MotoGP Jerez: Sunday (updated regularly)

Bridgestone

Tyre compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium
Valentino Rossi’s first victory of the season means MotoGP has now enjoyed three different winners and three different championship leaders in as many races in the single tyre era.

Q&A with Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development
What was the biggest challenge for the tyres in Jerez?
During the IRTA official pre-season test at Jerez the track temperature was around 34 degrees Celsius, so over the weekend we had an extra 15 degrees of temperature for the Bridgestone slicks to deal with. Extra heat like this is more demanding of the rubber as it makes the tyres run much hotter. The hotter tyres get, the more the rubber starts to move and this makes the tyre’s temperature rise even faster, so it can be a big challenge. However, we were able to use the same compounds in both the test and the race with no problems so this is another example of the wider operating temperature range of our tyres for this season.

As well as this, the track has been resurfaced since last year and made more abrasive, so demands more of the rubber. The more abrasive the track and the more grip it offers, the more it loads the tyre and this is another element that generates more heat in the rubber. We saw though that the Bridgestone slicks had very good durability and consistency for the race distance, especially as riders were pushing hard in some close battles right to the race finish, such as Jorge Lorenzo chasing Casey Stoner and the battle between Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi and Colin Edwards. When riders are pushing in a close race, this always demands more of the tyres.

How and when were the compounds chosen for the weekend?
We decided before the start of the season that we would bring the soft and medium compound rear Bridgestones and the hard and medium compound fronts to the race. We brought the exact same tyre compounds to the pre-season test here at the end of March, and this test confirmed that we had made the right choice for the race. Expecting that the temperature would be hot this weekend, we intended well in advance to bring the hard compound front tyre to this race.

How did tyre compound choices between qualifying and the race differ?
Most riders tried the hard front and medium rear tyres in qualifying, but the fastest laps were done using the hard front and soft rear tyre for extra traction over a shorter qualifying distance. For the race, everyone used the hard front tyre as we expected, and most riders used the medium compound rear for extra durability over the 27 laps, especially as Sunday was the hottest day of the weekend for track temperature. Nicky Hayden, Mika Kallio and Niccolo Canepa all kept the soft compound rear however to try and achieve a better match with the characteristics of their bikes and setups. Nicky and Mika seem to favour the soft rear compound as they also used it in Motegi. These three riders had no problems with the soft rear even with these track conditions so this is also a good demonstration of the durability of this year’s Bridgestones.

So far this season in all three races we have mainly used the medium compound rear Bridgestone even though each track has had a different character and there has been wide temperature variation. We haven’t been able to use one tyre in so many different conditions in the past so this shows the wider operating range of the 2009 Bridgestones.

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San Carlo Honda Gresini

It proved a frustrating end to a difficult Grand Prix of Spain for the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team, with Toni Elias and Alex de Angelis picking up points in ninth and fourteenth place respectively but both riders left to rue a missed opportunity. Elias had been confident of a much higher position after qualifying ninth on the grid but with track temperatures higher than they had been all weekend in this afternoon’s searing sunshine, rear traction problems returned to haunt him and he could do no more than damage limitation.

De Angelis’ preparations were hit by a high-speed crash at the end of qualifying yesterday, when he was caught out by a strong gust of wind, and his chances took a further blow this morning when he came down with a bout of ‘flu. After undergoing treatment from the Clinica Mobile the San Marino youngster battled bravely in the race but also struggled with set-up issues and after getting caught up behind the aggressive James Toseland he was unable to take the fight to the Briton and was forced to settle for a two-point haul.

Toni Elias (9th): “I honestly thought we were capable of a better race today but it was impossible. We were suffering too much throughout the race with a lack of rear traction and I can promise the fans that I couldn’t do any more than what I did. In a situation like this you can only try to take some positives away from the Grand Prix as a whole and looking back at the weekend we have at least continued to make progress. We were two seconds off the pace in Qatar, one and a half seconds off in Motegi and one second off here. The target for Le Mans is to reduce it to less than a second. I hope we can do it.”

Alex De Angelis (14th): “I woke up this morning with a bout of flu and I was really struggling. Doctor Costa sorted me out with some medication but I certainly wasn’t at 100% for the race. I got a decent start but I got stuck behind Toseland and even though I felt much faster than him he was very, very strong on the brakes and I just couldn’t get past. I got stuck there for the whole race and that was that, pretty much! There’s not much else to say! It has been one of my hardest weekends for a long time and I’m looking forward to spending some time at home, recovering from this illness and having a good rest before France, which promises to be another tough one for us.”

Fausto Gresini – Team Manager: “I am so disappointed and angry right now that I can’t bring myself to comment on that race. I think the best thing for us is to put it behind us and look forward. Hopefully things will be better at Le Mans. They can’t be much worse!”

1 Valentino ROSSI ITA Yamaha 45’ 18” 557
2  Dani PEDROSA SPA  Honda  45?21” 257
3 Casey STONER  AUS  Ducati  45’ 29” 064
4  Randy DE PUNIET FRA Honda 45’ 50” 450
5  Marco MELANDRI ITA Kawasaki 45’ 51” 685
6 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Suzuki  45’ 52” 685
7  Colin  EDWARDS USA yamaha  45’ 52” 978
8 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA  Honda  45’ 53” 182
9 Toni ELIAS SPA Honda  46’ 01“ 246
10 Chris  VERMEULEN AUS Suzuki 46’ 03“ 740
11 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Ducati 46’ 06” 749
12 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Honda 46’ 10” 432
13  James TOSELAND GBR Yamaha 46’ 12” 240
14 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM Honda 46’ 12” 498

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Ducati Marlboro

Casey Stoner backed up his best ever MotoGP qualifying performance at Jerez with his best ever result in any class here today, sealing third place at his bogey circuit with a superb performance. The Ducati Marlboro rider got an ideal start from third on the grid, chasing early leader and home favourite Dani Pedrosa over the opening five laps before conceding a position to Valentino Rossi. Stoner fought back and passed Rossi into the first turn of the following lap but the Italian quickly responded and opened up sufficient breathing space to defend a similar attack next time around.

