he salvaged five important World Championship points to strengthen his bid to be crowned 2011 Rookie of the Year.
“Where do you start after a race like that? I knew I’d jumped the start because directly in front of me was Simoncelli and I just let the clutch out when I saw him move. After that I just wanted to push to pick up as many places as I could before I needed to come in for the pitlane ride through. I was pushing to pass Elias but he braked really sharply at Turn 3 and I nearly ran into the back of him. That put me in the gravel, so if you take off the time I lost in that incident and the time I lost with the penalty, I’m sure I could have been in the top seven. After all the drama I just wanted to finish! This is the fourth race in succession now that I’ve finished and I’m gaining a lot of experience. I haven’t felt my best physically this weekend and I didn’t know the track either, so to bag a few more points is a positive outcome and now I’m really excited about the last three races. I know Phillip Island, Sepang and Valencia, so hopefully I can have a really strong finish to the season.”
COLIN EDWARDS, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3
Race Position: 8th Championship Position: 9th
“WHAT A RACE THAT WAS!”
| Starting from 14th, Colin Edwards kept his composure as the chaotic action unfolded in front of him to move into seventh position on lap 18 having brilliantly pulled away from Twin Ring Motegi specialist Hiroshi Aoyama. Edwards dropped back to eighth with factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies mounting an exciting surge back through the pack after he was caught up in a first lap incident with Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. At the chequered flag the 37-year-old was once again the top non-factory rider. |
“What a race that was and I’m struggling to remember everything that happened because it seemed like each time I went round a corner somebody else was in the gravel! There was so much chaos it was just about surviving. Right away I knew Cal had jumped the start and then Valentino and Ben were in the gravel. Casey was then off track, so I just got my head down and once the hard rear tyre got heated up and working good, I put in some decent times around the halfway stage. Honestly speaking, my pace wasn’t there all weekend, so to get eighth is a positive result and we can move on and try be much faster at Phillip Island, which is a great track.”
NICKY HAYDEN, MARLBORO DUCATI
Race Position: 7th Championship Position: 7th
“I CAME IN WAY TOO HOT...”
Ducati rider Nicky Hayden was fighting with Alvaro Bautista for fourth place and lapping at a very competitive pace when he entered Turn 1 too quickly and went off track, losing several positions. He ultimately finished the race in seventh place.
“Our bike was pretty good this weekend. Even though I was only eighth fastest in morning warm-up, I was pretty consistent, and this weekend is really the first time I’ve been kind of competitive here. On the start, everybody flinched, and I almost got baited into jumping. Then I got touched by Vale on the exit of Turn 1 and went off the track and lost a lot of time. We were all racing, and it was normal for the first lap. I got into a pretty good rhythm, and when Casey came past me, I wanted to try to follow him past Bautista, but I came in way too hot and went off the track. It’s a shame, because with everybody making mistakes, I had a chance to get us a good result. It was my mistake, and I’m sorry to Ducati and everybody, because they worked so hard. Phillip Island is a track I like, so hopefully there we can do a decent race there.”
Hiroshi Aoyama rode his San Carlo Honda Gresini to 7th place at a track he knows extremely well, and remains 10th in the Championship. Karel Abraham did not start the race and drops to 14th overall in the standings.
Round 16 of MotoGP is at Phillip Island, Sunday October 16.
For more information on Arai helmets please visit www.whyarai.co.uk
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