MotoGP 2007 - Catalunya Report

MotoGP 2007 Round 7

Grand Prix of Catalunya - June 10, 2007

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 43min 16.907 secs
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 43min 16.976 secs
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 17.297 secs
4. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 24.721 secs
5. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 43min 34.760 secs
6. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 43min 36.316 secs
7. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 36.402 secs
8. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 43min 41.769 secs
9. Marco Melandri ITA Gresini Honda (B) 43min 41.870 secs
10. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 43min 52.255 secs
11. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 53.208 secs
12. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 43min 55.627 secs
13. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 43min 57.841 secs
14. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 44min 1.306 secs
15. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 44min 11.100 secs
16. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 44min 16.562 secs
17. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 44min 19.222 secs
18. Kurtis Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 44min 20.229 secs

Race Results
A scribe in the traditional print press recently wrote that the 800cc MotoGP bikes were causing boring, processional racing.

I don't know what MotoGP series he's watching, but on this planet, it doesn't get any better than this. The 800cc bikes have brought some incredible battles in 2007; look at today's results (below) and you'll find 5 different motorcycle manufacturers finishing in positions 1 through 5. When's the last time that happened?

Not to mention the incredible battle between the super-smooth, unflappable Casey Stoner and the Yamaha of Valentino Rossi, which has apparently gained a few more horsepower since the last race, because it was nearly as fast as Stoner's Ducati on the long Cataluyna straight.

In the end, Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner won a breathtaking three-man battle for victory at Catalunya this afternoon, extending his points lead at the top of the MotoGP World Championship.

Stoner had it all - stunning attack and superb defense - as he fought with Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa throughout the 25 laps in 31 degree (88F) heat to keep 112,000 sun-soaked fans on their feet. The Australian enjoyed the lion's share of the lead, attacking immediately whenever passed. The trio crossed the line in that order, covered by seven tenths.

Stoner's fourth win of 2007 keeps Ducati at the top of the constructors' championship and the Ducati Marlboro Team ahead in the teams' championship.

Casey Stoner, winner, World Championship leader on 140 points: "Going into this weekend we weren't sure how things would go. At Mugello we had a few difficulties and we thought it might be the same here. On Friday we weren't exactly on the pace, we were losing a lot in a couple of areas. Fortunately, the team worked really hard, we came up with a solution on Saturday morning and since then we've kept the bike exactly the same."

"The whole team did a great job this weekend and proved wrong people who said we can't win on European tracks. There were some nice passing maneuvers going on everywhere. All three of us had our strong points and our weak points around the circuit, I was just trying to minimize my weak points and cover my lines, and it worked out. It was such a close race, no one could go away, it was very, very enjoyable to be racing that close. It was really good because our bike was set up quite well for the braking points, so for Valentino to pass us he usually had to run wide and we were able to pass him back immediately a lot of times."

"The way the team has set up the bike for me is fantastic, and the Bridgestones worked great again, at a circuit where they've struggled in the past, so they've really changed things around. Today was another great race for us, I'm still not thinking about the championship, maybe later in the season we can really start aiming for that."

Yamaha Team Report
Valentino Rossi rode his Yamaha M1 to a fighting second place in Catalunya today after an exhilarating battle with Casey Stoner, the Australian eventually taking the flag just 0.069 seconds ahead of the Fiat Yamaha rider after a nail-biting final few laps. Rossi 96th premier-class podium gives him yet another record as it takes him above Mick Doohan as the rider with the most podium finishes ever in the top class of Grand Prix racing. His team-mate Edwards suffered from grip issues throughout and was unable to stick with the leading pack from sixth on the grid, eventually finishing in tenth.

After starting from pole, Rossi found himself down in fourth on lap one and was then forced to push hard in the first three laps to get past John Hopkins before he could begin to close the gap to Dani Pedrosa, who was by then following Stoner in second place.

On lap eleven of 25 Rossi made his move on the local favorite, the cheer from the grandstands proving that there was however a sizeable Italian element amongst the 112,600-strong crowd. Rossi soon started looking for passing opportunities on Stoner, making his first successful bid at the end of lap eighteen before relinquishing the lead back to the Australian on the next lap.

