FOURTH PLACE FOR ROSSI AT LAGUNA SECA
Valentino
Rossi took fourth place in the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca today,
after a spirited ride in difficult conditions from fifth on the grid.
Team-mate Edwards was unable to fulfil his dream of a home-race success
and crossed the line in eleventh after a race led from flag-to-flag by
series leader Casey Stoner.
Rossi lost some
ground at the start and found himself behind Edwards for the first part
of the lap. He quickly moved ahead of his team-mate however and the
pair crossed the line for the first time in fourth and fifth
respectively. On lap five Marco Melandri took Edwards and set off after
Rossi, overtaking the Italian a few laps later and relegating him to
fifth. After Melandri had in turn passed Dani Pedrosa, Rossi quickly
began to close the gap on the Spaniard until he was able to strike at
the end of lap twenty to claim fourth. For several laps he then looked
to be closing the gap to Melandri but a lack of grip forced him to
slacken off and he eventually crossed the line 30.664 seconds behind
Stoner.
Edwards looked comfortable in sixth for
much of the race but as his tyres too lost performance in the latter
stages he was caught by a collection of riders and relegated to
eleventh. Rossi and Edwards hold on to second and seventh respectively
in the championship but the gap from Rossi to Stoner is extended to 44
points, with seven rounds remaining. The MotoGP paddock now embarks on
a well-deserved summer break before action recommences at Brno in the
Czech Republic in late August.
VALENTINO ROSSI:
"Today
was incredibly disappointing because, with the tyre situation like
this, it was like our rivals were in a different race. My team and I
worked very hard, especially after yesterday's crash, and we did the
maximum we could to have our bike in the best possible condition.
However without grip it was impossible to fight with the leaders. I
rode the best race I could and I was very happy to pass Pedrosa, but I
couldn't catch Melandri; we just didn't have the right rhythm or grip
today. I'm very sad for last weekend in Sachsenring because there
Michelin was strong and we missed a chance to make up some important
points there. After today we can see just how important! It seems that
tyres are the deciding factor for this season and this is a pity for
the fans and for the show. We are not giving up; there are seven races
left and we know that Michelin are going to work as hard as they
possibly can in order to make the situation better for the second part
of the season, but Stoner is very strong and we know it will be very
hard. Anyway, we have some holidays now and we will be back in Brno to
fight as hard as we can until the end."
COLIN EDWARDS:
"I
think it was pretty obvious today to everyone that we were struggling
and why. We had a problem all weekend and we changed the bike in every
possible way to try to work around it but unfortunately it proved
impossible. We went round in circles but we couldn't change the
underlying problem and the basic fact is that we had no grip. Of course
I'm pretty disappointed that this happened at my home race, with all my
family and friends here and it's a great pity we couldn't give the
American fans more to cheer about today. My guys worked really hard all
weekend, they all deserve their holidays now and then we'll all be
fresh for a new start in Brno."
DAVIDE BRIVIO:
"It
was quite clear today that the tyres played an important role. Last
week our tyre was better but this week the situation was reversed and
our riders couldn't fulfil their potential. It's a great pity because
this championship should be about seeing all the best riders fighting
together but at the moment this is being limited by other factors.
Everyone worked incredibly hard this weekend but unfortunately
Valentino wasn't able to fight for the win as we hoped and Colin, too,
wasn't able to exploit his potential in front of his home fans. Now we
have to keep working but we know that the situation won't be easy or
quick to change. Thank you to both riders, the team and the engineers
because they have worked very hard in difficult circumstances all
weekend. Everyone has some time off to recover from a very hard few
months now before we start again; we will keep the same fighting spirit
and we won't give up."
RESULTS
| |
1. |
Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team |
44'20.325
|
|
 |
| |
2. |
Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP |
+ 9.865
|
|
|
| |
3. |
Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda Gresini |
+ 25.641
|
|
|
| |
4. |
Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team |
+ 30.664
|
|
|
| |
5. |
Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team |
+ 35.622
|
|
|
| |
6. |
Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team |
+ 38.306
|
|
|
| |
7. |
Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki |
+ 41.422
|
|
|
| |
8. |
Makoto Tamada (JPN) Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 |
+ 42.355
|
|
|
| |
9. |
Alex Barros (BRA) Pramac d'Antin |
+ 42.520
|
|
|
| |
10. |
Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team |
+ 43.720
|
|
|
| |
11. |
Colin Edwards (USA) Fiat Yamaha Team |
+ 47.376
|
|
|
| |
12. |
Shinya Nakano (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda |
+ 52.848
|
|
|
| |
13. |
Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 |
+ 58.410
|
|
|
| |
14. |
Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda LCR |
+ 1'15.366
|
|
|
| |
15. |
John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP |
2 Lap
|
|
|
| |
16. |
Chaz Davies (GBR) Pramac D'Antin |
3 Lap
|
|
|
| |
|
NOT CLASSIFIED |
|
|
|
| |
 |
Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team |
10 Lap
|
|
|
| |
|
Miguel Duhamel (CAN) Honda Gresini |
22 Lap
|
|
|
| |
|
Kurtis Roberts (USA) Team Roberts |
27 Lap
|
|
|
| |
|
Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team |
29 Lap
|
|
|