From that point Stoner settled into third place, withstanding increasing pressure from Jorge Lorenzo in the closing stages to the point that the Spaniard crashed out with four laps remaining, such was the desperation of his pursuit. The flip side of the coin for the team was another difficult day for Nicky Hayden, who has struggled all weekend to find a good set-up, hindered by his physical condition after heavy crashes in each of the opening two rounds. The American also battled bravely, however, to pick up a solitary point in 15th place.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd
“After all these years this is my first time on the podium at Jerez so it has been a long time coming – I’ve had plenty of opportunities in the past but I’ve been unlucky and made mistakes, so this tastes really sweet. Today I wasn’t nervous about the race at all because to be honest I went into it thinking that I didn’t have a chance of finishing on the podium. We knew Dani, Valentino and Jorge all had a better pace than us so we took a bit of a gamble with the setting to try and find an extra edge and it paid off, so I have to thank the team for that. I got a great start and I was running right up there with Dani in the early stages but I started to lose the front in a few corners. When Valentino came I tried to hold him off as best as I could but when he came past me the second time I decided to try and stay behind him, to see if he could take me with him to Dani. Unfortunately from that point I was losing the front even more often and there was one place in particular where I was almost crashing every lap. When Jorge started to close in I honestly thought it was ‘game over’ but I kept pushing to try and at least take the battle to the final laps. It was just getting to the point where I was going to have to back off because I was risking a crash, but Jorge solved that problem for me! I couldn’t believe my luck but I think we deserved it though because the whole team has worked incredibly hard all weekend and I could not have given more in the race. It is only third place but it feels even better than the win in Qatar.”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 15th
“I was nervous that physically it would be a tough race but it turned out to be a lot worse than we expected. In the beginning I struggled a lot again with a full fuel load and I made a mistake on the first lap – I was trying to make some positions up and I actually lost some. I tried to recover but something was wrong with the set-up of the bike. I can’t make the harder compound work well with my bike and I have to go with the softer one but today even those didn’t start to work well until I got a lot of heat into them. I did my best time on the seventeenth lap so there is something we have definitely to work on with the team. We need to look at the data and think up something different for the next one.”

LIVIO SUPPO – MotoGP PROJECT DIRECTOR
“I would rate that as one of the best performances of Casey’s career. He didn’t win but he made the podium for the first time at this circuit through sheer determination. He’s getting even better in every area – ‘bravissimo’! On the other hand it has been a really difficult Grand Prix for Nicky on the back of two tough weekends and two crashes. We have a little break now during which time we can sit down and work out how to get him back to the level he was at in the winter tests, which would lift him much higher up the order.”

2009 Jerez GP Podium
1° Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 2° Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 2° Casey Stoner (Ducati)

Circuit Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2009), 1’39.818 – 159.518 Km/h
2009 Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), 1’38.933 – 160.945 Km/h
Best Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha – 2008), 1’38.189 – 162.164 Km/h

Rider Championship Classification
1° Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 65 points; 2° Casey Stoner (Ducati) 54; 3° Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 41; 4° Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 41; 5° Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 30; … 17° Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 5.

Constructor Championship Classification
1° Yamaha (70 points); 2° Ducati (54); 3° Honda (47); 4° Suzuki (28); 5° Kawasaki (23)

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KTM

Marc Marquez, a KTM factory supported rider in 2008, did not race at home in Jerez last year because of a training injury but he made up for that on Sunday in a superb performance that saw him finish just a shade behind the more experienced Sergio Gadea. The winner was Briton Bradley Smith who stayed out in front the whole race leaving a tight pack of podium contenders to fight it out behind him in a heart stopping contest that lasted throughout the 21-lap race.

Front row grid to third place
For the first time in his young career, Marquez started on the front row of the grid and from the outset it was clear that the main battle was going to be for the minor places. After initially riding in a pack of six riders, Marquez jockeyed his way into third place then with the order of the front runners constantly changing with every lap, he managed to slip into second place in the closing stages. Coming into the final straight, Gadea finally made his move and relegated Marquez into third by just 21 hundredths of a second at the drop of the chequered flag.

Marc Marquez, third place in 42:03.109
“It was an unusual feeling to be starting in the first row and the straight looked so empty from where I was sitting! I got away well and at first was second but in the fourth corner I made a mistake and almost crashed. Then I spent a lot of time looking at my opponents and thinking about where I would be able to pass them. I didn’t really want to stay ahead of the group, because with the wind today, this was a disadvantage in comparison to stay hidden away. But in the end, I made my move, and would have almost finished second. Unfortunately, Gadea caught me out of the slipstream. But finishing on the podium here in front of the Spanish fans is still a fantastic result. I am happy!”

Cameron Beaubier, Red Bull KTM Moto Sport’s second 16-year-old factory rider, achieved his pre-race target of finishing in the points by coming home in fifteenth place.

Cameron Beaubier, fifteenth in 42:33.999
“I had a really good start but then, early on in the race, I started to get problems with traction. I dropped from eleventh to nineteenth place, but then managed to get into a good rhythm again and fight my way through to my first world championship point. It was a lot of fun!”

Bartol very satisfied
“I am very satisfied with my rider because he was able to compensate for some things that we must keep our eyes on. We have to work hard on the chassis because it should not be so that he has to compensate for this. Jonas Folger also rode a second faster than Marquez in the race even though he is certainly not a rider at the same high level. That showed us that something basically still lacking and we must double our work efforts to correct this. I am also very satisfied with Beaubier who got his first world championship point in only his third GP. It was a good weekend for us!