From then on the fans were treated to some vintage wheel-to-wheel racing from the pair, with Pedrosa also in close contention, and an incredible number of passes made in several different parts of the track. Going into the penultimate lap however Stoner made his decisive move and Rossi was unable to peg him back, despite throwing every effort at it.

Twenty points for Rossi today means he is now fourteen behind Stoner after seven races, whilst Colin Edwards remains tenth in the standings. After two races on the trot there is now a ten-day break before the MotoGP circus heads to Donington for the Grand Prix of Great Britain, another of Rossi's favorite hunting grounds.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2ndTime: +0.069: "What a race! Even if I'm disappointed not to win, it's a great emotion to be part of a race like that and fantastic fun. It really was an amazing battle to the end with many wonderful overtaking maneuvers by both of us in all different parts of the track!"

"Unfortunately I lost a bit of time at the start and then it was quite hard to pass Hopkins because he was fantastic on the brakes. Then with Stoner it was a great fight and honestly I couldn't have tried harder to win, but he was a very hard rival. There were some places were we could have been better today, not just on the straight but also in some corners, but anyway it was a great experience and it will help us to understand what we need to do to keep on improving."

"Yamaha and Michelin are working very hard and the fact that we could fight like this today to the very end showed this. Of course I'm sad because I've won a lot of times here in Montmelo and I wanted to win again, but like I said, I don't think I could have done anymore today! We know that we can beat Stoner but today he rode like a god and he's a fantastic rival, so congratulations to him."

2007 MotoGP - Catalunya - June 10, 2007

Temp: 31. Attendance: 112,600. Weather: Hot and Sunny

Race 1 - 25 Laps

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

1 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 43'16.907

2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'0.069

3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'0.390

4 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'7.814

5 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 0'17.853

6 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'19.409

7 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'19.495

8 Alex Barros Ducati BRA 0'24.862

9 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'24.936

10 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'35.348

11 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'36.301

12 Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 0'38.720

13 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 0'40.934

14 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 0'44.399

15 Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 0'54.103

Rider Standings June 10, 2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points

1. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 140

2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 126

3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 98

4. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 75

5. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 72

6. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 72

7. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 57

8. Alex Barros Ducati BRA 51

9. Toni Elias Honda ESP 45

10. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 45

11. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 41

12. Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 38

13. Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 30

14. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 20

15. Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 19

16. Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 16

17. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 16

Team Standings June 10, 2007

Pos. Team Points

1. Ducati Marlboro Team 197

2. FIAT Yamaha Team 171

3. Rizla Suzuki 144

4. Repsol Honda Team 139

5. Honda Gresini 120

6. Pramac D'Antin 89

7. Kawasaki Racing Team 39

8. Tech3 Yamaha 32

9. Honda LCR 20

10. Konica Minolta Honda 19

11. Team Roberts 4

Manufacturer Standings June 10, 2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points

1. Ducati 143

2. Yamaha 126

3. Honda 125

4. Suzuki 95

5. Kawasaki 39

6. KR212V 4

MotoGP 2007-Mugello Round 6

MotoGP 2007 Round 6

Grand Prix of Italy, Mugello - June 3, 2007

Race Results

Valentino Rossi set yet another record in his extraordinary racing career today, becoming the first rider in the history of the sport to take six consecutive wins at his home circuit.

The 85,480 adoring fans who had braved the threat of rain and turned the green hillsides of the Mugello valley bright yellow were rewarded in style as the Italian scored an emphatic and emotional victory, his fourth here for Yamaha and eighth in total from twelve years of racing.

Under miraculously dry skies, the Fiat Yamaha Team rider got a poor start from third on the grid and found himself down in eighth position at turn one. Once he had built up enough heat in his Michelin tires however he set out in earnest, picking off riders one-by-one and moving up to second behind Dani Pedrosa by lap seven of 23.

Two laps later Rossi made his move on the Spaniard and from then on the pair were racing just a few tenths of a second apart, with Rossi extending the advantage around the twistier parts of the circuit and Pedrosa closing it slightly down the long home straight. Little by little however Rossi began to pull away and he eventually crossed the line 3.074 seconds ahead of Pedrosa.

A late pass by Alex Barros on series-leader Casey Stoner for third place helped Rossi's points deficit and he now lies just nine points behind Stoner in the standings, with some of his favorite races coming up in the next few weeks.

