MOTOGP ROUND 16, PHILLIP ISLAND, SUNDAY OCTOBER 16

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.





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