MotoGP Mugello - Preview

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Mugello, Italy

Sunday 6th June 2010

ROSSI RECOVERING WELL FOLLOWING SURGERY

Following surgery to repair his broken right leg yesterday afternoon, Valentino Rossi is recovering well at the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico in Florence, Italy.

Dr. Roberto Buzzi of the CTO, who performed the operation, gave the following update this morning: "Valentino is recovering well following yesterday's operation and his morale seems to be high in the circumstances. Tomorrow we will wash and stitch the wound. He has been moved to a more normal room in the hospital and the only requests he has made are for peace and quiet, privacy and a television on which to watch today's race!"

Rossi sustained the injury during a crash yesterday morning, in practice for today's Grand Prix of Italy.

 

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Ben Spies battles hard for seventh at majestic Mugello

Ben SpiesMonster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Ben Spies got his 2010 world championship campaign firmly back on track with a battling seventh place finish in today's Italian MotoGP race at Mugello.

Spies showed his failure to finish the previous two races had done little to dent his confidence as he made a stunning start from the third row of the grid.

The 25-year-old slotted into a brilliant fourth place before he slipped back to seventh in a hectic opening few laps.

He briefly moved back into the top six with an overtake on Randy de Puniet on lap six but spent the remainder of the 23-lap encounter giving his maximum effort to try and close in on captivating battle for fourth position.

Spies brilliantly hunted down Casey Stoner, de Puniet and Marco Melandri but despite launching a persistent challenge he was never able to get sufficiently close to mount an attack.

The Texan's morale-boosting result though moved him back into the top ten in the world championship standings on 20-points with four of the 18 rounds completed.

American team-mate Colin Edwards finished in a brave 13th place despite having to race in extremely difficult circumstances. Edwards suffered a mystery fatigue issue in this morning's warm-up session and it was obvious from the start of the race that his physical condition would prevent him from showing his true potential as he dropped from fifth to 11th.

Despite feeling well below his best, Edwards bravely rode to 13th to collect three valuable points and preserve his 100 per cent points-scoring record this season.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now embarks on a new adventure when MotoGP visits the Silverstone circuit in England for the first time since 1986.

Ben Spies 7th 20-points

?The goal was top ten, so to be eighth I'm pretty happy with, especially leaving here with solid points after the disappointment of the last two races. I got a great start and felt like I rode as hard as I could and didn't make too many mistakes but I just couldn't quite get up close to the battle in front of me and that was a little frustrating. I found myself right on the tail of that pack with Randy, Marco and Casey but I wasn't going to be able to pass them on the straight. I just tried to stay as close as I could for as long as I could in case something happened with them but everybody kept it upright. I was just hoping that the pack was going to break open and I could pick one of them off but they stayed together. It was a good race and what I needed to build my confidence and experience and now I'm looking forward to Silverstone. That's a level playing field with nobody knowing the track, so I'll have less of a disadvantage."

Colin Edwards 13th ? 19 points

?I'm really disappointed and a bit mystified because I've felt good all weekend and we got the bike working really well again after we switched back to the setting we had at Mugello last year. But it was a struggle from the off and I didn't feel great at all. The bike was working well. It goes round the corner good, it brakes good and has good traction but I can't ride in that condition. I felt fatigued really early in the race and was really struggling to change direction with the bike. And at this track you have got a lot of fast changes of direction that are crucial to help you flow and set good times. I've had a bit of an arm pump issue all weekend for the first time in my career and needed quite a few injections to ease that. But I was way below my best physical condition and not just because of that. All I can do is apologise to Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and I wish I knew what was going on. I'll try and figure it out and be ready to come out fighting strong in Silverstone.?

Herve Poncharal ? Team Manager

?It was a mixed day for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 because we had high hopes after qualifying. Ben did a great job and it was a shame that he could not really force his way into that exciting fight for fourth place. He did everything he could and he never gave up to show how determined he is to achieve a better result. But I think it was obvious that he had a speed issue on the straight and that didn't help him. But it was a race that will be good for his confidence though and he showed that he is capable of easily challenging for the top places. It was a big shame for Colin because it is clear he was not able to ride at his usual level. Colin showed his potential in qualifying with fifth but in the race his physical condition never allowed him to fight at his maximum potential and I feel for him because he too never stop trying to improve his situation. We now look forward to the new challenge of Silverstone hopeful of a positive result."