It was a less successful day for Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards, who despite showing a strong race pace in the dry today was heavily penalized by starting from the sixth row of the grid. The Texan has yet to enjoy a successful race at this circuit and was only able to make up a few places on his starting position, finishing 12th and slipping one place in the championship standings down to tenth.

Valentino Rossi Position: 1stTime: 42'42.385: "To win in Mugello once again is an incredible emotion for me and I am very happy at this moment. Racing in front of the fans here is always something unbelievable and they give me an extra motivation. It's an incredible feeling to see so much yellow around the track, the fans were "coming crazy" today and it was a wonderful race!"

"As we had hoped it stayed dry, the sun came out and everything went to plan! My team have worked brilliantly, my bike was perfect and I could ride it exactly how I wanted, I need to say a huge thank you to them and also to Michelin. I didn't get a very good start but once my tires had warmed up my M1 really flew and I was able to fight back to the front."

"From the very beginning everyone was pushing at 100% and it was great fun in those first few laps! It was really a perfect race for me today and I felt like I had everyone on my side; Mugello is a magical track for me and this victory gives us a lot of power and confidence for the next races. I had a special helmet for this race with a big heart on it and today I think we showed that we really have a lot of heart at Yamaha. This is a great, great moment for me."

2007 MotoGP Italy - Mugello - Race Results

Circuit Length: 5245; Temp: 24; Weather: Dry

Race 1 - 23 Laps

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 42'42.385

2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'3.074

3 Alex Barros Ducati BRA 0'5.956

4 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'6.012

5 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'13.244

6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'19.255

7 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'19.646

8 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'22.810

9 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'22.837

10 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'24.413

11 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 0'24.781

12 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'28.001

13 Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 0'36.733

14 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 0'45.098

15 Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 0'45.145

Rider Standings as of June 3, 2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points

1. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 115

2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 106

3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 82

4. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 68

5. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 63

6. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 59

7. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 47

8. Toni Elias Honda ESP 45

9. Alex Barros Ducati BRA 43

10. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 39

11. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 36

12. Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 35

13. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 20

14. Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 19

15. Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 18

16. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 14

17. Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 12

Team Standings as of June 3, 2007

Pos. Team Points

1. Ducati Marlboro Team 162

2. FIAT Yamaha Team 145

3. Rizla Suzuki 122

4. Repsol Honda Team 118

5. Honda Gresini 113

6. Pramac D'Antin 78

7. Kawasaki Racing Team 28

8. Tech3 Yamaha 26

9. Honda LCR 20

10. Konica Minolta Honda 18

11. Team Roberts 4

Manufacturer Standings as of June 3, 2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points

1. Ducati 118

2. Honda 109

3. Yamaha 106

4. Suzuki 82

5. Kawasaki 28

6. KR212V 4

MotoGP 2007- Le Mans, France

MotoGP 2007 Round 5

Grand Prix of France, Le Mans - May 20, 2007

Race Results

Chris Vermeulen raced to his and Rizla Suzuki MotoGP’s first Grand Prix win at a rain-soaked Le Mans today.

Vermeulen rode an almost faultless race in the wet after heavy rain started to fall over the 4.180km French circuit. He entered pit lane at the end of lap nine to change to his wet-weather prepared Suzuki GSV-R. Within two laps he hit the front and never looked under threat all the way to the checkered flag, the impressive Australian finishing the race over 12 seconds in front of the second-placed man Marco Melandri. World Championship leader Casey Stoner finished third to give Bridgestone tires a clean sweep on the podium.

Vermeulen now moves up to fifth place in the MotoGP World Championship with Rizla Suzuki MotoGP going up to third in the team’s championship.

John Hopkins looked like he was going to follow up his podium at China last time out with another one today. He produced a number of stunning laps – including the fastest lap of the race – to move into first place on lap nine. After he entered the pit-lane on the next lap to change to his wet bike, he was unable to sustain his momentum and also suffered with a few issues with the set-up of his GSV-R.

Hopkins brought his bike home in seventh place for his fourth top seven finish of the year, a result that puts him into sixth place in the overall classification.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now stay in France for a day of testing before the MotoGP circus moves across Europe for round six of the championship, to be held at Mugello in Italy on Sunday 3rd June.

