Spaniard Dani Pedrosa climbed to the top of the MotoGP World Championship standings with 41 points after his victory in the Grand Prix of Spain on March 30.

Spanish GP Race Report

By Paul Kelly
redbullindianapolisgp.com

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Talk About Race!

Two months ago, Dani Pedrosa couldn't ride a motorcycle due to a broken hand suffered in a late January testing crash.

Now he sits atop the MotoGP World Championship standings after a dominant victory March 30 in his home Grand Prix of Spain at the Jerez circuit.

Pedrosa pulled away from his second starting spot and led all 27 laps for his first victory of the season on the Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin. The victory vaulted him the top of the standings with 41 points, as he finished third in the season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar on March 9.

"This is my first MotoGP win at Jerez, and I'm very happy about today's performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn't test so much after I crashed and broke my right hand in January," Pedrosa said. "To score good results in two complicated races and lead the championship is very important."

Five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi finished second on his Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, 2.883 seconds behind Pedrosa. Rossi is winless in his last six starts, the longest drought of his MotoGP career, which started in 2000. But he could take solace in becoming the first MotoGP rider to record 100 career podium finishes.

The charismatic Rossi nearly blew his finishing position when he slowed and started to gesticulate toward his crew when crossing the start-finish line with one lap remaining. He quickly realized the race wasn't over and twisted the throttle hard for the final lap.

Rookie Jorge Lorenzo, who won his second consecutive pole, finished third on his Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Michelin. Lorenzo climbed to second in the points with 36, just five points behind bitter rival and fellow Spaniard Pedrosa.

2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden led the American contingent with a fourth-place finish on his Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin after starting in the same position. John Hopkins climbed from the ninth starting position to finish seventh on his Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone.

Colin Edwards placed 17^th after crashing his Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin on Lap 5 and retiring one lap later. Edwards qualified third, his second consecutive front-row start, and was running sixth when he crashed.

Defending World Champion Casey Stoner endured a miserable weekend after winning the season opener in Qatar. Stoner qualified seventh on his Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati/Bridgestone and dropped to an 11^th-place finish in the race after running into the gravel twice. It was the worst finish of his 20 career starts with Ducati, which he joined last season.

The next race is the Grand Prix of Portugal on April 13 at Estoril. The inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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RESULTS

JEREZ, Spain – Results of the 27-lap Grand Prix of Spain MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle/tire, time behind winner:

Fastest lap: Pedrosa, 1:40.116, Lap 3

Pole lap: Lorenzo, 1:38.189

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POINTS

Riders: Pedrosa 41, Lorenzo 36, Rossi 31, Stoner 30, Dovizioso 21, Toseland 20, Hayden 19, Capirossi 19, Hopkins 13, Nakano 10, Edwards 9, Melandri 9, De Puniet 7, Vermeulen 6, West 3, Elias 3, De Angelis 2, Guintoli 1.

Manufacturers: Honda 41, Yamaha 40, Ducati 30, Suzuki 19, Kawasaki 13.

***

PODIUM QUOTES

DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, winner): "This is my first MotoGP win at Jerez, and I'm very happy about today's performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn't test so much after I crashed and broke my right hand in January. To score good results in two complicated races and lead the championship is very important. I got a good start, not spectacular like in Qatar, but effective, so I was able to take the lead. I did my best, I focused on not making mistakes, and I was able to manage the race all the way to the finish and get a win in front of the Spanish fans. The crowd gave me incredible support, I hope they enjoyed the race, and it was an honor to get my trophy from the king (Spanish King Juan Carlos I)."

VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, second): "I'm really happy with this podium because, even though it hasn't been so many races since the last one, it's been quite a lot of months. I am also very happy to have reached 100 podiums in MotoGP; now I am wondering if I can get to 200. It's a pity we couldn't win today, and maybe I was a little bit too cautious at the start because I wanted to take care of my tires, but in the end they worked very well from start to finish and so this is great for the future. It's always better to win, but after the poor result in Qatar this is a very important second place to us, also because it's my first podium with Bridgestone. My bike and tires are working very well, we're third in the championship with a very long way to go, and I'm feeling quite confident."