Fagerhaug to race as a wild card in Le Mans
The Red Bull KTM Moto Sport team has also announced that Red Bull Rookie Sturla Fagerhaug of Norway, who won the opening Red Bull Rookies Cup race at Jerez, will ride as a wild card entry in the next 125cc GP in Le Mans, France on the May 16-17 race weekend.

Results
1. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia, 41:49.556
2. Sergio Gadea, Spain, Aprilia, 42:03.080
3. Marc Marquez, Spain, KTM, 42:03.109
4. Scott Redding, Britain, Aprilia, 42:03:807
5. Efren Vazquez, Spain, Derbi, 42:04.314
Other KTM
15. Cameron Beaubier, USA, KTM 42:33.999

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Jake Gagne (Red Bull MotoGP Rookies)

Jake Gagne’s first weekend with the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup was a postive one after the Ramona, California, rider scored points in both races of a doubleheader weekend as he steadily improved his times throughout the three days on the track. Gagne, part of the 26-rider Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup series consisting of some of the fastest teen racers in the world, earned 11th place on Saturday and ninth on Sunday at the windy Jerez circuit in Spain.

“For my first race as part of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, I learned a lot and had a good time,” said Jake. “We managed to keep it up on both wheels and get points even though it was pretty windy the whole time and some riders crashed. I wasn’t real happy with how the weekend started, but we progressed the whole time and I am pleased with that.”

Gagne had difficulties with his suspension settings early in the weekend and only qualified 21st fastest, but Jake moved up the charts with his trademark steady riding that saw him win two races in the American version of the Rookies Cup last year. In Sunday’s race, he gained ten spots in the race and worked his way up to 11th position — narrowly losing out to fellow American Hayden Gillim for tenth.

“Practice wasn’t so great, and I knew I had my work cut out for me in the race,” said Jake. “I was trying to get a good start, and move up from there. The first race was red flagged mid-way through. I had a close battle for position as the race wound down and I got 11th. It was really windy out there and pretty much impossible to ride mistake-free, but it made for an exciting race.”

Sunday saw the 15-year-old earn a position inside the top 10 as he improved to ninth and the top American finisher in the race. “We made some changes to the suspension, but we really went the wrong way,” Gagne confessed. “I got a pretty good start and gained some positions, but I held ninth pretty much by myself. It was good to get some race laps in and get back into a race situation again. The results were not quite as I would have liked, but I wasn’t unhappy. Mugello looks like
a good track and I hope to get a top five there.”

After Jerez, Jake is now ninth in the points standings.

Jake will next race in Mugello, Italy, on May 30th.

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Pramac Racing

The Grand Prix of Spain ends without any luck for the Pramac Racing Team. Mika Kallio, who started from the seventeenth position on the grid, makes it to overtake a few riders in the first few turns finding himself in thirteenth place. After a few laps Mika’s lap times increased and three opponents overtook the Finnish rider. In the ninth lap Mika is obligated to enter the pit due to some problems at the rear break. His teammate, Niccolò Canepa, has concluded the race in sixteenth position notwithstanding a good start. Next MotoGP round in two weeks in Le Mans for the Grand Prix of France.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director
“Mika had some problems with the rear break. At the beginning of the race was going well, but all of a sudden he couldn’t manage to control the situation and preferred to enter the pit. Now we have to understand what happened. It’s a pity because we were doing a good comeback once again with very interesting lap times. We will be back in Le Mans in two weeks even stronger.”

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 16th in the race – 18th in the Championship
“We started quite well. During warm up we found a good technical compromise, but after a few laps in the race something happened in the front part of my bike that didn’t allow me to result as fast. It’s a pity because I could have finish this race probably three or four positions ahead. We will keep working hard to improve really soon.”

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – DNF – 11th in the Championship
“I am very sad today because I was doing well. In the start I made it to overtake three opponents but then I felt something strange in the rear part of my bike. I thought that it would be gone really quickly, but the situation has gotten worst and I was obligated to enter the pit. It’s a pity because I could have entered once again the top ten. Now we will analyze the situation to be able to improve in France in fourteenth days.”

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Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Danny Kent bettered Sturla Fagerhaug to win a superb and thankfully slightly less dramatic 2nd Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race at Jerez on Sunday. The blustery Spanish wind still contributed to a number of falls but this time Daijiro Hiura learnt from Saturday’s error and came home third ahead of Florian Marino.

Kent, the 15 year old Briton, explained how the wind effected him; “Every time I got in front the wind just pushed me back, it was so much easier to stay in the slipstream. There was no real way to break away. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake as yesterday so I kept counting down the laps as I crossed the line and went for it on the last lap, it wasn’t an easy move, I was determined, it was ‘win it or bin it.’”

Passed by Kent in the classic Jerez last-corner braking move Fagerhaug tried still to win. “I wasn’t surprised that Danny came past there, I thought I could pull it back on the inside and drive past on the way out but I was just a bit too close and had to back off slightly or hit his back wheel … that was it. Still a win and a second is not too bad from the weekend, it could have been a lot worse.”

Hiura did not make a great start from pole position and was back in 5th at the end of the first lap. Though the 15 year old Japanese was always in the lead pack he just wasn’t close enough over the last few laps to challenge Fagerhaug and Kent when it counted. “It was very windy again, difficult, a lot of riders all trying to pass all the time. I am happy to get some points but I want to win in Mugello.”