Marco Melandri: “It was an amazing race. From the start it was very difficult on slick tires and many riders who are not normally in the top were really pushing. I didn’t push then. When it started raining hard I didn’t know when best to come into the pit and change to wet tires because half the track was wet and half not so bad. When I caught Chris (Vermeulen) I didn’t want to pass him and decided to wait. But I have short legs and could not get my knee down onto the track to control the front and had a couple of big slides, one in sixth gear. So I decided to let Chris go.”

The fallen, but comparatively unhurt, Nicky said, “That’s a shame for sure. We had a pretty solid fourth place there with just a couple of laps to go and the bike was feeling pretty good in the wet. But then as soon as I touched the brake at the end of the back straight it folded on me. I hadn’t even started back-shifting yet and before I knew it I was just picking up speed as I hit the ground – it was a rough ride. It sucks, but it seems like no bones are broken and that’s a good thing, though I’ve damaged some cartilage in my ribcage.”

The World Championship points table shows Stoner with 102 to Rossi’s 81 with Dani scoring well enough to stay in touch on 62 and Marco right back in the mix with 61 as the European rounds take in Mugello in Italy in two weeks time.

Chris Vermeulen: “I’m absolutely over the moon! I am really happy for myself, my crew and everyone involved in the team. We’d had a difficult weekend coming into the race as not everything quite went to plan - but we were getting quicker and quicker and I’m sure if it had been dry today we would have improved more. The conditions were slippery to start with and it was difficult to know how hard to push. Some guys came past me and then a lap or so later they crashed! It started to rain quite heavy and I decided to come in and change my bike."

"I came back out and just stuck my head down and tried to get the tires up to heat up as quick as possible. The bike felt really good in the rain, but as it got heavier it made it hard to hold the bike in top gear down the straight - there was so much water it was just spinning the rear! Tom O’Kane – my Crew Chief - and the rest of the guys gave me a really good wet bike today as we hadn’t done much wet testing with the new 800. The tire choice was spot-on and the bike was certainly good enough to win on!

Honda Team Race Report
With rain threatening, the lights on the grid went out and a crowd of 74,000 watched with some trepidation as the field barreled into turn one with specks of moisture dotting the competitors’ visors and screens. Stoner got the jump into the turn followed by American John Hopkins (Suzuki), but it took only four more corners before Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) took the lead.

This would be a difficult race over 28-laps of this 4.180km track in conditions that worsened as the laps clicked down. The first half of this race was frenzied affair with riders pitting to change machines (and with them tires) and pole-man Colin Edwards (Yamaha) was the earliest visitor to pit lane on lap four.

As Rossi led across the start/finish straight (a scant 450m of it) conditions were plainly difficult. And it was the riders with the least to lose and the most to gain who put the power down early and gambled their way to the front. Alex Barros (Ducati) lay third with Sylvain Guintoli (Yamaha) and Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) both, as dutiful Frenchmen, giving it everything in the treacherous conditions.

With Edwards swapping bikes Rossi held a 1.8 second advantage over Barros, who was giving it everything in second. The Brazilian was followed by Stoner, de Puniet and Guintoli. But the native riders were restless and by lap six Guintoli led from de Puniet with Rossi losing momentum and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) moving up the order to fifth.

On lap seven Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V), who was holding seventh from a front row start, crashed and this unleashed a torrent of activity at the front with Guintoli going down on the next lap, Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) on the eighth, and de Puniet shortly after the Spaniard.

By this time the red and yellow striped flags were out to signal a significant deterioration in adhesion as John Hopkins led the pack. Those who had not pitted earlier now did so, including Hopkins and Pedrosa and this second tier of tire swappers tended to do better (in the final analysis) than the first wave.

By lap 12 it was Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) who held second place before overhauling Hopkins for the lead. Melandri then blasted past the American to take second with Rossi now third. Guintoli had nursed his machine back to pit lane to exchange his battered bike for a straighter version and he rejoined the fray in 13th spot, while Vermeulen led Marco by 1.6 seconds.

Things were very wet now. Melandri was giving his all to reduce Vermeulen’s advantage and by lap 14 he had shaved the Aussie’s lead to 1.1 seconds. It was Vermeulen and the Italian first and second with Rossi and Stoner some ways behind in third and fourth, with Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) fifth, Alex Hofmann (Ducati) sixth and Dani seventh.

