PEDROSA AND ELIAS ON BRNO PODIUM2009-08-16 08:32Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) scored a solid second-place finish at Brno this afternoon, the Spaniard joined in the top three by compatriot Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini) who visited the podium for the first time this season. The two RC212V riders had very different races, Pedrosa alone for most of the 22 laps, Elias fighting all the way to beat British GP winner Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Suzuki). For the second race in a row, there were three Hondas in the top four. The 11th round of the 2009 series was won by Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) whose team-mate Jorge Lorenzo slid off while just ahead of the reigning World Champion. Pedrosa made his customary stunning start, roaring past Rossi into the first turn but conceding first place two corners later. When Lorenzo too came past three laps later Pedrosa gradually slipped back to run his own race in third. Then five laps from the chequered flag Lorenzo fell, shortly after taking the lead from Rossi, putting Pedrosa back into second place. Pedrosa was happy that he finished the race in good physical shape — only recently has he been able to undertake his full training regime following injuries sustained earlier in the year. Pedrosa and team-mate Dovizioso test at Brno tomorrow, along with the rest of the MotoGP pack, and they know the one-day session will be crucial to help them improve their pace for the final six races of 2009. The factory RC212V certainly has brilliant top-end performance, Pedrosa heading the top-speed charts this weekend at 302.6km/h. Lorenzo's crash added an extra surge of excitement to the entertaining contest between Elias, Dovizioso and Capirossi who were now fighting for the final slot on the podium. Dovizioso tried everything he could to get past Elias and he did get ahead for a lap in the closing stages, then surviving a major slide that had his left foot off the footpeg. The following lap Elias slipped past the Italian once again and held his advantage to the flag. Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) spent the first half of the race battling for sixth place with Colin Edwards (Yamaha), Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and Mika Kallio (Ducati, subbing for the absent Casey Stoner), but things got complicated for the San Marino rider when a butterfly flew inside his helmet, causing him vision problems and losing him several places. De Angelis crossed the line in eighth place after Kallio and Marco Melandri (Kawasaki) collided and crashed on the last corner of the race. Tenth place went to Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), the Frenchman riding a hero's race just one week after breaking his left ankle in a motocross fall. De Puniet's ankle is fixed with six screws and when he's not on his bike he's using crutches to get about. His race was the toughest of his career and remarkable too — 11th on the first lap, he was in the thick of the pack chasing seventh place until the injury really took its toll. Unable to put the kind of pressure through his left footpeg to steer his RC212V as he normally would, de Puniet had to use more upper body strength to get through the corners. Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda) enjoyed a busy first few laps, overtaking several rivals, but his pace dropped when he began to run short of rear grip. Talma and his crew will focus on this issue during tomorrow's tests. Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) maintained his 250 World Championship lead with a determined ride to fourth place. Aoyama always knew that Brno would be a challenging race, but the Japanese star rode superbly as ever to finish a close fourth, just behind main title rival Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia). The pair are now separated by 12 points with six races remaining. Today's race was won by reigning World Champion Marco Simoncelli (Gilera) who lies third in the title chase, 32 points behind Aoyama. Aoyama did briefly lead the 20 lap event, getting ahead on lap three, but he didn't quite have the straight-line speed to stay out front and thus lost places as the race went on. Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda) impressed once again with a great ride to sixth place, his third finish inside the top six in his rookie 250 season. The Italian came through from tenth on lap one to chase down the second group. He spent the final laps locked in a duel with former 125 World Champion Roberto Locatelli (Gilera), just losing out to the veteran performer. De Rosa rates the result as his best yet. Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG) and Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG) both rode excellent races. The Spaniard and the Thai ace were together for much of the 20 laps, chasing Jules Cluzel (Aprilia) for an eighth-place finish. But both men suffered from a lack of speed, Faubel demoted to tenth place three laps from the flag and Wilairot ending the afternoon 11th, just over a tenth behind his team-mate. Today was a great day for Team CIP Honda, the French outfit getting both its riders in the points for the first time, Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) in 13th and Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda) in 15th. Tomizawa showed his talent once more with a spirited ride for his third consecutive points score. The Brno first-timer only had two and a half hours of practice here after losing time yesterday morning following a crash. He made a steady start, slightly unnerved by a first corner crash involving Thomas Luthi (Aprilia) and Karel Abraham (Aprilia). Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda) scored the last point in 15th place after overcoming Axel Pons (Aprilia) on the final lap. Like Tomizawa, this was Debise's first race at Brno. The Frenchman also fell yesterday and struggled in the early stages of the race before getting into a good rhythm. This was his third World Championship score of the season. Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda) was in the hunt for his second points score when he crashed out with eight laps to go. Chesaux had been battling with Debise when the rear let go. He suffered a gashed finger on his right hand. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), second-place finisher, said: "At the start of the race I pushed really hard to stay with the leaders and for the first few laps I was with them. Then they kept getting faster on every lap and, though I was pushing to the maximum, I couldn't maintain that sort of pace today. So for the rest of the race I just had to concentrate on not making a mistake because there was a big gap in front of me and also behind me. Second place is a good result for me and the team, though obviously we would have wanted to be closer to front-running pace. It's great to finish a race on the podium and feel in good physical condition after the problems I had in the first part of the season — especially because it was very hot out there today and this is a demanding track. We have a test tomorrow and it is going to be really important for us to work on the areas we still have to improve so that we can challenge for wins again." Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini), third-place finisher, said: "This is a fantastic result for me. The team have done a great job all weekend — from the first session on Friday right up to the end of qualifying yesterday we have been improving the bike and we were able to put ourselves in the position to capitalise on Jorge's crash. It was like a present to me because we never expected to be able to break up the top three riders today — they have been at a different level all weekend — but we know anything can happen in racing. Everybody knows my future is unclear at the moment but I hope this sends out the right message. I am a rider who finishes on the podium year in year out and I will keep pushing to show my worth at Indianapolis. I know my team will back me up because they have worked so hard for me so far and I want to thank them for that. We want to keep this going until the end of the season." Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), fourth-place finisher, said: "I was riding really hard out there and I had a tough battle for third place in the last few laps. From the start I tried to stay with Dani and the leaders but it wasn't possible. The gap to Elias was always small and my pace was very similar to his which made it very difficult to overtake him. I tried really hard in the middle of the race without any success and then in the last few laps the grip dropped off a little and to overtake Toni I had to take some risks. I really wanted that podium finish so I was pushing very hard, and also I had Capirossi behind who was putting a lot of pressure on too. Fourth is not a bad result but I can't say that I'm satisfied with the result today. Still, there is a day of testing tomorrow and this will give us a chance to make improvements to our machine package and prepare for the next races." Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), eighth-place finisher, said: "I set a target of a top eight today so I am satisfied to achieve that but it could have been so much better. I was comfortable running with Edwards, Hayden and the others until I suddenly got a butterfly trapped in my helmet. It was flapping around in front of my eyes and I couldn't see a thing! When it finally settled down I was able to focus again but my chance had gone. At the moment I'm not feeling too well and I have some pain in my back so I am heading straight to the Clinica Mobile but I'm sure I'll be fine for the next race, where I hope we can continue to show our potential." Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), tenth-place finisher, said: "It's a like a miracle! Fourteen days ago I was in hospital having surgery and now I am seventh in the championship! This has been the hardest race of my life and I want to thank the doctor who made the surgery in my left ankle, the Clinical Mobile Staff and my squad. Honestly, I think nobody could do better than this with six screws in the ankle. At the end of the race I could not breathe anymore and was not able to come back to the garage but I battled with my injury throughout the weekend and we all deserve this unbelievable result. Obviously I won't stay for the test tomorrow as I will proceed with my rehabilitation programme in readiness for the Indy GP." Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda), 13th-place finisher, said: "The first laps were not bad — I was able to overtake three riders and I enjoyed a good fight. But when the bike began to slide I decided to keep the best possible rhythm to the end. It is still the same problem: we do not possess good rear grip, so that keeping the line out of the corners is not easy. I'm certain we can find a solution — we all are working hard to get that target." HONDA 250cc RIDER QUOTES Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda), fourth-place finisher, said: "I made quite a good start and during the first part of the race my pace would have put me on the podium. Then from a certain point of the race my bike seemed to get quite tired." Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda), sixth-place finisher, said: "This is not my best result of the season — I was fifth in Qatar — but this sixth place, on a dry track and during the daytime, is a bigger success for me. Overtaking was not easy, but the performance of the bike was pretty good and constant. I'm happy not only for the result but also because I was doing lap times that were as fast as the best riders. With a better position on the grid, starting alongside the fastest competitors, I'm certain I could have done even better." Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG), tenth-place finisher, said: "It is a pity because I leave Brno a little bit unhappy. I made a good start but we had some speed issues today. With this handicap I wasn't able to be as competitive as I was in qualifying, even though I felt confident in myself. We are looking to fix the problem before the next races, because we need every point we can get if we are to finish the championship in the top ten." Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG), 11th-place finisher, said: "That was quite a difficult race for me because we were losing time on the straights. Brno is a circuit with a lot of fast straights which made it tough to keep a good race pace. I pushed as hard as I could and we got some points which we didn't get in the last two races. Leaving Brno we go now to Indianapolis, aiming to fight for a finish in the top eight." Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda), 13th-place finisher, said: "That race was very good for my feeling with the bike. I was able to ride fast all the way to the finish, so I learned a lot today. It was very, very interesting for me. I saw the turn one crash and that scared me a little, so I couldn't push so hard for the first few laps but after that it was okay." Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda), 15th-place finisher, said: "I didn't know I was fighting with Pons for the final point! I only realised I was 15th after the flag. All I wanted to do was to beat Pons, but to get another point is great. The start was bad for me because the engine seemed to cut for a moment and after that it took a while for me to find my rhythm. I got my fastest lap on the last lap which is a great thing — I feel like I am understanding the bike better now." Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda), DNF, said: "I was fighting with Debise, but losing quite a bit on the straights, so I was having to brake later and later. The first ten laps were okay but maybe we were struggling with the temperature. I was pushing hard and at least it was good that we were in the fight for some points. Now we must keep working to improve the bike." Results MotoGP Race Classification MotoGP : (22 laps = 118.866 km) Pos/ Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap 1 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 43'08.991 / 165,283 / 2 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 43'20.757 / 164,535 / 11,766 3 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 43'29.747 / 163,968 / 20,756 4 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 43'30.409 / 163,927 / 21,418 5 / Loris CAPIROSSI / ITA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 43'30.529 / 163,919 / 21,538 6 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 43'34.535 / 163,668 / 25,544 7 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 43'34.667 / 0.164 / 25,676 8 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 43'43.100 / 163,134 / 34,109 9 / James TOSELAND / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 43'44.608 / 0.163 / 35,617 10 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 43'48.815 / 162,779 / 39,824 11 / Chris VERMEULEN / AUS / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 43'49.767 / 0.163 / 40,776 12 / Niccolo CANEPA / ITA / Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 43'59.652 / 162,111 / 50,661 13 / Gabor TALMACSI / HUN / Scot Racing Team MotoGP / HONDA / 44'08.179 / 161,589 / 59,188 Pole Position: Valentino ROSSI 1'56.145 167.469 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Lap 16 Jorge LORENZO 1'56.670 166.716 Km/h Circuit Record Lap: 2008 Casey STONER 1'57.199 165.963 Km/h Circuit Best Lap: 2009 Valentino ROSSI 1'56.145 167.469 Km/h World Championship Positions: 1 ROSSI Valentino 212, 2 LORENZO Jorge 162, 3 STONER Casey 150, 4 PEDROSA Dani 135, 5 EDWARDS Colin 112, 6 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 107, 7 DE PUNIET Randy 80, 8 MELANDRI Marco 79, 9 CAPIROSSI Loris 77, 10 VERMEULEN Chris 72, 11 DE ANGELIS Alex 68, 12 ELIAS Toni 63, 13 TOSELAND James 62, 14 HAYDEN Nicky 57, 15 KALLIO Mika 34. 