Fourth man home was 15 year old Frenchman Marino and not happy to have missed out on the podium. His was a fantastic performance though, having been at the hospital at midnight before the race following his Saturday crash. Seemingly unhurt in the fall he had later felt sick and was only cleared to race after a precautionary hospital check. “I really should have been able to be in the first three at least but some of the other guys are just not clever in the way they overtake, too many times they came inside almost out of control and we’d both go wide, you lose too much time like that, it doesn’t make sense.”

7th place finisher Mathew Scholtz, the 16 year old South African, echoed Marino’s feelings. “I wanted to get away with Sturla and Danny but then Daijiro came passed and then Pardo who just pushed me wide, it was a bit crazy and I went from 3rd to 7th in a couple of laps. I’ve got a gouge in my knee slider from someone’s front wheel, that’s a bit too close.”

Not all the heroes of the race finished, yet could still be satisfied with their first weekend as Red Bull Rookies. Following his excellent 4th place finish on Saturday, Alex Kristiansson, the 15 year old Swede, stormed through to lead the first lap on Sunday. He was solidly in the battle for a place on the rostrum until he slid off on lap 5. “The wind just got under the bike and I couldn’t catch it. I was just going the same speed, doing the same thing as I did the lap before but it caught me out. I think also the rubber from the MotoGP race might have made the track a little more slippery in some places.”

Someone with even less experience on a road racer is 13 year old Australian speedway rider Arthur Sissis. He was in the thick of the hard fighting front group when he slid off going for sixth place on lap 11. “I braked late to get past one of the Italians (Pardo) and just lost the front. I was enjoying it up to then. My knee wasn’t causing me any trouble but then I tore the stitches I had after yesterday’s crash and it was bleeding quite a bit, but that’s OK.”

Thankfully the injury list was not lengthened by Sunday’s falls and everyone was buoyed by the good news from Harry Stafford. The 15 year old Briton was knocked unconscious in Saturday’s nasty crash but quite soon after the doctors became optimistic as he steadily improved. Taken to Cadiz hospital for a complete scan he fully regained consciousness and the doctors are confident he will make a complete recovery. He is due to be released from hospital on Wednesday or Thursday and will have a medical flight back to Britain where he should complete his recovery at home. He also broke his right collarbone. Considering his serious concussion he is not expected to race again for a couple of months.

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MotoGP

Valentino Rossi took his first win of the season at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España on Sunday, beating Dani Pedrosa to the line by a 2.7s margin in front of a huge Spanish crowd of more than 123,000 fans in Andalusia.

Pedrosa led for the first half of the race having made one of his trademark strong starts from second on the grid, but Rossi took the lead with ten laps to go and did not look back there and his triumph gives him an 11 point lead in the general standings.

The rostrum was completed by Casey Stoner, who trailed Rossi by 10 seconds – the Ducati Marlboro rider moving into second place in the championship. It was the Australian’s first podium appearance at the southern Spanish track on any category.

As was the case in the 250cc and 125cc races, the Spanish rider who got underway in pole position crashed out in MotoGP. Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo lost control riding in fourth place with three laps to go, losing ground in the championship race after coming into the weekend as the series leader.

An excellent performance from Randy de Puniet, meanwhile, saw the Frenchman bring his LCR Honda satellite machine home in fourth place, having qualified in fifth, to give himself a confidence boost ahead of his home GP at Le Mans in two weeks time.

Another fine run from Marco Melandri gave the Italian another good points haul in fifth, improving upon his good result from last weekend in Japan for the Kawasaki-equipped Hayate Racing team.

Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi rode steadily from sixth on the grid to maintain the position meaning that five different manufacturers were represented in the top six.

Monster Tech Yamaha’s Colin Edwards crossed the line seventh, whilst Andrea Dovizioso did well to finish eighth in his third ride for the factory Repsol Honda team -having left the track at one stage due to a lack of grip. Toni Elías was the second best Spaniard in ninth for the San Carlo Honda Gresini team, with the top ten completed by Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen.

Sete Gibernau -on his return to Jerez for his first race at the track since 2006- could only manage 11th for the Grupo Francisco Hernando team, whilst former World Champion Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) crossed the line 15th.

250cc

There was a brilliant battle between four riders at the front of the 250cc race, with Scot Racing team’s Hiroshi Aoyama ultimately emerging on top, holding off the advances of Álvaro Bautista right at the death.

The lead changed hands continuously throughout the race between Aoyama, Bautista and Metis Gilera’s World Champion Marco Simoncelli – the Italian falling away slightly in the final laps to eventually come home third.

Aoyama outfought Bautista on the very last corner, the Japanese rider beating the Spaniard in his home race just as the Aprilia man had done to the Honda equipped Aoyama last week at Motegi. Aoyama now holds the championship lead by four points from Mapfre Aspar rider Bautista.

As the front four crossed the line within three seconds of each other, Simoncelli completed the podium ahead of fourth placed Héctor Barberá (Pepe World Team Aprilia), the Italian finishing 0.063s ahead of the Spaniard. A close battle for fifth place was won by Thomas Luthi (Emmi – Caffe Latte) who beat Mattia Pasini (Team Toth Aprilia) to the line by 0.004s.

125cc

Bancaja Aspar’s team Bradley Smith earned his first ever win on the 50th time of asking in the 125cc class.

There was heartbreak for poleman and home rider Julián Simón who suffered a nasty highside on lap five when running in second place and an accident on the first lap for series leader Andrea Iannone (Ongetta Team I.S.P.A) meant Smith went unchallenged en route to victory.

Behind Smith there was a superb race-long battle for the podium with his team-mate Sergio Gadea eventually edging out Marc Márquez (Red Bull KTM) to make it a great day for the Spanish team and for those two Spanish riders in front of the home fans.