If the early laps were a maelstrom of activity, the second half of this contest was enlivened only by Melandri’s enthusiasm to catch Vermeulen. By lap 18 the tenacious Italian had carved the gap down to 0.5 seconds. Stoner in third was a considerable 15 seconds adrift of the protagonists, having taken advantage of Rossi’s difficulties in maintaining an economical line out of the turns in the deluge.

Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) crashed and splashed down at the Flip-Flop on lap 21 as his predecessor in the Konica Minolta seat, Makoto Tamada, now riding for Yamaha, was lapped. There was standing water on track now and Hayden was a man who made the most of the slippery tarmac taking Rossi, who ran wide again, for fourth on lap 22.

Vermeulen though was clearly in charge. It took him a mere five laps to re-establish his authority on the event by giving Marco a 2.3 second hole to fill. Barring disasters he was going to take the flag. The disaster fell to Nicky. On lap 26 he crashed heavily while holding fourth.

The Aussie Suzuki man took his first MotoGP win in style, wheelieing over the line with Marco having settled for second. Championship points leader Stoner rode to a neat third place here at Le Mans, only the fifth round of an eighteen race series. Dani (who many believe finds racing in the rain a bother) took an eager fourth.

John Hopkins: “Firstly I want to say well done to Chris and well done to Suzuki for standing on top of the podium. It is certainly an achievement to stand on the podium two races in a row; hopefully we can carry that streak on together. As for the race we chose one of the hardest slick rear tires that we had, so I had to take it easy to get it up to temperature. Once it was there and I had confidence in it I was able to go from 12th to first in a short space of time. Everything was going fine until it started raining harder."

"I think we made the right decision when to come in to change the bike. I tried to get used to riding in the wet and it all seemed to be going alright, but we had some minor adjustment problems that hindered us a bit. At the end of the day I kept it on two wheels and finished the race with some good points. We will take the positives from this weekend and although I am disappointed to finish where I did after all the hard work we put in in the dry, it’s now time to move onto a lot of tracks that I enjoy and continue this podium streak for Rizla Suzuki!”

Le Mans hosted a rain-sodden MotoGP showdown that put nerve and skill at a premium, with Marco Melandri finishing a close second.

MotoGP - Le Mans, France Round 5

1 Chris VERMEULEN (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP)

2 Marco MELANDRI (Honda Gresini )

3 Casey STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team)

4 Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team)

5 Alex HOFMANN (Pramac d'Antin)

6 Valentino ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team)

7 John HOPKINS (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP)

8 Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati Marlboro Team)

9 Makoto TAMADA (Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3)

10 Sylvain GUINTOLI (Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3)

11 Fonsi NIETO (Kawasaki Racing Team)

12 Colin EDWARDS (Fiat Yamaha Team)

MotoGP 2007 - Shanghai, China

MotoGP 2007 Round 4

Grand Prix of China, Shanghai - May 6, 2007

Race Results
John Hopkins secured his first MotoGP podium at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai today, as he stormed his Rizla Suzuki home in third place - a result that also moves him into the top five in the MotoGP Championship.

Hopkins started from the front row of the grid and got off to a great start. He then traded places with Marco Melandri and Dani Pedrosa early on, before getting away from them and chasing down Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi.

The hard-charging Anglo-American caught up with the leaders and the three of them produced incredibly fast lap-times as they pulled away from the chasing pack. Hopkins tried to make a bid for a higher position, but decided that bringing his GSV-R home for his first top-three finish was more important than any last lap heroics.

Hopkins was visibly overcome as he crossed the line in front of his cheering team, he will now go onto the next round in France with high confidence as he looks to build on this success.

Today’s race was held in warm and sunny conditions with air temperatures reaching 23°C. An exuberant crowd watched Stoner win his third race of the season on his Bridgestone-shod Ducati.

Meanwhile, Casey Stoner did a fantastic job on the Ducati and is now leading Valentino Rossi by 15 points in the Championship. Stoner's Ducati was incredibly fast in the straightaway, sometimes pulling from way behind Rossi to way in front by the end of the straight. The bike was also able to turn quicker and accelerate faster than Rossi's Yamaha. Rossi made a great effort to fight back, but went wide on one turn too many and came in second in the race.