250cc Race Classification 250cc (20 laps = 108.06 km) 1 / Marco SIMONCELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera / GILERA / 41'06.490 / 0.158 / 2 / Mattia PASINI / ITA / Team Toth Aprilia / APRILIA / 41'07.174 / 157,676 / 0,684 3 / Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / Mapfre Aspar Team / APRILIA / 41'10.871 / 0.157 / 4,381 4 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Scot Racing Team 250cc / HONDA / 41'15.236 / 157,163 / 8,746 5 / Roberto LOCATELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera / GILERA / 41'16.211 / 157,101 / 9,721 6 / Raffaele DE ROSA / ITA / Scot Racing Team 250cc / HONDA / 41'17.360 / 157,028 / 0.011 7 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Pepe World Team / APRILIA / 41'22.129 / 156,726 / 15,639 8 / Jules CLUZEL / FRA / Matteoni Racing / APRILIA / 41'24.901 / 156,551 / 18,411 9 / Mike DI MEGLIO / FRA / Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc / APRILIA / 41'25.053 / 156,542 / 18,563 10 / Hector FAUBEL / SPA / Honda SAG / HONDA / 41'26.448 / 156,454 / 19,958 11 / Ratthapark WILAIROT / THA / Thai Honda PTT SAG / HONDA / 41'26.574 / 156,446 / 20,084 12 / Lukas PESEK / CZE / Auto Kelly - CP / APRILIA / 41'37.122 / 155,785 / 30,632 13 / Shoya TOMIZAWA / JPN / CIP Moto - GP250 / HONDA / 41'43.608 / 155,382 / 37,118 14 / Balazs NEMETH / HUN / Balatonring Team / APRILIA / 42'23.974 / 152,916 / 1'17.484 15 / Valentin DEBISE / FRA / CIP Moto - GP250 / HONDA / 42'31.174 / 152,485 / 1'24.684 Pole Position: Marco SIMONCELLI 2'01.611 159.942 Km/h Fastest Lap: Lap 20 Marco SIMONCELLI 2'02.330 159.002 Km/h Circuit Record Lap: 2007 Jorge LORENZO 2'02.299 159.043 Km/h Circuit Best Lap: 2007 Jorge LORENZO 2'01.368 160.263 Km/h World Championship Positions: 1 AOYAMA Hiroshi 172, 2 BAUTISTA Alvaro 160, 3 SIMONCELLI Marco 140, 4 BARBERA Hector 123, 5 PASINI Mattia 100, 6 DE ROSA Raffaele 77, 7 DEBON Alex 73, 8 FAUBEL Hector 71, 9 LOCATELLI Roberto 67, 10 LUTHI Thomas 67, 11 DI MEGLIO Mike 50, 12 CLUZEL Jules 48, 13 PESEK Lukas 44, 14 WILAIROT Ratthapark 43, 15 ABRAHAM Karel 33. 125cc: Race Classification 125cc (19 laps = 102.657 km) Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap 1 / Nicolas TEROL / SPA / Jack & Jones Team / APRILIA / 40'57.378 / 0.150 / 2 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc / APRILIA / 40'57.546 / 150,379 / 0,168 3 / Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. / APRILIA / 41'06.097 / 149,858 / 8,719 4 / Bradley SMITH / GBR / Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc / APRILIA / 41'09.821 / 149,632 / 12,443 5 / Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Derbi Racing Team / DERBI / 41'13.384 / 149,416 / 16,006 6 / Sandro CORTESE / GER / Ajo Interwetten / DERBI / 41'13.444 / 149,413 / 16,066 7 / Stefan BRADL / GER / Viessmann Kiefer Racing / APRILIA / 41'14.483 / 0.149 / 17,105 8 / Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Red Bull KTM Moto Sport / KTM / 41'14.580 / 149,344 / 17,202 9 / Sergio GADEA / SPA / Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc / APRILIA / 41'14.601 / 149,343 / 17,223 10 / Joan OLIVE / SPA / Derbi Racing Team / DERBI / 41'14.622 / 149,342 / 17,244 11 / Johann ZARCO / FRA / WTR San Marino Team / APRILIA / 41'14.996 / 149,319 / 17,618 12 / Jonas FOLGER / GER / Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. / APRILIA / 41'19.355 / 149,056 / 21,977 13 / Marcel SCHROTTER / GER / Toni - Mang Team / HONDA / 41'31.865 / 148,308 / 34,487 14 / Efren VAZQUEZ / SPA / Derbi Racing Team / DERBI / 41'31.890 / 148,307 / 34,512 15 / Scott REDDING / GBR / Blusens Aprilia / APRILIA / 41'38.936 / 147,889 / 41,558 Pole Position: Andrea IANNONE 2'08.171 151.756 Km/h Fastest Lap: Lap 9 Julian SIMON 2'08.640 151.203 Km/h Circuit Record Lap: 2003 Lucio CECCHINELLO 2'07.836 152.154 Km/h Circuit Best Lap: 2007 Gabor TALMACSI 2'06.861 153.323 Km/h World Championship Positions: 1 SIMON Julian 174, 2 TEROL Nicolas 119,5, 3 SMITH Bradley 111,5, 4 GADEA Sergio 111, 5 IANNONE Andrea 109,5, 6 ESPARGARO Pol 79,5, 7 CORTESE Sandro 65, 8 MARQUEZ Marc 64, 9 FOLGER Jonas 58, 10 BRADL Stefan 53, 11 OLIVE Joan 47, 12 REDDING Scott 45,5, 13 AEGERTER Dominiqu 44,5, 14 CORSI Simone 32, 15 VAZQUEZ Efren 32. Source: Honda Pro Image Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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