 

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LORENZO EXTENDS TITLE LEAD WITH SECOND PLACE IN MUGELLO

Jorge Lorenzo gave the Fiat Yamaha Team a reason to smile in Mugello this afternoon as he brought his M1 home in second position, extending his Championship lead after two wins and two seconds so far this season. Lorenzo took to the podium wearing a yellow number 46 shirt as a nod to his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who watched the race from his hospital bed after breaking his leg in practice yesterday.

Lorenzo got a good start behind Dani Pedrosa but soon realised he was not able to keep yesterday's blistering pace, quickly losing ground to his fellow Spaniard as he became embroiled in a fight with Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian passed Lorenzo on lap three but the Mallorcan got his nose back in front three laps later, the pair then remaining locked closely together until three-quarter race distance, when Lorenzo managed to stretch his lead to over half a second. By then Pedrosa was several seconds clear and the 23-year-old had no choice but to settle for a safe runner-up spot, meaning he has taken an impressive 90 points from a possible 100 so far this season. His lead is now 25 points over Pedrosa in the championship, with the injured Rossi in third.

This was the first time Rossi has not started a race since he began his illustrious career over fourteen years ago in Malaysia at the age of 16, and the Italian holds the record of 230 consecutive starts. He is currently recuperating at the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico in Florence following surgery yesterday to repair his broken right leg.





Jorge Lorenzo Position: 2nd Time: +4.014



"Unfortunately my pace today wasn't as good as yesterday and I could only finish second; something happened and I couldn't ride in the same way but in the circumstances I am happy with my result. Anyway Dani had a perfect race today; he had an amazing pace and I don't know if I could have beaten him even if I had been as fast as yesterday! To take 90 points from 100 is great and I am leading the championship, so I cannot ask for more. I need to make some improvements to my riding style and Yamaha needs to try to improve the power of the bike a bit so we have some things to work on, but I am confident about the next weeks. It was very strange today without Valentino, I am so glad the fans honoured him so well. I wanted to win to dedicate the victory to him but that wasn't possible so all I can do is say ‘get well soon!'"




Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager



"After the weekend our team has had with what happened to Valentino this was a good result for us, we have 90 points, two wins and two seconds and we are happy with our season so far. Jorge had some issues today and we need to analyse why it happened and why he couldn't keep the same pace, but we are not too worried and he rode a good race today. We are 25 points clear in the championship which is great but we all know why, because Valentino isn't here, and it's a sad situation. We all wish him the best."




Results



1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 42'28.066

2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 4.014

3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team + 6.196

4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team + 25.703

5. Marco Melandri (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 25.735

6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP + 25.965

7. Ben Spies (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 28.806

8. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Pramac Green Team + 40.172

9. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 41.394

10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 42.107

11. Hiroshi Aoyama (JAP) Interwetten-Honda MotoGP + 43.095

12. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team + 43.363

13. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 1'14.393

14. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 1'24.389

NOT CLASSIFIED

Mika Kallio (FIN) Pramac Green Team 15 Lap

Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 18 Lap

NOT STARTING

Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team


Championship Standings



1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 90

2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 65

3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 61

4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 58

5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 39

6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 36

7. Marco Melandri (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 32

8. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 24

9. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 23

10. Ben Spies (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 20

11. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 19

12. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 19

13. Hiroshi Aoyama (JAP) Interwetten-Honda MotoGP 18

14. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Pramac Green Team 16

15. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 13

16. Mika Kallio (FIN) Pramac Green Team 12

17. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 8


Mugello: Record Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'50.003

Mugello: Best Lap
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2008, 1'48.130

 

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Double points finish for Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Loris Capirossi and ?lvaro Bautista both finished today?s Italian Grand Prix in points scoring positions.

The two riders finished in 10th and 14th places respectively after tough races for the pair, but for different reasons. Capirossi struggled to get the front end feeling that he wanted from his Suzuki GSV-R and couldn?t push hard enough to get up to the pack in front of him for a higher position. He was disappointed to finish his home GP in 10th, but philosophical about completing a full race after crashing in both of his last two outings.