And Toni Elias made yet another error on Lap 1, coming into a turn too fast and taking out two riders.

John Hopkins: “I am so happy with the way the race went and I want to dedicate my first podium to my Dad! Without doubt he was watching me and he certainly helped get me through to the finish - there will be more of these to come! I want to also give a big thanks to everyone who has supported me and especially my family. I also owe a huge thank-you to my crew who have been right behind me all the time. I really want to congratulate Bridgestone for the great tires and Suzuki for the huge steps forward with the bike that is enabling me to run at the front now."

“As far as the race went, I got a good start and then got passed by Marco and Dani; I started to get a bit frustrated because Casey and Valentino were pulling away. I made a couple of aggressive maneuvers on both Dani and Marco to get round them and started to chase down the front two. From there on it was all about trying to hang on to them, they were running a tremendous pace and I just couldn’t get past. In the end I made sure I brought the bike home in third. I was praying nothing would go wrong in the last two laps – and it didn’t so I guess my Dad was looking down on me! Now I can’t wait for Le Mans – I’m looking into backing this up with another podium!”

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd; Time: +3.036 : "I enjoyed today a lot, it was a great race, a really exciting battle and my Yamaha was fantastic to the end. We knew that this track would be difficult for us so to be able to fight with Stoner at 100% for the entire race was a great feeling. Of course it's not a win, but I think second place is a very good result for us here. I didn't want to give up and just ride for second, I wanted to try to pass him and I made some good overtaking maneuvers but wasn't able to stay in front down the straight."

"Then I made a mistake when I hit a bump when braking, had to release the brake and ran off track. It was a pity, but when you're riding on the limit lap after lap then things like this can happen; that's racing! Anyway I knew I couldn't give up, I had a nice battle with John and then was able to take second. I think these twenty points are really important and we're still second in the championship. I'm really more sad for what happened in Turkey because if we hadn't had the problem there then I might have been level with Stoner in the championship now. But the season is long and now we have several races in Europe at some of my favorite tracks and I think we're in good shape for them!"

2007 MotoGP Shanghai, China - May 6, 2007

Circuit Length: 5451

Temp: 23

Weather: Dry

Race 1 - 22 Laps

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

1 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 44'12.891

2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'3.036

3 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'6.663

4 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'14.090

5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'17.276

6 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'26.256

7 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'26.591

8 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 0'27.025

9 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 0'28.108

10 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'32.957

11 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'35.053

12 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'37.327

13 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 0'50.705

14 Alex Barros Ducati BRA 0'55.264

15 Kenny Roberts KR212V USA 0'57.736

Best Lap

Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 1'59.857

Rider Standings as of May 6, 2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points

1. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 86

2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 71

3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 49

4. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 41

5. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 39

6. Toni Elias Honda ESP 35

7. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 31

8. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 30

9. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 30

10. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 30

11. Alex Barros Ducati BRA 27

12. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 20

13. Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 19

14. Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 19

15. Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 15

16. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 6

17. Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 4

Team Standings as of May 6, 2007

Pos. Team Points

1. Ducati Marlboro Team 116

2. FIAT Yamaha Team 102

3. Repsol Honda Team 79

4. Honda Gresini 76

5. Rizla Suzuki 69

6. Pramac D'Antin 46

7. Kawasaki Racing Team 23

8. Honda LCR 20

9. Konica Minolta Honda 15

10. Tech3 Yamaha 10

11. Team Roberts 4

Manufacturer Standings as of May 6, 2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points

1. Ducati 86

2. Yamaha 71

3. Honda 69

4. Suzuki 46

5. Kawasaki 23

6. KR212V 4

MotoGP 2007- Istanbul, Turkey

MotoGP 2007 Round 3

Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul, Turkey April 22, 2007

Race Results
Disappointment for Rossi and Edwards on Unlucky Day in Turkey

High hopes for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards went unfulfilled today as the Fiat Yamaha Team riders, who started from first and second on the grid, were both victims of bad luck at Istanbul Park.

The pair got a good start and were leading the pack into turn one before Edwards dropped back as he was unable to get enough heat into his tire and Rossi made a mistake and ran wide at turn eleven. Disaster then struck for Edwards as he was hit from behind by another rider and sent tumbling into the gravel trap in a crash that involved four riders in total.

