Motorcycles and news

Reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V), who had put in his best qualifying performance of the season so far, starting from fourth on the grid, was third on lap one and always in contention with the leaders before he fell on lap five. What looked a promising ride ended in the gravel at the tricky Coppice corner. But he proved that he is back near his best.

His team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) was also looking like a contender for victory, leading the field until lap four when he was overhauled by Edwards, then dropping down the order to finish eighth. Dani had chosen a rear tyre that proved too soft for the conditions as the track began to dry. He did, however, further destroy the myth that he cannot perform in wet conditions.

Edwards led from the start with Dani right on his rear wheel and at the Melbourne Loop Pedrosa stole inside under braking and headed the Texan into Goddards and over the start/finish line into turn one. The order was Pedrosa, Edwards, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), John Hopkins (Suzuki), Vermeulen and then Hayden.

Stoner suffered a poor start, but by lap five the Aussie had powered through the field to lie fourth. Another Aussie man Anthony West (Kawasaki) was on the move and held fifth by lap six, the same lap that Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) crashed out of contention.

Stoner set an early fastest lap of 1m 42.414 on the eighth tour of this 4.023km track. While Stoner was gradually getting the measure of the slowly drying conditions, West was a victim of them, running into the gravel at Coppice while fourth, but regaining the track for an 11th place finish.

At mid-race distance of this 30-lap encounter on a drying track Edwards led from Stoner with Rossi eight seconds adrift of the lead duo. Edwards now held only a slender 0.7 second advantage over Stoner. On lap 15 Stoner overtook Edwards into the Melbourne Loop and immediately began to pull clear of the American.

Stoner was away now in a race against the conditions only, a full seven seconds clear of Edwards by lap 23. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) who had made a spirited ride through the field fell while fifth on lap 24 while Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) was improving his pace dramatically in the closing stages setting a fastest lap of the race of 1m 41.4s on lap 25.

Chris Vermeulen finally overhauled Rossi for third slipping inside the former Champion at the Foggy Esses after getting superior drive out of Coppice. Rossi had no answer to the Australian man’s pace and settled for fourth.

Dani, eighth at the flag, said: “At the start of the race things were going quite well and I was able to lead the race and felt quite comfortable. After few laps the track was becoming drier and it turned out we’d chosen a rear tyre that was too soft for those conditions and I just couldn’t maintain the pace. This was definitely a disappointing race for us, although we had a promising performance in practice and qualifying which is positive.”

Marco Melandri, who eventually finished tenth, said: “We tried a few set-up modifications in the warm-up and improved the feeling on the front but couldn’t do the same on the rear. When the track was really wet I struggled because the bike was sliding a lot. Then as it started to dry out the situation improved because the bike felt more balanced. The lap times show that because I went from doing a 1m 46.4s to a 1m 41.4s on the last lap.”

His team-mate Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) was 12th. He said: “It’s been a difficult weekend and it hasn’t ended as we wanted. I struggled in the race because I couldn’t get the tyre up to temperature and find grip. I had problems braking and ran wide a few times, which made me lose time. When the track began to dry I was able to set the fastest lap of the race. The positive thing is we’ve gathered a lot of information in the wet which we’ll be able to use together with Bridgestone and try to solve some of the problems we’ve had this weekend.”

Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V) rode a dogged race to 13th. He said: “When I started catching guys ­ (Shinya) Nakano and (Marco) Melandri I felt good. Then maybe four or five laps after, when a dry line was developing, the bike started moving around a lot on full lean, and was getting worse and worse. The track was so dry in some places, and wet in others. I was searching for water to cool the tyre down. We picked too soft a rear. It was great when it was wet, but once it started drying up it was terrible.”

Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) finished 14th and said: “On the first lap I had a slide with the rear tyre and I had to catch it before I fell, this meant I lost a couple of places. For the first ten laps things were OK, but then the conditions began to change and the track started to dry out. This meant that I could not push as hard as I would have liked.”

Nicky Hayden was 17th at the flag after visiting the pits before carrying on to the end. The American World Champion said: “The bike felt really good early in the race and I was trying to be a little bit patient when a few guys came past and I started going back and forth. Still, I felt like I could go towards the front and I was enjoying the race. Then I just got in a little bit hot at the top of the hill and lost the front. It sucks to crash out of the race but it wasn’t as if I crashed while going backwards and struggling ­ at least I was up front and so I’m going to take the positives from this weekend.”