Bautista was also battling against the injury he sustained recently - as well as the other riders on-track - and although the discomfort from riding a MotoGP bike in race conditions was immense, he wrestled his machine to the line to give Rizla Suzuki its first double points score of the season.

Today?s race was held in glorious sunshine with 76,814 fans baking at trackside in temperatures of over 30?C. Dani Pedrosa took a flag-to-flag victory on his factory Honda, with championship leader Jorge Lorenzo second.

Rizla Suzuki now heads back across the English Channel for its home Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday 20th June.

Loris Capirossi:

?This race is less of a disaster that the last two because I didn?t finish them, but I am really annoyed because we just never found the best solution. Today we started with a setting from warm-up but I just never had a feeling in the front and every time I changed direction I thought I was going to lose it. I nearly crashed a couple of times and had to go a bit slower to make sure I didn?t ? I don?t want to be racing like that! The whole team works so hard to find the right solution, but unfortunately we?re not finding what we seek. The engine has improved a lot from last year, but we have something in the chassis or settings that is not working well, so we need to quickly discover what that is and fix it.?

?lvaro Bautista:

?My left arm feels like it is destroyed, but we managed to do what our target was today and that was to finish the race, so that is a small victory for us. On the first lap I tried to ride and change direction quickly, but the first time I felt so much pain I couldn?t keep in touch with any other riders or manage to follow them. I tried to get a good rhythm that I was comfortable with and finish the race. Towards the end I got a feeling that was ok and although I felt much pain all over, I was able to get to the line and get more experience and complete more kilometres. I will now make sure I get close to full recovery for the next GP, it is the Team?s home race and I want to do very well there!?

Paul Denning - Team Manager:

?Loris set the fifth quickest lap in warm-up this morning and was confident of a strong race, but, as we?ve found already this year, the feeling from the front and the amount of grip was much less in the race ? in fact much less than it had been all weekend ? and this is something that Suzuki and the engineers will need to get to the bottom of as soon as possible. Our target has to be more consistency in different conditions so that Loris can push as hard as he wants to and get nearer to the leading group.

??lvaro?s two points are likely to be the hardest he?ll ever score. It was a fairly heroic effort to complete the 23-laps and the medical team all believe that putting the shoulder through that process will help the recovery. It will put him in a much stronger position for the busy schedule in June and July and he certainly has a better base to begin with at Silverstone in two weeks? time.?

Gran Premio D?Italia Tim Race Classification:

1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 42?28.066: 2. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +4.014: 3. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +6.196: 4. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +25.703: 5. Marco Melandri (Honda) +25.735: 10. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +42.107: 14. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1?24.389:

World Championship Classification:

1. Lorenzo 90: 2. Pedrosa 65: 3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 61: 4. Dovizioso 58: 5. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 39: 15. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 13: 17. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 8:

 

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Feerless Pedrosa rules magnificent Mugello

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) won a super start-to-finish victory at today?s Italian Grand Prix and was joined on the podium by team-mate and local hero Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) who had a race-long duel with eventual runner-up Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha).

The race completed a great weekend for Honda, with no less than four Honda men in the top six at this most challenging of racetracks: Pedrosa and Dovizioso plus Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) in fifth spot and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) in sixth.

Pedrosa?s first win of 2010 and his ninth success in MotoGP came on the back of another brilliant ride in yesterday?s qualifying session, when he scored his second pole position of the year. His victory and Dovizioso?s strong showing prove once again that Honda is making significant progress with the development of its RC212V MotoGP bike.

Pedrosa?s race was typically faultless. The former 125cc and 250cc World Champion didn?t put a wheel wrong as he steadily pulled away from his pursuers, establishing a new lap record along the way. At two thirds distance he was almost eight seconds ahead, then eased his pace in the final laps to cross the line 4.014 seconds in front of championship points leader Lorenzo. The win moved him to second overall in the points chase.

Dovizioso enjoyed a thrilling battle with Lorenzo, chasing hard from the start, then charging past on lap three. He stayed in second place for three laps, but then Lorenzo fought back. As the race went on, Dovizioso stayed close to Lorenzo, and even when the gap crew, he managed to close it down again. In the end, however, the Italian didn?t quite have the pace to mount a final attack and crossed the line two seconds behind. The result was his third podium from the first four races.