Rossi meanwhile seemed to be going well and had fought back to second behind eventual winner Casey Stoner, before he suffered a serious rear tire problem that forced him to roll off the gas and drop right back through the field. The Italian had to use all his talents to keep himself in the race and he eventually brought his Yamaha home in tenth position, taking what were a creditable six points under the circumstances.

Rossi now drops to second place in the championship standings, ten points behind Stoner and 15 ahead of Dani Pedrosa, who was also involved in the first-lap crash. Edwards' unlucky non-finish, only the second in his Yamaha career, means he drops down to sixth. The Fiat Yamaha Team have a one-day test planned tomorrow although Edwards will wait until the morning to confirm if he will ride after badly bruising his knee when he was knocked down.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 10thTime: +18.999: "We are very disappointed today because we had high expectations for this race, but instead we had some unexpected problems with the tire and it's been a disaster for us. Yesterday and this morning the same race tire felt good but unfortunately today something happened to it after some laps and I couldn't fulfill the potential we had here. We don't know the reason yet for the problem but now Michelin are trying to understand what happened."

"I had a great start and was leading on the first lap, although I made a mistake at turn eleven when I ran wide and dropped to fifth. However at that stage my bike was working very well and I was able to fight back to second; I felt sure that I was going to have a good battle with Stoner! Sadly though, after ten or eleven laps, the tire started to lose all grip and I had to slow right down because I was quite scared. It felt like there was a big problem with the tire and I had to go very carefully just to finish. We were very unlucky today, we started first and second but Colin crashed when he was hit and then I had this problem. I'm also quite unhappy with Elias today because I think he was quite dangerous - more than once he passed me on the inside and then altered his line. This is not a correct way to race. We're all quite sad tonight but we have many more races so we will look forward now to China."

2007 MotoGP Turkey - Istanbul - April 22, 2007

Circuit Length: 5378

Temp: 23

Weather: Dry

Race 1 - 22 Laps

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

1 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 42'2.850

2 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'6.207

3 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'8.102

4 Alex Barros Ducati BRA 0'8.135

5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'8.289

6 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'10.186

7 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'10.239

8 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 0'14.734

9 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 0'16.042

10 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'18.999

11 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'26.249

12 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'29.546

13 Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 0'36.922

14 Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 0'38.540

15 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 0'39.337

Rider Standings - April 22, 2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points

1. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 61

2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 51

3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 36

4. Toni Elias Honda ESP 35

5. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 30

6. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 26

7. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 26

8. Alex Barros Ducati BRA 25

9. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 23

10. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 21

11. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 20

12. Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 15

13. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 14

14. Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 12

15. Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 11

16. Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 4

19. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 3

Team Standings - April 22, 2007

Pos. Team Points

1. Ducati Marlboro Team 81

2. FIAT Yamaha Team 77

3. Honda Gresini 65

4. Repsol Honda Team 62

5. Rizla Suzuki 44

6. Pramac D'Antin 37

7. Kawasaki Racing Team 15

8. Konica Minolta Honda 15

9. Honda LCR 14

10. Tech3 Yamaha 7

11. Team Roberts 3

Manufacturer Standings - April 22, 2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points

1. Ducati 61

2. Honda 56

3. Yamaha 51

4. Suzuki 30

5. Kawasaki 15

6. KR212V 3

MotoGP 2007 - Jerez, Spain Race Result

MotoGP 2007 Round 2

Jerez, Spain
March 25, 2007

Race Results
Valentino Rossi took on all challengers for the victory at the MotoGP of Spain and in so doing placed himself in the number one position in the charts.

The five time MotoGP World Champion was never troubled after passing pole sitter Dani Pedrosa midway through the opening lap, and ended his five-race longest ever winless streak with a masterful display of how to lead a Grand Prix.

"The Doctor" has won at Jerez on four previous occasions, and marked victory number five with a special celebration alongside his fan club. Decked out in skittle costumes, the group fell at the Italian’s feet as he gave them an underarm bowl on his parade lap.

Hyped up as a battle between Rossi and Pedrosa for dominance of the Spanish circuit, the race never really became a duel between the two riders. As the Fiat Yamaha rider continually upped his race pace, Pedrosa was left with little to do but follow his rival into second. Whilst clearly unable to keep up with Rossi, he was likewise unfazed by the presence of third placed Colin Edwards nearly three seconds behind him. For the "Texas Tornado" the race marked a welcome return to the podium after a strong ride.