The top five comprised only British and Spanish names in fact as Scott Redding (Blusens Aprilia) and Efrén Vázquez (Derbi Racing Team) crossed the line fractionally behind Gadea and Márquez.

The World Championship returns to action at the Grand Prix de France in a fortnight’s time.

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LCR Honda

In hard fought race LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy de Puniet finished 4th in today’s Spanish Grand Prix at a sunny Jerez de la Frontera ahead 123.340 MotoGP fans. Today’s ambience temperature rose up to 21°C (27°C on the ground) and the 28-year-old was again a strong performer in this morning warm up session gaining the 7th quickest lap time (1’40.368) after yesterday’s good qualifying lap time which allowed him to start from the second row.

Started from the 5th position for the 27-lap round at the 4.423 Km race track, De Puniet was 5th at the end of the first lap and started a close battle with Dovizioso that went wide on the gravel on lap 8. The Frenchman riding the Honda RC212V no. 14 set impressive lap times since the beginning of the race and when Lorenzo crashed at 4 laps to go he finished 4th overall. The race was won by Rossi on Yamaha followed by home hero Pedrosa and Stoner.

Randy and his squad will be on track again on the 17 of May for the French GP at Le Mans race track.

De Puniet – 4th: “It was a perfect week end for me and the Team. When I enjoy the bike I can go really fast and people can see that today. This was the best bike I had since I have been riding with Lucio’s Team. It was very easy to ride and I had fun. I made a good start and when Dovizioso overtook me I remain concentrated trying to keep my position. After few laps he made a mistake and I came back to the 5th place. Then, at the end, the final result of the race gave me the 4th place overall. I am very satisfied about the work we made during this week end as we struggled a bit here during the pre season test. Honestly I think that if we keep this pace for the rest of the season we can be very competitive. However we keep our feet on the ground as we must restart from zero in Le Mans. I absolutely want to end all the races to get as many points as possible. A big thank you to my Team because they did a great job!”

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Monster Yamaha Tech 3

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team ended a scorching hot Spanish MotoGP race with hard fought points scoring finishes for Colin Edwards and James Toseland.

Texan Edwards starred in one of the most fiercely contested battles of the 27-lap encounter, dicing throughout with Italian duo Marco Melandri and Loris Capirossi in front of a sun-drenched crowd of 123,340 fans.
Edwards expertly moved his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine by Capirossi to take seventh on lap ten, and four laps later he passed Melandri to set about securing his second top six in the opening three races.
Small issues with his rear suspension setting though saw Edwards lose a superb last lap battle with Capirossi that left him only 1.3s away from a superb top five finish. Today’s result though keeps Edwards in the top six in the championship standings and leading non-factory rider.

British rider Toseland rode a determined race to finish 13th, the 28-year-old unable to progress any further through the field as he never found a comfortable set-up on his YZR-M1 machine. He showed his battling qualities though to fend off a persistent challenge from Alex de Angelis.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now takes a deserved break before its home race at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans on May 17, with expectations high after Edwards finished third in 2008.

Colin Edwards 7th – 26 points
“I got a really good start but right from the first lap I knew I wasn’t going to be able to run the pace I needed. The guys in front just gapped me immediately and I couldn’t get the bike to turn. We went in the wrong direction yesterday when it was hot, so for the race we went back to the setting I’d had in the morning when the track temperature was a bit cooler. In the cooler temperatures that setting was fine, but once the temperature goes up I just couldn’t get into the rhythm I want and know I was capable of. I wanted to be smooth and precise but I couldn’t do that. I was having to adjust my style to get some weight on the rear to help the bike turn, but it wasn’t enough for me to get into the top six and that’s a bit frustrating.”

James Toseland 13th – 10 points
“It has been a tough weekend and we have got some issues to sort out. We’re still trying a few things on the bike and I’m still searching for a comfortable setting over a race distance. I still need a second or so on race pace but I need to sort out qualifying too. I can do the same times as four or five guys in front of me, but when you’re all lapping at the same pace, it’s hard to come through. I’m giving myself too much to do from qualifying and being too far back. You don’t need to be too far off but if you start at the back you stay at the back in a competitive class like this. It has not been a great start to the season but I don’t feel we’re that far away. We’ve got a lot of information from this weekend and we’re eliminating things that we know don’t work. I’m confident we’re close to finding the setting I need and working hard with my guys to find it.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“It was a difficult race and in the first two races I have to say we were a little bit closer to the front. It’s a shame that Colin wasn’t quite comfortable enough with the setting to fight closer with (Loris) Capirossi and (Marco) Melandri at the end. A top six would have been well deserved for his hard effort and maybe fifth was achievable. It was also a tough weekend for James. His lap times in the race were not too bad but it is clear he must improve in qualifying. He is capable of a much stronger performance, but it is difficult when you don’t qualify well. The start of the race now is crucial and qualifying is something that he will work on with his team.

“Everybody at Tech 3 is now looking forward to our home race. We know Le Mans is very good circuit for Yamaha and last year Colin was on the podium behind Jorge (Lorenzo) and Valentino (Rossi). I’d also like to thank Mark Hall from Monster Energy for his support this weekend. The Yamaha Tech 3 team is delighted to have Monster Energy as our title sponsor, and I’m sure our partnership will bring success in the future.”