The three-way battle for fourth place was a hugely entertaining highlight of the race, with Melandri and de Puniet fighting with 2009 Mugello winner Casey Stoner (Ducati) all the way, the trio watched from a small distance by rookie Ben Spies (Yamaha). Top privateer De Puniet was riding an inspired race and managed to work his way into fourth place, but in the final stages he slipped back behind Stoner and Melandri, who lost out to Stoner on the last lap. Melandri?s ride was particularly remarkable, since he had struggled in practice and only qualified 14th.

Rookies Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V) also enjoyed exciting races. Simoncelli gave himself a lot of work to do by making contact with a rival and running into a gravel trap on the very first lap, but the former 250 World Champion fought back with great spirit, lapping at the same pace as the riders going for fourth place. He passed five riders on his way to ninth place, his best MotoGP finish so far. Reigning 250 World Champion Aoyama suffered grip issues and finished 11th, less than two seconds down on Simoncelli after an interesting confrontation with Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) and Hector Barbera (Ducati).

The race was run in the absence of reigning MotoGP World Champion and nine-time Mugello winner Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) who crashed heavily at the Biondetti esses during yesterday morning?s practice session. Rossi broke his right tibia in the 170km/h fall and has since undergone surgery. The Italian is expected to be out of action for several months.

The MotoGP World Championship now heads north and across the English Channel for the British GP at Silverstone on June 20. The British event is followed by two more races on consecutive weekends: the Dutch TT on June 26 and the Catalan GP on July 4.


HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda RC212V: 1st
?It?s an unbelievable feeling to win again and I?m so happy for myself and the Repsol Honda Team. We?ve been working really hard and we had some problems through the winter and in the first races, so I?m really delighted with this victory, especially after leading at Jerez for so long but not quite making it. It looks like we are back near where we need to be and the team deserves the victory. I had a great feeling on the bike today, especially at the beginning section of the race and I could open up a gap. To be honest I didn?t see who was behind me, I just looked for the gap on my pit board and tried to ride consistently. It?s important that we are competitive now because we have one weekend off and then three races in a row. The next race is at Silverstone which is a legendary track so I hope that we can match this kind of performance there - and also that this part of England has better weather! I?d like to thank the team again for this result. And I also want to thank the fans here for pushing for Valentino because he?s having a hard time and everyone in the paddock wishes him well.?

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda RC212V: 3rd
?It?s so special to be on the podium at Mugello in front of my home crowd because I?ve never made the podium in MotoGP here ? I always had to watch it on the TV in the garage! It was a really emotional experience up there with all the fans supporting us. I made a good start and this was really important for my race. I wanted to finish the race fighting with Lorenzo because I think it could have been a good battle on the last lap, but I couldn?t catch him. We are getting closer to the front but we are not quite there yet and we have to take the next step so that we can fight for victories. Three podium finishes is a good start to the season and is very important for the championship, and it?s thanks to the hard work we?ve done over the winter and in the first races. I?d like to say congratulations to Dani on the win because he had an incredible pace, and this is an extra motivation for us to take that extra step forward so we can fight for the win.?

Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 5th
?We?ve struggled more at Mugello than we did in France but after the warm-up this morning I knew I was in better shape and I?m happy to have been able to produce a race like that. I honestly didn?t think I?d be battling with Stoner and De Puniet today because I thought they would both have a higher pace than me but we did a great job. I got a fantastic start and other than losing a little time behind Hayden my pace was good. I want to thank the team, who have suffered in silence all weekend, and this result shows that in future we can never lose faith in our possibilities in a race, even when things don?t go our way in practice. Now the target is to improve during practice and make sure we?re in even better shape to race.?

Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda RC212V: 6th
?A top six finish was my target for this race but I am a bit upset because I could have got fourth position. After the start I pushed hard because in the middle of the first lap I was only 12th and wanted to recover some positions. On second lap I crossed the line in eighth and starting a close battle with Melandri and Stoner throughout the race. I tried to take some advantage but it was impossible so I did my best to keep my fourth place. In the last two laps my bike started to shake on the exit of the final turn and I lost a lot of drive so Casey and Marco overtook me. We are still sixth in the classification which is good for me and the Team.?

Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 9th
?If it wasn?t for the mistake on the first lap I would have been right up there today. I was behind Hayden when he passed Espargaro but I couldn?t quite make it through ? there wasn?t enough space and I miscalculated it. We touched and I ran off the track. Thankfully I stayed upright in the gravel and got back on the track. My pace wasn?t as good as yesterday but there were other riders with more problems than me. I gritted my teeth and slowly but surely the guys in front of me got closer. I never gave up and on the last few laps I got past them ? I?m delighted. I have finished one place higher than Le Mans but the important thing for us today is that if it wasn?t for a stupid mistake I would have been running with Melandri, De Puniet and Stoner competing for fourth place. ?

Hiroshi Aoyama, Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V: 11th
?The race was not easy for me. I had a quite good start and was able to go with the group for some laps, but then I didn?t have grip anymore and I could not keep my lap times. It was so hot today and that is exhausting. Many riders crashed. But this time I didn?t make any mistakes in the race. I just hope that next time I can have a better race.?
Pole position : 1m48.819s (173.517Km/h) Dani Pedrosa, Honda
Fastest lap : Lap 5 - 1m49.531s (172.389Km/h) Dani Pedrosa, Honda
Circuit record lap : 1m49.531s (172.389Km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2010)
Circuit Best Lap : 1m48.130s (174.623Km/h) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha, 2008)
Event results - Round 4 - Race 1
1 Dani Pedrosa 42m28.066s SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo +4.014s SPA YAMAHA Fiat Yamaha Team
3 Andrea Dovizioso +6.196s ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Casey Stoner +25.703s AUS DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
5 Marco Melandri +25.735s ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
6 Randy De Puniet +25.965s FRA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
7 Ben Spies +28.806s USA YAMAHA Tech 3 Yamaha
8 Aleix Espargaro +40.172s SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing
9 Marco Simoncelli +41.394s ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
10 Loris Capirossi +42.107s ITA SUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
11 Hiroshi Aoyama +43.095s JPN HONDA Interwetten Honda MotoGP
12 Hector Barbera +43.363s SPA DUCATI Aspar Ducati
13 Colin Edwards +1m14.393s USA YAMAHA Tech 3 Yamaha
14 Alvaro Bautista +1m24.389s SPA SUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
16 Mika Kallio +18 Laps FIN DUCATI Pramac Racing
17 Nicky Hayden USA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
Championship standings
1 Jorge Lorenzo 90 pts SPA YAMAHA Fiat Yamaha Team
2 Dani Pedrosa 65 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Valentino Rossi 61 pts ITA YAMAHA Fiat Yamaha Team
4 Andrea Dovizioso 58 pts ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
5 Nicky Hayden 39 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
6 Randy De Puniet 36 pts FRA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
7 Marco Melandri 32 pts ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
8 Casey Stoner 24 pts AUS DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
9 Marco Simoncelli 23 pts ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
10 Ben Spies 20 pts USA YAMAHA Tech 3 Yamaha
11 Hector Barbera 19 pts SPA DUCATI Aspar Ducati
12 Colin Edwards 19 pts USA YAMAHA Tech 3 Yamaha
13 Hiroshi Aoyama 18 pts JPN HONDA Interwetten Honda MotoGP
14 Aleix Espargaro 16 pts SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing
15 Loris Capirossi 13 pts ITA SUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
16 Mika Kallio 12 pts FIN DUCATI Pramac Racing
17 Alvaro Bautista 8 pts SPA SUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

 

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DE PUNIET TAKES THRILLING SIXTH AT DEMANDING MUGELLO GP

Mugello, 6 June: In a thrilling and hot race LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy de Puniet crossed the line 6th in today?s Italian Grand Prix at the magnificent Mugello race track ahead 76.814 MotoGP fans. Today?s ambience temperature reached 32?C (54?C on the ground) and the 29-year-old was again a strong performer in this morning warm up session gaining the 7th quickest lap time.

The Frenchman is proving to be an impressively consistent qualifier this year thus he has started from sixth on the grid for the 23-lap Italian race that got underway at 14:00 local time. Randy got a good start riding at a strong pace on his RC212V and after 6 laps he began a thrilling battle for the fourth place with Melandri and Stoner till few corners to the end when his bike started to shake and the two pursuers overtook him. Randy holds the 6th place in the championship with 36 points.

