On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:07:43 +0100, MKS - 74 <mks74temp@gmail.com>
wrote:
>Men bare rolig - Poster teamkommentarer når de foreligger i et længere
>indlæg, så man kan få et mere fyldestgørende billede
.
Skrammelsuki -
Hopkins narrowly misses the podium in Qatar
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins battled to a superb fourth
place at today’s Qatar Grand Prix, missing out on a place on the
podium by only half a second. Anglo-American Hopkins has been
suffering all weekend with the after-effects of a heavy crash at Qatar
last month, but he overcame the pain to equal his best-ever MotoGP
result. He got off to a good start and consolidated his sixth place
starting position in the early laps. Hopkins then moved up the field
to third place at one point – setting one of the fastest laps of the
race in the process – where he then became involved in a race long
battle with Dani Pedrosa. Although Hopkins tried to make an overtaking
manoeuvre on the last lap, he was unable to get past Pedrosa and had
to settle for fourth. Chris Vermeulen had an equally impressive race
finishing in seventh after starting back on the fifth row in 13th
place. He got relegated back to 16th on the first lap, but fought his
way up the field to record valuable points for himself and the Team.
Today’s race was held in warm and sunny conditions with track
temperatures reaching 45°C.
Australian Casey Stoner took victory on his Bridgestone-shod Ducati.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now travels back to Europe for the second round of
the 2007 MotoGP World
Championship at Jerez in Spain on Sunday 25th March.
John Hopkins:
“I am really happy with the way the race went after coming to this
event in quite a bit of pain. I was never sure how I’d ride or even if
I’d ride! I got off to a good start but lost a couple of places on the
first few laps, I soon got them back and from there on I just tried to
keep myself up towards the front. It was important not to lose any
positions, but unfortunately Rossi and Stoner had a great pace and it
was difficult to keep up with them. I stayed with Pedrosa and pushed
him all the way till the end. I tried to get past him on the last lap
but he’s so little he gets out of the corners so quick that I just
couldn’t get past him! I’ve got to say thanks to the Team Physio Dean
Miller and my trainer Johnny Louch for getting me fit enough to race
here this weekend. It was also great to have my Mum here and my
girlfriend Ashleigh, as they both helped me cope with the injury well.
I am now ready to go to Jerez and hope to take that step up onto the
podium!”
Chris Vermeulen:
“It was a difficult race starting so far back and I ran wide on the
first turn and lost some more places. I started to get through the
field even though it’s not easy to pass on this track. I had a lot of
work to do and was passing people quite hard and pushing the front
tyre, which might have used the tyre up a bit too much early on, but I
had to get past! In the end I was trying to catch some quick guys and
just couldn’t get up to them. I ended up seventh which was obviously a
lot better than last year, but we still have a lot to do. The plan is
now to go to Jerez and win, but irrespective if we can go there and
improve on this position it will be a good result.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It has been a great day’s work by the Team, by Suzuki and by
Bridgestone. John did everything – and more – that we wanted of him
and I am sure he would have loved to have been on that podium. He had
a good go on the last lap, but it wasn’t going to happen without a
massive risk and it was good to see him show maturity and bring the
bike and himself home safely.
“Chris has had a difficult weekend but showed what an asset he is by
bringing the bike from 16th on the first lap to a very creditable
seventh. That result will give him great confidence for the next few
races and when he improves on his qualifying positions I am sure he
will be challenging right up there. “I guess today’s result and the
potential we have shown demonstrates how far we have come since the
race here last year. It’s a solid start to this season and we are
really looking forward to getting to Jerez and carrying on with the
good work.”
Kawasaki -
Olivier Jacque was the sole Kawasaki survivor in today's opening race
of the season in
Qatar, bringing his Ninja ZX-RR home in twelfth place after his young
teammate, Randy de
Puniet, crashed out of contention after just seven laps
Jacque was forced to change his riding style after one-third distance,
after the hard
compound rear tyre he opted to use in the race started to slide under
acceleration. Despite
the lack of traction, the 33-year-old Kawasaki pilot maintained a
consistent pace to close
onto the back of Kenny Roberts and Toni Elias at the start of the
final lap.
Jacque waited until the final corner to slingshot past the two Honda
powered machines to
steal a hard fought twelfth place finish at the line, and to claim
Kawasaki's first
championship points of the new season.
De Puniet managed a good start from the third row of the grid, but
lost one place as the
leading riders fought for position into the first turn, and then lost
another as former
teammate, Shinya Nakano, passed him on the next short straight.
The 26-year-old Frenchman then found himself chasing reigning World
Champion, Nicky Hayden,
but despite being able to close right onto the back wheel of the
American, de Puniet didn't
have the outright top speed to put in a clean pass on the main
straight.