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Bridgestone

Tyre compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium

Valentino Rossi scored his first victory of the 2009 season from fourth on the grid for Fiat Yamaha after overcoming Dani Pedrosa’s 1.4 second advantage to pass the Spaniard by lap 18 of the 27 lap race. With all of the riderschoosing to race on Bridgestone’s hard front tyre and only three using the softer of the rear slick options, round three of the MotoGP season delivered the third different winner in as many races.The hard compound front and medium compound rear Bridgestones were clearly the favoured combination given the track temperature and the more abrasive nature of the resurfaced tarmac. Only Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden and the Pramac Racing pairing of Niccolo Canepa and Mika Kallio, the latter retiring with rear brake troubles, opted for the soft rear Bridgestone in an effort to better match the characteristics of their bikes.In front of his home crowd, Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa led for most of the race until overhauled by Rossi, and Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner finished third to claim his first podium at Jerez. Randy de Puniet claimed fourth on his satellite LCR Honda machine after polesitter Jorge Lorenzo fell four laps from the end, and in fifth was Marco Melandri who gave another strong performance for the Hayate Racing team.

Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Sport Unit: “It has been a good race today and I am pleased to see three manufacturers on the podium. It is great to see Valentino’s first victory of the season, and means that we have now had three different winners in three races, and three different championship leaders. I am also pleased to see Dani finish second at his home race, claiming his second podium of 2009 so soon after injury, and Casey score his first podium finish at Jerez.”

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development: “The hard front and medium rear Bridgestone combination performed well today and we saw very good consistency over the race distance, with the hottest track temperature we have seen this weekend. The winning race time this year was 17 seconds faster than last year and the consistency was better so I am happy. This situation clearly showsthe wider operating range and improved consistency of this year’s one-make Bridgestone tyres.”

Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha, Race Winner: “I’m so happy. It was a strange weekend for me because on Friday I was very fast but on Saturday we had a lot of problems and I was quite slow. Already from this morning I was fast with the soft tyre so I was confident for the race.The race was fantastic I think. With Casey it was a great battle, two or three overtaking so was fun. In the first part I was not able to chase a lot but in the last part of the race I was able to come back. In the last ten laps I had better pace, better feeling so was able to push and it is fantastic to get the victory.”

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Fiat Yamaha

Valentino Rossi took a stunning win in Jerez today, his first of the season and the 98th of his career taking him 11 points clear at the top of the championship. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo had a disappointing home race, crashing out on lap 24 when closing on the final podium position.

The reigning World Champion had looked in trouble yesterday but an overnight set-up change saw him fastest in warm-up and he lined up confident that he would be able to mount a challenge. Starting from fourth on the grid, Rossi held his position at the start and managed to pass Lorenzo on the final turn of the second lap. Casey Stoner was the next target and the Italian quickly began to close the gap, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap four. Rossi and Stoner exchanged a couple of entertaining passes in the next few laps before the Yamaha rider made it stick at the end of the seventh lap, with the gap to Dani Pedrosa in the lead then standing at 1.2 seconds. The middle section of the race saw Rossi making little headway into the Spaniard’s lead but at two-thirds distance he suddenly found a new rhythm and started shaving tenths off the gap, making the definitive move and claiming the lead with 10 laps to go. From then on there was only one winner and the irrepressible 30-year-old brought his M1 home 2.7 seconds clear of second-placed Pedrosa. Ever the joker, Rossi took advantage of the moment to replicate one of his most famous post-race stunts ten years on, making a stop on his victory lap to pop into a track side portable toilet, to the delight of the 120,000-strong crowd.

After his dazzling pole position Lorenzo was fully expecting to challenge for the win but the higher track temperature today caused problems and he lacked the grip and pace of yesterday. The Mallorcan, who turns 22 tomorrow, spent most of the race in a lonely fourth position but in the final stages began to close on Stoner and looked like he might have a podium chance. With the gap down to under half a second the excitement began to build in the 99 side of the garage but with just four laps to go he lost the front and went down, emerging unhurt from the gravel trap but with damage to his foot peg and throttle meaning there was no chance to finish the race.

Rossi now leads Stoner by 11 points in the standings, whilst Lorenzo slips to third, 13 points adrift of the Australian. The MotoGP paddock will reconvene on French soil in ten days time for round four in Le Mans.

Valentino Rossi, Position: 1st Time: 45′18.557
“This is a wonderful victory because yesterday we were really quite worried! I couldn’t ride how I wanted to and it was very hard. We had to work all together to understand how to fix the problem and finally we made a big change to try to make the bike feel how I like in the corner, which worked, so I have to say a huge thank you to Jeremy and all my guys. This morning we could tell immediately that things were much better and then we made a couple more small changes after warm-up, which made my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres feel even better. The race was long and quite hard – I lost some time getting past Lorenzo at the start and then I had a good battle with Stoner, which I enjoyed. After that I wasn’t so fast and I couldn’t close the gap to Pedrosa for a while; he was very quick but finally things improved and I was able to catch and pass him. It’s great to win again and especially here in Jerez, which I love. It’s ten years since I made the joke with the toilet here and so I thought it would be funny to do it again if I won – I liked that a lot! Now I hope that the changes we’ve made here will help us for the rest of the season. Thanks again to everyone!”

Jorge Lorenzo, Position: DNF Time:
“I am very sad, because I was so fast all weekend and on pole position. Unfortunately today the temperature meant that our setting did not work in the same way and at the moment we don’t understand why. This is really more disappointing than the actual crash. Fourth position wouldn’t have been so bad but when you’re in front of your fans, at home with so much adrenalin on the bike of course you try to do the maximum. I could see that the podium was possible and maybe the right thing would have been to go more gently and not push so hard in that moment, but I always want to do my best. Then I made a mistake and I threw all my good work away. We have to try to forget this and wake up feeling positive tomorrow because Le Mans is near. I’m sorry to all the fans who came to see me, to my team, family and to everybody!”

Davide Brivio, Team Manager
“This is a very important victory and after two second places everyone in the team was waiting for it and really wanted it. To win like this is something special; after being in trouble and quite sad on Saturday there was a lot of effort, long meetings, hard work by all the engineers, mechanics and technicians and finally we were able to give a good package to Valentino. If you can make Valentino feel happy on the bike then he will always give you this kind of performance and today it was wonderful to watch. This has to be our target every time. I am very happy and proud of all our guys, and of course of Valentino!”