De Puniet - 6th: ?A top six finish was my target for this race but I am a bit disappointed because I could finish 4th. After the start I pushed hard because in the middle of the first lap I was only 12th and wanted to recover some positions. On second lap I crossed the line eight starting a close battle with Melandri and Stoner throughout the race. At 7 laps to go I tried to take some advantage but it was impossible so I did my best to keep my fourth place. In the last two laps my bike started to shake on the exit of the final turn and I lost a lot of drive so Casey and Marco overtook me. We are still 6th in the classification which is good for me and the Team?.

 

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EIGHTH AND BEST POSITION YET FOR ESPARGARO' IN THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX

An important weekend for the Pramac Racing Team that has used today the livery designed by the creator and designer Philippe Starck in honor of yesterday's World Environment Day. The livery on Aleix Espargar? bike was signed on the grid by the French designer and have give good luck to the young Spaniard who, after the ninth position in Le Mans two weeks ago, have reached the eighth place in the Grand Prix of Italy on the Mugello track. That is, until now, the best result in his MotoGP career for him and so the livery will have a greater value when it will be auctioned through the charity organization Riders for Health website. Starting from the ninth position, the Spaniard has conquered three positions at the start and finished in sixth position for three laps until a touch with Simoncelli that forced him to retreat various positions. Aleix has not let go and has finish in the eighth place. Another character test that gives eight points in the world rankings and puts him just seven points behind the leader of the special classification for the Rookies of the Year in MotoGP, Marco Simoncelli. Shame for Mika Kallio that slipped after eight laps when he was in twelfth position. Until that lap he had maintained a good race pace that would have allowed him to easily maintain the top ten position. There is now a week off before the three consecutive week races that end with the Grand Prix of Catalu?a on July 4th.


Fabiano Sterlacchini - Pramac Racing Technical Director

"Unfortunately the result is not what we hoped for, we were aiming to have good placement with both drivers, because we are fully aware of the quality of our bikes. During yesterday's qualifying we had some problems with Mika's bike that we had partially solved by changing a few settings and making his bike better balanced for this track. It was a great start for him winning some positions, but when he was in the twelfth position he has slipped compromising his race. I should make my warmest congratulations to Aleix and the other part of the box for the wonderful race. We hope that he will continue to give his best and that he can always gain important positions like today. The eighth place on a so hard track where he has competed only four times in the past is an excellent test for the next races. "

Aleix Espargar? - Pramac Racing - 8th in the race - 14th in the MotoGP World Championship with 16 points

"I am delighted to have reach the eighth position today. After Le Mans Grand Prix I gained more confidence in my potential and I want to try to improve every race so that I can reduce the gap from the best riders. I like so much to be in the front positions, and I'll do my best to try to improve even more in the next Gran Prix. I've had since Friday a great rhythm on this track, I knew I have to give my best to get a good result in my Team's home track. I had a good start and I was in the sixth position after the first turn. Unfortunately in the first lap I had a contact with Simoncelli and this made me lose some positions, but I held up my concentration acquiring a good rhythm. I lost a couple of positions, overtaken by Capirossi and Edwards, but from the thirteenth lap I conquered back a couple of position and led the group that was fighting for eighth place until the end. This is a great result for me. I'm now looking forward for the next race to try to improve my position. I'm very happy on how this season is now going. Too bad for the races in Qatar and Jerez where I got just one point. I hope that Mika will return to fight soon for the top positions as he has all the qualities to do it."

Mika Kallio - Pramac Racing - DNF - 16th in the MotoGP World Championship with 12 points

"What can I say, this hasn't been the best weekend for me. The pain I felt in my shoulder and some technical problems I encountered yesterday morning didn't allowed me to get a good position on the grid. We solved some problems this morning during warm up and I found a considerable improvement in the handling of the bike. I started very well, I immediately gained three positions in few laps and I was very close to the group that was fighting for eighth place. Unfortunately, in turn ten I closed too much my steering and I felt off the bike. I wanted to give my best on this track because it is the Pramac Racing Team home circuit. I will work hard to prove my value in the coming races."