Aiming to give the Spanish fans another reason to be happy, Toni Elias was right up there with Rossi’s fastest speeds, even though he started further down the grid. The exciting rider finished in fourth after some excellent overtaking, just edging out Casey Stoner who couldn’t repeat his dominance from two weeks ago. Stoner was once again mature in his overtaking choices, and was rewarded with some valuable points for the World Championship.

Carlos Checa, starting from the front row for the first time since the 2005 Portuguese Grand Prix, rounded off the top six, ahead of reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden. Hayden made a fantastic start, but looked uncomfortable and was unable to get near the leaders and dropped off towards the end of the race.

Marco Melandri, Chris Vermeulen and Shinya Nakano completed the top ten, while John Hopkins suffered a crash on lap 16, having just overtaken Hayden for fourth place, but picked the Suzuki GSV-R800 up to finish the race, albeit in 19th. The brave Anglo-American was once again racing despite pain in his broken right hand.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 1stTime: 45'53.340: "After the situation at this race last year, this is much, much better! Our first priority today was to get points and I knew that to win I would have to ride at the maximum, but today my Yamaha really flew and I was able to do a great race. It feels like a long time since I last won and this is a great emotion and a very special victory for me, especially in Jerez in front of this great crowd. Qatar was good but to taste victory again is a wonderful feeling."

"I got a great start, didn't make any mistakes and had a good battle with Pedrosa, who we knew would be the danger today. I'm really happy for Colin too and to have both Yamahas on the podium shows that we're in good shape for what's going to be a long season. Now we have two race tracks which might be difficult for us so it's very important to leave here leading the championship."

Colin Edwards - Position: 3rdTime: +2.701: "On Friday morning you wouldn't have thought we would end up on the podium, but here we are and it was a good race for me. I've got to say an enormous thank you to all my guys because they worked non-stop all weekend and came up with some pretty good solutions to the problems we had. Michelin also had something up their sleeve for us and seemed to know what would work and they were proved right - they've done a good job for us this weekend."

"I got a good start and my best move was getting past Checa so quickly; I knew I had to find some clear air and try to hang onto the back of Valentino and Pedrosa. I made a couple of small mistakes and they were able to pull away from me a bit which was a pity, but my bike was working well so I was able to keep a pretty good pace throughout. Towards the end I could see Elias had appeared behind me and I didn't like the idea of him getting spurred on by his home fans and trying to snatch a podium, so I really had to keep hammering away! The last few laps were a little hairy at times as I started to slide but anyway we managed to make it and it feels great to be up here on the podium again."

2007 MotoGP - Jerez, Spain Round 2

Circuit Length: 4423

Temp: 19

Weather: Sunny

Race 1 - 27 Laps

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 45'53.430

2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'1.246

3 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'2.701

4 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'4.351

5 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'4.993

6 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'10.000

7 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'14.146

8 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'19.969

9 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'24.786

10 Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 0'24.955

11 Alex Barros Ducati BRA 0'25.008

12 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'25.852

13 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 0'26.445

14 Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 0'36.653

15 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 0'36.744

Best Lap

Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'40.905

Rider Standings March 25, 2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points

1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 45

2. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 36

3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 36

4. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 26

5. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 19

6. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 17

7. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 16

8. Toni Elias Honda ESP 15

9. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 13

10. Alex Barros Ducati BRA 12

11. Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 12

12. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 10

13. Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 5

14. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 4

15. Olivier Jacque Kawasaki FRA 4

18. Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 2

19. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 2

Team Standings March 25, 2007

Pos. Team Points

1. FIAT Yamaha Team 71

2. Repsol Honda Team 53

3. Ducati Marlboro Team 40

4. Honda Gresini 34

5. Rizla Suzuki 29

6. Pramac D'Antin 17

7. Konica Minolta Honda 12

8. Honda LCR 10

9. Kawasaki Racing Team 7

10. Tech3 Yamaha 4

11. Team Roberts 3

Manufacturer Standings March 25, 2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points

1. Yamaha 45

2. Ducati 36

3. Honda 36

4. Suzuki 20

5. Kawasaki 7

6. KR212V 3