Daniele Romagnoli, Team Manager
“We’re very disappointed for today’s result. After excellent practice and qualifying sessions we expected to be on the podium but with the warmer temperature Jorge lost grip on the rear. At the end he was catching Stoner but then he lost the front and that was that! Now we need to make a deep analysis of why we had these unexpected problems and make sure they don’t happen again. It’s bad luck but now we will look forward to Le Mans, where we had a great result last year.”

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Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi fought all the way to the finish line at today’s Spanish Grand Prix, as he battled to a hard won sixth place at a hot Jerez.

Capirossi started from the second row of the grid, but he had to change his rear tyre as he lined up to start the race and it took him couple of laps to get it up to temperature – causing him to be relegated down to ninth position on lap three. He then got involved in a three way battle with Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards as the trio swapped places for the rest of the race. On the final laps Capirossi made an effort to get up into fifth, but lack of grip caused him to run wide and back to seventh. He quickly composed himself and attacked again on the last lap as he and Edwards traded places a number of times. Eventually Capirossi came out on top in the final corner to grab sixth place.

Chris Vermeulen started from 10th on the grid and got off the line well, but he was hit by a couple of other riders in the first corner and lost his position. By lap two he was down in 14th place, but the true racer spirit showed through as he set about chasing the riders in front of him. By lap 24 of 27 Vermeulen had made his way up to 10th place, but a higher position was beyond him as the riders in front were too far away to catch.

Today’s race was held in hot and sunny conditions as air temperatures reached 26�C and the track rose to 50�C. A huge Spanish crowd of over 123,000 people saw reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi win for the sixth time at Jerez, a result that lifts him to the top of the�championship.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now makes the short trip across Europe to Le Mans in�France for the next round of the 2009 MotoGP season on Sunday 17th May.

Loris Capirossi:
“I am a bit upset with the result, because we had a problem with the tyre and had to change it on the grid and that cost us some places at the start. We put in a new one and for the first two laps it did not work as well as I would have liked. After it settled down I pushed hard and chased Marco and Colin and tried get past them. I did that but the grip dropped off pretty quickly and they went back past me, so I played about with the�traction control to find the best solution. I found a good setting and although I was fighting a lot with the bike I was able to stay with the two of them. In the last three laps I tried to overtake and I got past Colin and went by Marco, but I braked too late and ran wide and they both went back past me. On the last lap I overtook Colin again, but there wasn’t enough time to get Marco. We want to go much better than this, but we have to work harder, because although the bike is not too bad we have to take some big steps!”

Chris Vermeulen:
“I got a reasonable start off the line, but I came together with a couple of other riders in turn one and lost my momentum. It was a bit difficult as I had a couple of Ducatis around me and with their straight-line speed they were a bit hard to get past. Once I got by I thought I would be able to pick up my lap-time, but we struggled with front grip and I wasn’t able to. The track temperature was a few degrees hotter today and it seemed to affect us more than it did some others and we have to work out why. I am disappointed with 10th because obviously the goal was to be nearer the front. We will now re-group and get to work on the next race.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“We managed to match our qualifying positions in the race today, which is not at all spectacular, but it is in honesty about what we could have expected. We need a bit more performance from the machine, but also for our overall rider and bike package the hardest tyre this weekend simply didn’t suit us. It’s the same for everyone, so hopefully we’ll find the situation the other way round at a circuit sometime soon, but in the meantime we’ll be working hard to get the absolute best out of the package we’ve got at the next couple of races.”

Ian Ross – Imperial Tobacco Central Marketing Director:
“It has been a great weekend for me, I knew a lot more about Formula 1 and this was my first time at a MotoGP, but this racing is definitely a lot more exciting! The Rizla Suzuki squad are a great team and they all work very hard, it was obviously not the result they would have wanted today but overall anybody involved with the team should feel proud with what these guys do!”

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Repsol Honda

Repsol Honda’s home star Dani Pedrosa guided his RC212V to second place in today’s Grand Prix of Spain after leading for much of the race. A crowd of over 123,000 sun-kissed spectators saw Pedrosa stretch his lead to 1.5s as he sought to repeat of his victory here last year, but in the end he was beaten to the chequered flag by Valentino Rossi.

When the starting lights went out, Pedrosa made his customary lightning getaway from second on the grid and the 23-year-old led for the first seventeen laps. On lap two the Spanish favourite broke his own lap record set last year as he absorbed the pressure from Casey Stoner behind him. On lap six of the 27-lap race, Valentino Rossi took over the pursuit and he was eventually able to pass Pedrosa.

Though slightly disappointed not to have won, Pedrosa was pleased with his second podium finish in succession after missing out on testing time in a difficult pre-season. The result means the Repsol Honda rider has been on the podium at Jerez in every year since his MotoGP debut in 2006. He now stands fourth in the World Championship with 41 points after three races.

Andrea Dovizioso also put in a spirited performance to fight back to eighth place after running off the track early in the race while in fifth position. The Italian, in his first season with Repsol Honda, had made rapid progress from eighth on the grid and was looking set for another strong race before he lost the rear going into turn eight on the eighth lap, running through the gravel and rejoining the race in 16th. The 23-year-old from Forli near Bologna displayed his never-say-die attitude by battling back up to 8th at the flag, but was left frustrated to have missed out on what he considered to be a possible fourth place today.

Casey Stoner climbed the final step of the podium and Randy de Puniet came home in fourth place on the LCR Honda. After back-to-back races in Japan and Spain, the MotoGP series now breaks for a weekend before reconvening at Le Mans for the French Grand Prix on Sunday May 17.