JORGE LORENZO (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Michelin, third): "I'm a little bit disappointed today because we thought that we might be able to make more of a challenge, but I can't complain because it's only my second race and I've had two podiums and two pole positions, so it's still a great result. To race today in front of so many Spanish fans and also the king was something incredible, and I have really enjoyed myself a lot here. Dani was a fair winner today. His pace was very strong, and I couldn't stay with him. But I am learning all the time, and I will be stronger again at the next race. It's a very long championship, and this is an important result for us. To be second in the championship at this point is still far more than I expected, and now I am just looking forward to the next race."

***

AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES

NICKY HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, fourth): "It was fun to be competitive, to come into that stadium section the first lap with 130,000 people coming alive, bombs going off, it was cool. It was nice to be there in the mix. Obviously, we'd like to have been having some bubbly afterwards, but the bike worked the best it's worked all weekend, and I was pushing hard. After I dropped back a bit, I made a run on them. I was trying to give those guys a fight. Then I stayed on the brake a bit too long into Turn 1, and pretty much crashed. It was elbow down and I thought it was done, but the front tire was good so I picked it up on the knee and saved it. You can ride these bikes so hard now, and the front tires are so good; that's the first time I've done that. We came in here a lot more competitive. Hopefully we can keep rolling from here and keep moving up."

JOHN HOPKINS (Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone, seventh): "We took a gamble on the race tire we used today as we've only completed two timed laps on it previously, and thankfully we made a good decision. I got a good start to the race but went backward a few places on Lap 1. I was pushing hard to make a pass on Lap 4 when I made a mistake and lost a few positions, so I gritted my teeth and pushed hard to stay with the group in front. I was riding consistently throughout the race but, by the time the last lap arrived, I was sliding quite a lot on the rear tire. I was right with Toseland and Dovizioso when they had a coming together in the final part of the race, which left the door open for me to make up another position. My injury is feeling much better and now we have some test time so can continue the process of getting the Kawasaki to the top of the field."

COLIN EDWARDS (Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin, 17^th): "I'm disappointed. I didn't get a good start. Compared to every start I've done this weekend, it was a lot slower, and I got caught up and tangled with Nicky and Stoner right off the start. I got in behind them, and I just couldn't do anything. It's just what we are lacking in the motor. We can run the pace on our own, but as soon as we get in traffic to where we can't carry the momentum 'round the corner, then we have a problem. We are just waiting for the new engine at the next race, and that is going to make a big difference because now it is hard at the moment with the deficit we have got. I can get off the corner, but when you have got somebody road-blocking you midway through the corner, it is hard to carry the momentum that we have to carry. You can't outbrake any of these guys from five bike lengths back. It is just not going to happen, so I was kind of stuck for a little bit, and Capirossi motored by me into Turn 1. Then I was pretty angry because I didn't want to get stuck behind him. But I'd come off the corner, and he'd just pull away. I was pushing, trying get up there with the guys in front, and I made a mistake. I lost the front coming onto the back straight, but that's racing, I guess. Before yesterday, I hadn't had any moments on the front tire. We had that big moment yesterday, and today I was a bit unlucky. We've looked at the data, and I was actually slower than the lap before, but I must have hit a little. But I'm not sure what happened. It didn't look like I should have crashed, but I did. I felt really confident, and thanks to my guys because they worked hard all weekend, and it's a shame it turned out how it did."

***

MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS

250cc: Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM 250.

125cc: Simone Corsi, Italy, Jack & Jones WRB Aprilia. American Stevie Bonsey finished sixth and is 11^th in series points.

***

NEXT RACE

Grand Prix of Portugal, Estoril, April 13. Round 3 of 18.

***

Red Bull Indianapolis GP tickets: Tickets are on sale for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14, 2008.

Tickets can be purchased either online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time; on the phone by calling (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or (317) 492-6700 locally between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office on the first floor of the IMS Administration Building at 4790 W. 16^th St. in Indianapolis from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

All tickets for this event are three-day tickets, with both reserved and general admission seating available.

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