Faller Checa said: “After four laps I had a better feeling and was able to pass Melandri and was hoping to improve my lap times and gain some confidence. But I lost the front at turn eight just as I was starting to push and I’m not sure why, maybe a little too much front brake. It’s a pity, in the dry I was competitive, but today it rained and I want to forget this race.”

“At the start of the race things were going quite well and I was able to lead the race and felt quite comfortable. After few laps the track was becoming drier and it turned out we’d chosen a rear tyre that was too soft for those conditions and I just couldn’t maintain the pace. I tried to stay with de Puniet and I had battle with Barros in the last few laps but I had very little traction at the rear and unfortunately I couldn’t hold him off. This was definitely a disappointing race for us, although we had promising performance in practice and qualifying which is positive. It’s a pity because, with Casey winning again, the gap in the championship has opened up quite a lot. We’ll just have to fight back quickly at the next race. ”

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 17th.

“The bike felt really good early in the race and I was trying to be a little bit patient when a few guys came past and I started going back and forth. It felt like I could go quicker, though when Stoner came through I was having quite a hard time seeing because of the spray. Still, I felt like I could go towards the front and I was enjoying the race. Then I just got in a little bit hot at the top of the hill and lost the front. I’d been passed there earlier once or twice and just didn’t want to go back any further. I felt really good everywhere except on the brakes where I was quite weak. Some of the guys were really strong on the brakes, although I felt like had better exit grip and better traction. It sucks to crash out of the race but it wasn’t as if I crashed while going backwards and struggling ­ at least I was up front and so I’m going to take the positives from this weekend. Being fastest in the dry on Saturday morning was a big boost for me and I definitely feel that I’ve been the most competitive I’ve been all year. ”

Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 10th.

“We tried a few set-up modifications in the warm-up and improved the feeling on the front but couldn’t do the same on the rear. When the track was really wet I struggled because the bike was sliding a lot. Then as it started to dry out the situation improved because the bike felt more balanced. The lap times show that because I went from doing a 1′46.4 to a 1′41.4 on the last lap. ”

Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 12th.

“It’s been a difficult weekend and it hasn’t ended as we wanted. I struggled in the race because I couldn’t get the tyre up to temperature and find grip. I had a problem in braking and ran wide a few times, which made me lose time and this meant I couldn’t recover positions as I wanted. When the track began to dry I was able to set the fastest lap of the race. The positive thing is that we’ve gathered a lot of information in the wet which we’ll be able to use together with Bridgestone and try to solve some of the problems we’ve had this weekend. ”

Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 14th.

“With the conditions changing so much that was a difficult race. I think my start was not so bad, but then during the first lap I had a slide with the rear tyre and I had to catch it before I fell down, this meant I lost a couple of places. For the first 10 laps things were OK, but then the conditions began to change and the track started to dry out. This meant that I could not push hard as I would have liked, as when the track began to dry, the tyre would slide more. When this began to happen I decided to hang on and get some points for the overall championship positions.”

Kurtis Roberts, replacement rider for Kenny Roberts Jnr. 13th.

“I fell this morning in warm-up, and I’m still pretty sore, so it took me a lap or two to get the confidence back. When I started catching guys ­ (Shinya) Nakano and (Marco) Melandri, I felt good. Went around them pretty easy. Then maybe four or five laps after, when a dry line was developing, the bike started moving around a lot on full lean, and was getting worse and worse. The track was so dry in some places, and wet in others. I was searching for water to cool the tyre down.”"Once I started losing places again, I was just on salvage mode ­ just looking at the lap countdown. I couldn’t go any faster ­ if I leaned it over the thing moved all around. We picked too soft a rear. It was great when it was wet, but once it started drying up it was terrible. But we got points, and at least I didn’t fall off again.”

Kenny Roberts Snr ­ Team Principal.

“We did better than I thought we were going to do, anyway. It wasn’t a useful day ­ we didn’t learn anything in terms of what problems we have. You couldn’t with this weather. It looked like we were going forward for half the race, then it dried out and we weren’t good. Which was surprising, because we’re usually better when it starts to get a dry line. That was a tyre issue, but Kurtis was able to get some mileage and get comfortable. Assen should be better. If we get a bit of weather help and improve our set-up, we could start working our way back up again.”

Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: dnf ­ crash.

“After four laps I had a better feeling and was able to pass Melandri and was hoping to improve my lap times and gain some confidence. But I lost the front at turn eight just as I was starting to push and I’m not sure why, maybe a little too much front brake. It’s a pity, in the dry I was competitive, but today it rained and I want to forget this race. ”

MotoGP Race Result