Dani Pedrosa – 2nd: “I really wanted to win here but I knew it was going to be tough because Valentino has been very strong through the weekend and I knew he’€™d be fast in the race – and that’s how it turned out. I got a good start, got out in front and then I just tried to concentrate on my race and see what the would happen. Although of course I wanted to win here for me, the team and the fans, I’€™m actually very happy with the podium and surprised too. We struggled when we arrived on Friday and having missed so much testing in the winter – and the test here – it’s a very good result for us. So I must say thanks to my team and everyone who’s working with me. We’re having quite a difficult time at the moment to get the machine performance to where we want it, so this podium is unbelievable.”

Andrea Dovizioso – 8th: “I didn’€™t make a great start but I was able to recover some places and I’€™m pretty sure I could have stayed with Lorenzo if I hadn’t made the mistake. On the eighth lap while I was in fifth position, I lost the rear entering turn eight and I almost crashed. Fortunately I was able to rejoin the race and started to climb back up from 16th to eighth position. I wasn’€™t as fast as I wanted today because we’re still not at 100 per cent with the set-up of the bike. I’m disappointed about today’s result because we didn’t get the best out of the bike today. Dani had a great race today and I think he’€™s getting the maximum possible from the package, so I want to say congratulations to him.”

Kazuhiko Yamano – Repsol Honda Team Manager: “€œToday Dani rode a great race and this result is very good for the team. He squeezed the maximum out of the package, and second place is a very impressive performance, especially considering the difficult preparation for the season he endured. So it’€™s a second good result for him but as a team we have to keep on working hard because many of our rivals are fast and the championship is going to be tight. We must improve our machine if we’€™re to fight at the front. Andrea wasn’t able to fulfil his potential because he ran off track today, but he continued to ride hard for the full race and this was useful for us because he collected some points and also gathered some race data, which should prove useful. It’€™s this never-say-die attitude that we must all use to achieve the progress we’€™re working for.”

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MotoGP

Sunday Guide

The last time that Spanish riders were on pole in all three classes was at the French GP last year when the three riders were: Sergio Gadea, Alex Debon and Dani Pedrosa. This is the first time that there have been three Spanish riders on pole at Jerez.

MotoGP

• With just 2.32 seconds separating Niccolo Canepa in 18th place on the grid and Jorge Lorenzo on pole, this is the closest MotoGP grid since the German GP last year.

• Jorge Lorenzo starts from pole for the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix last year. If Lorenzo wins the race he will be the first Spanish rider to take back-to-back MotoGP victories since Sete Gibernau in 2004. A win would also make him the fifth Spanish rider to win in the premier-class at Jerez, joining Alberto Puig, Alex Criville, Sete Gibernau and Dani Pedrosa.

• Dani Pedrosa, the winner here last year from second place on the grid, is the first Honda MotoGP rider to start from the front row this year.

• Casey Stoner has qualified on the front row for the first time at Jerez on a MotoGP machine. Stoner will be aiming to finish on the podium for the first time in any class of racing at the Jerez circuit.

• If Valentino Rossi finishes in the top three it will be his 64th podium since joining Yamaha, which will equal the record number of premier-class podiums on Yamaha currently held by Wayne Rainey.

• Randy de Puniet’s best result in his previous three MotoGP rides at Jerez is 13th two years ago.

• Loris Capirossi’s 5th place finish last year is the best result at Jerez for the Suzuki 4-stroke MotoGP machine. Capirossi’s 6th place on the grid has equalled the best ever qualifying performance by Suzuki’s MotoGP machine at Jerez.

• Seventh place on the grid is Colin Edwards’ lowest qualifying result since the Australian GP last year when he was also 7th.

• Marco Melandri is making his 100th Grand Prix start in the MotoGP class.

250cc

• Alex Debon starts from pole for just the third time in his GP career. His other poles were in Qatar and France last year. This is Debon’s 11th start at Jerez, all in the 250cc class, with best results of 5th in 2004 and 2007. Aged 33, Debon is the oldest rider to start on pole in the 250cc class since Ralf Waldmann at the Dutch TT in 2000.

• Hector Barbera’s only podium finish at Jerez was 3rd in the 125cc race in 2004.

• Since moving up to the 250cc class in 2006, Marco Simoncelli has not finished a race at Jerez, having crashed in each of his three starts.

• Following his success one week ago in Japan, Alvaro Bautista will be aiming for back-to-back wins for the first time since moving up to the 250cc class.

• Fifth placed qualifier Jules Cluzel is starting from his best ever grid position; his previous best was 11th on the grid at the Catalan GP in 2006.

125cc

• Julian Simon has qualified on pole for the second time in his GP career – his other pole was at the first race of the year in Qatar.

• Bradley Smith, who finished 3rd last year at Jerez, will be making his 50th Grand Prix start.

• If Andrea Iannone wins at Jerez he will be the first Italian rider to win three successive 125cc GP races since Marco Melandri in 1999.

• Marc Marquez has qualified on the front row for the first time – his previous best was 7th on the grid at Donington last year. Marquez is racing in a GP at Jerez for the first time having missed the event last year due to injury.

• Sergio Gadea will be aiming for a first podium finish since winning the opening race of last year in Qatar.

• Sixth place on the grid for Dominique Aegerter equals his best ever grid position from one week ago in Japan.

• Scott Redding’s seventh place on the grid is his best qualifying result since he was sixth on the grid in Japan last year.

• Danny Webb is eighth on the grid, making it three British riders qualifying in the top eight for the first time since the opening race of last year at Qatar.

• Last year’s winner Simone Corsi will be starting from 12th place on the grid – his best qualifying result of the year so far.