Valentino Rossi, center, celebrates the 68th victory of his illustrious MotoGP career at the Grand Prix of San Marino on Aug. 31 along with second-place finisher Jorge Lorenzo, left, and third-place finisher Toni Elias.

San Marino GP Race Report

By Paul Kelly
redbullindianapolisgp.com

Monday, September 1, 2008

2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden did not race due to a heel injury suffered earlier this month at the X Games. He participated in practice and qualifying on the Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin at Misano, but his foot was too swollen to race Sunday. Hayden expects to ride in the Red Bull Indianapolis GP.

"The team and I took the decision to try and be smart, to try to let it heal as best it can to get it ready for Indy, which is a huge race for me," Hayden said.

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RESULTS

MISANO ADRIATICO, Italy - Results of the 28-lap Grand Prix of San Marino MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle/tire, time behind winner:

Fastest lap: Rossi, 1:34.904, Lap 6

Pole lap: Stoner, 1:33.378

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POINTS

Riders: Rossi 262, Stoner 187, Pedrosa 185, Lorenzo 140, Dovizioso 118, Vermeulen 110, Edwards 108, Nakano 87, Capirossi 86, Toseland 85, Nicky Hayden 84, Elias 82, de Angelis 49, Melandri 48, Guintoli 47, de Puniet 40, Hopkins 39, West 36, Ben Spies 10, Jamie Hacking 5, Tadayuki Okada 2.

Manufacturers: Yamaha 291, Ducati 228, Honda 223, Suzuki 139, Kawasaki 66.

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PODIUM QUOTES 

VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, winner): "Today is a truly fantastic day, and I can't believe that I have matched Agostini's record! He was one of my heroes, so it's quite incredible to have made it to 68 wins. This was quite a difficult weekend for us from the start, and there has been the added pressure of a home race, which makes it harder to concentrate because there is so much distraction! Mugello has always been 'my' track, even though it's further away from Tavullia, but here, after the bad time last year, we haven't found it so easy. Once again today, however, my team gave me a very competitive bike, and I felt very confident. I got a good start, but then Dani came past me very fast, and I then lost a lot of time getting past him and had to take some big risks - I had a big slide! Once I was past him, I could see Casey, although I have to admit that today I wasn't as confident as I was in Brno that I could win. Anyway, I kept pushing because it's not in my nature to ride for second place, and I think it still could have been a battle; I was very fast once I found my rhythm. Then I saw Casey slide out. I'm sorry for him, once again, but this is very good for our championship so I am happy for our team. We have 75 points, which is a lot, but there are still five races and I will ride to win at every one, as I always have done throughout my career. Thanks to my fantastic Yamaha team, to Bridgestone and, of course, congratulations to Jorge, as well. He kept pushing me today, and I wasn't able to relax even for one minute! It is a great day for us all." 

JORGE LORENZO (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Michelin, second): "Seeing the party Valentino's fans were making for him around the track today reminded me how much I want to start winning again, but as a start this second place is fantastic for us! I lost some ground at the early on, but then I took my rhythm, passed Dani and started to push, and then I kept pushing until the end. To be one and two on the podium again, like in Le Mans, is wonderful, and after four months of problems, I am enjoying this moment very much - it's perfect. Since the Brno test and with the improvements that Michelin have made here, my confidence has being going up all the time and my riding style has improved, as well, so I want to say thank you to them. I hope the situation is the same at the next races; then we can continue to be strong like this. Thanks to all of my team, and congratulations to Valentino and Toni." 

TONI ELIAS (Alice Team Ducati/Bridgestone, third): "After Laguna Seca, things have changed radically. I always had much better feeling with the bike, and the results prove it. I hope to continue this way for the rest of the season. I would love to fight for the podium at each Grand Prix. I know it's not easy, but I will try. I had a lot of fun here today even if this circuit, with all these turns, hard braking and acceleration, is really tiring. At one stage, I tried to follow Lorenzo, but I made some mistakes and I decided to hold on my position, and here is when Pedrosa caught me up. Therefore, I decided to calm down a bit, and I found back the initial race rhythm. I am really happy for this result also for all the Alice Team."

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AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES 

COLIN EDWARDS (Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha/Michelin, 10^th): "It was a very tough race and not what I'd expected. I thought it was going to be tough, but not that tough, and obviously I wanted to do better for my guys at Tech 3, who tried everything to solve some of our issues here. Unfortunately, some of the issues we can't control, and I was struggling for grip in the early stages. I just couldn't get any temperature in the rear tire, and I didn't have the confidence to push like I wanted to. Those first three laps just dictated my result because once I got into my pace, my lap times were pretty decent and good enough to be fighting much further up. But I lost too much in the early part of the race. The problem is on a short track when everybody is doing pretty much the same lap time; it is impossible to make up a lot of time. I got through to 10^th, and I've got a chance to put things right on home soil in Indianapolis next time out." 

JOHN HOPKINS (Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone, 14^th): "This weekend has been frustratingly tough for us. Having aggravated the injury to my rib, we missed two sessions and basically ran out of time to set the bike up. We got a good start to the race, but I was suffering with quite a lot of discomfort from the injury, and I just couldn't push as hard as I wanted to. We're struggling with a few problems with the front-end feeling, but again, that's simply down to a lack of track time. All of the other Bridgestone riders are on a different specification tire, and this is something we need time to test, as I think it will make a big difference for us. I'm having some intense treatment overnight, and hopefully we can get plenty of laps under our belt tomorrow to put us in better stead for my home race in Indianapolis."

NICKY HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, did not start due to heel injury): "This wasn't an easy decision. I love to race and the racer in me wanted to race, but in this kind of situation it's better to listen to the experts. The heel got worse as the weekend went on. I was sixth on Friday morning, but I kept working my way backward after that. The more I rode, the more strength I lost in the foot. When I woke up this morning, I had a lot of swelling and bruising; there wasn't any way the foot was going to fit in a boot. The team and I took the decision to try and be smart, to try to let it heal as best it can to get it ready for Indy, which is a huge race for me. I felt I could have salvaged a little something out of today's race, but that was just going to make things worse for Indy and for the rest of the season."

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MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS 

250cc: Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Mapfre Aspar Team Aprilia

125cc: Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Bancaja Aspar Team Aprilia. American Stevie Bonsey dropped out of the race after three laps and placed 36^th due to a computer failure. He is 14^th in series points.

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NEXT RACE

Red Bull Indianapolis GP, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sept. 14. Round 14 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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