Valentino Rossi, front, and Casey Stoner chased each other for the first 24 laps of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on July 20 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in a clash of MotoGP World Champions.

Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Race Report

By Paul Kelly
redbullindianapolisgp.com

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Colin Edwards, the leading American in the standings, finished a disappointing 14^th on the Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha/Michelin. Edwards was bothered by a neck injury suffered in a crash July 13 during the German Grand Prix.

The next race is the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic on Aug. 17 at Brno.

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RESULTS 

MONTEREY, Calif. - Results of the 32-lap Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle/tire, time behind winner:

Fastest lap: Stoner, 1:21.488, Lap 15

Pole lap: Stoner, 1:20.700

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POINTS 

Riders: Rossi 212, Stoner 187, Pedrosa 171, Lorenzo 114, Dovizioso 103, Edwards 100, Vermeulen 89, Hayden 84, Toseland 72, Nakano 70, Capirossi 61, Elias 46, de Angelis 41, de Puniet 40, Guintoli 38, Hopkins 32, Melandri 32, West 22, Spies 10, Hacking 5, Okada 2.

Manufacturers: Yamaha 241, Honda 197, Ducati 192, Suzuki 112, Kawasaki 52. 

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PODIUM QUOTES 

VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, winner): "What a race today! We made some modifications to our bike after warm-up, and these gave us the last few tenths that enabled me to fight with Casey today; the result was just fantastic. I got a good start and I was able to pass him in the first lap, but I knew I had to try and stay in front of him and it was impossible to relax even for one second. I really only made one mistake, at the Corkscrew when I went a bit wide, but in fact, the dirt had quite good grip, also! Casey was a bit faster on the straight than me, but I was stronger on the brakes so I had to make all my passes there. I don't know how many times we changed the lead, but it was a lot. And it was great, great racing for me and I think also for the fans, because it's been a while since we've been like this. To stay in front I had to do high (1:) 21s at least on every lap, and I want to thank my team and engineers for giving me a bike that could do this. I had a great rhythm, and I am really so happy to win for the first time in America. About the passes, I am sorry that Casey thinks some of them were a bit strong, but I really don't agree. I passed only on the brakes, I braked in the same places every time, and we never touched. Of course, this was an aggressive race, but it was definitely a fair one. Now we have the summer break, and I am looking forward to relaxing a bit, but not too much because it's going to be a hard fight for the final seven races and we must keep the concentration." 

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati/Bridgestone, second): "At the end of the day, I'm not happy because I've made a mistake and it has cost me the chance to win this race, but I also think that even if he rode a great race, some of Valentino's moves early in the race were too aggressive. Anyway, we can't do anything about that now. The important thing is that we've come away from here with 20 valuable points and after being written off in some quarters four races ago, we now go on our summer holiday with a fighting chance of winning the title again. We're 25 points behind, which is a big gap, but there are seven races left, and a lot can happen. We can take a lot of positives out of this weekend, mainly the fact that all the hard work by everybody at Ducati and Bridgestone has paid off again." 

CHRIS VERMEULEN (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki/Bridgestone, third): "I'm really happy to be back on the podium again. That's two podiums in a row, not just in two races but two in a row at Laguna, as well! The last two have come in completely different conditions, and I think it proves that the Suzuki is becoming a lot more competitive and the changes we are making is getting us a lot closer to the front. I was hoping to run with the front two today, but I got held up a bit at the start and lost some time. After I had got through, they were a long way ahead, and I ended up having quite a lonely ride. It was tough to keep my concentration at times as there was nothing to focus on other than count down the laps."

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AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES 

NICKY HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, fifth): "Obviously, at my home race I'd hoped to be able to put up a better fight than that. It was certainly a tough weekend. We struggled a bit with the tires we had available. We really had only two race tires. The one I used in practice I kept using again and again. I used it Friday, Saturday and again this morning. By the end, it had 35 laps on it. I think I learned a good lesson. We set up the bike on quite old tires. In the race when we put in a grippy new race tire, the balance of the bike changed a lot, so it was pushing the front in a lot of places. I would've liked to have been closer to the front, but I think we learned a good lesson. Now we've got a few weeks off, so we'll regroup and try to finish the year strong. Hopefully I can improve, and they can do some work in Japan." 

BEN SPIES (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki/Bridgestone, eighth): "It was good out there today, and I've got to be pleased with the result. I couldn't get going right off the bat as I haven't quite got used to the tires yet. I started to reel a few riders in, and I could see Nakano and Toseland coming back to me. I got past them and on the last couple of laps I could see Hayden and Dovizioso up there, but they were a bit too far away. Everything was getting better and better and then Elias came past me and I thought I had one more lap, but the checkered flag was out, and that was the end of the race. It was a good race, and I will now be even more prepared for when we get to Indianapolis later in the year." 

JAMIE HACKING (Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone, 11^th): "I'm thrilled! I didn't get the best of starts from the back of the grid, but if I'm honest, I was little relieved to see everyone pulling away and leaving me to ride my own race early on. With a fairly clear track, I was able to find a good rhythm on the bike, and I was soon lapping in the low 1:23s bracket. I fought my way up to Ben Spies, and I was just thinking to have a bit of a breather when he looked back and saw who was behind him. As soon as he saw it was me, he upped the pace and managed to pull enough of a gap that I couldn't quite stay with him. The bike was working great, and the lap times were pretty consistent throughout the race, but then Toni Elias managed to work his way past me toward the end, which meant I just missed out on matching Roger Lee's (Hayden) 10^th-place finish from last year. Even so, I've really enjoyed my weekend as a MotoGP racer, and I'd like to thank Kawasaki for giving me the opportunity. Everyone made me feel really welcome, and they are a great team to work with."

COLIN EDWARDS (Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha/Michelin, 14^th): "I don't think I need to say that this race was well below what I expected. I've had a lot of great support from Yamaha US, the American fans and my family this weekend, and they haven't got the result I wanted to give them. My guys at Tech 3 have worked tirelessly all weekend too, but nothing really went for us. To be honest, I was struggling from the start with the harder-compound front tire I had. I'd have some moment on the brakes while I was trying pass someone, and I'd lose a load of time and a bunch of places. I'd gradually work my way back through only for it to happen again, and it was frustrating. I just didn't have any confidence in the front, and everybody knows I am a front-end guy. It has been a difficult week with the crash in Germany, too, so I'm looking forward to the summer break and being able to return stronger in Brno. I'm still fighting for fourth in the championship and Tech 3 is still fourth in the team standings, so we have got a lot to fight for in the last seven races."

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MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS 

The 250cc and 125cc MotoGP support series did not compete at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. Their next event is the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, Aug. 17 at Brno.

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NEXT RACE 

Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, Brno, Aug. 17. Round 12 of 18.

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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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