Instead, the Kawasaki pilot was forced to try and carry more speed
though the turns, and it
was while pushing hard to make up ground that he lost the front of his
Ninja ZX-RR in the
final turn and ended his race without injury in the gravel trap.The
Kawasaki Racing Team
will remain at the Losail International circuit for a one-day test
tomorrow, where they will
focus on a tyre evaluation programme set by Bridgestone.
Olivier Jacque: 12th
"Considering how hard the practice sessions were, I was not expecting
to finish like this.
Twelfth position is not where I want to be, but the rhythm and the
fight have been
satisfying. Following my team's advice, I took it easy at the
beginning looking for my pace.
I felt good and had a nice fight with Elias and Roberts. On the last
lap I was behind Elias
and he surprised me, making me go wide. Roberts overtook me but at the
last turn I braked
later than them and exited the corner faster, allowing me to finish in
front. It was great
to come back to racing and understand the bike better."
Randy de Puniet: DNF
"I'm really disappointed to end the first race this way. It is always
hard to crash, but it
is even worse doing it in the first race of the season while fighting
with the current World
Champion and being sure that you can beat him. Hayden's bike was
faster than mine, but I
managed to close on him. If I had had a little bit more top speed I
think I would have been
able to overtake him. I made a mistake trying to pass him and I lost
two positions. I was
riding at the limit and suddenly the front tucked under; maybe I kept
the brake on too much,
but the result was that I crashed. I feel bad now as I felt very good
on the bike."
Michael Bartholemy: Kawasaki Competition Manager
"We were under no illusions about how difficult this first race would
be for us, but still,
this is not exactly the start to the new season we were hoping for.
Randy was going well
right up until his crash, but he has to push so hard to put himself in
contention that,
sometimes, a crash is unavoidable. Olivier rode a steady race to
finish twelfth and at least
salvage some points for the team in the opening race of the season,
but we know that we
still have some work to do to improve our engine performance. Now we
must look forward to
the next race in Jerez, where the circuit suits the characteristics of
our Ninja ZX-RR
better than Qatar."
Fiat -
Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi finished second in the
inaugural Grand Prix of the
800cc era today after losing out in a close battle with Casey Stoner
(Ducati), who took his
first MotoGP win. After starting from pole position for the 46th time
in his career, Rossi
got a good start but surrendered his lead to the eventual winner as
they crossed the line at
the end of the first lap with Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and John Hopkins
(Suzuki) in close
contention. From then on seven-time World Champion Rossi stalked the
Australian youngster
with both showing their strength in different parts of the track;
Rossi’s Yamaha was
generally faster in the corners whilst the Ducati claimed the
advantage on the straights.
With four laps to go Rossi made his move and passed but Stoner passed
him back over the line
and Rossi was unable to stay with him in the final few laps. Stoner
eventually took the
chequered flag 2.8 seconds clear of Rossi with Pedrosa just holding on
for third ahead of
Hopkins.
After being consistently fast throughout the practice sessions and
also starting from the
front row in third, today was not to be Colin Edwards’ day and a small
slide off the start
line saw him lose his grid position into turn one before dropping to
seventh by the end of
the first lap. The Texan had a few problems during the race and was
unable to make it back
up to the front group, settling into a best position of fifth before
Marco Melandri (Honda)
eventually relegated him to sixth with three laps to go.
46 Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: +2.838
“It was a great race today and a good battle, although of course we
would have preferred to
start the season with a win! After the practice this morning we were a
little bit scared
because we had some problems with the tyre, but we understood what to
do and I definitely
made the right tyre choice with Michelin, so I am happy for that. I
got a great start and my
M1 worked very well, I could ride it how I wanted on the limit and
keep pushing. I wanted to
push Casey and try to take the fight to him more, but in fact he was
perfect today. He
didn’t make a single mistake as far as I could see and he rode very
well; he deserved to win
so congratulations to him. I could see that he was faster on the
straight and so I knew that
if I got in front I was going to need to make a gap from him, but in
fact he was too strong!
In the last few laps we were getting faster and faster and I thought I
still had a chance,
but then he kept on going and my tyre started to slide a little bit so
I wasn’t able to stay
with him to the finish. Anyway, we only waved the white flag right at
the end so I am happy
about this! Of course it’s not perfect but my team have worked very
hard and it’s much
better to have 20 points like this than two like last year! Now we
need to find a little bit
more horsepower, but Yamaha is working very hard and I am confident
that we will continue to
improve.”
5 Colin Edwards Position: 6th Time: +18.647
“I spun off the line on the dirty part of the track and so my start
wasn’t great, which was
annoying. I had a bit of a feeling just before we went out that we
would be slower in the
first few laps as the tyre was going to take time to heat up and
unfortunately that was the
case; I just couldn’t push hard enough in those vital first few laps.
Anyway after that I
was holding pace okay and thought I could stay with the top group but
then I had a near
crash on lap seven or eight coming into turn seven, to the extent when
I was holding the
bike up on my knee and elbow! I somehow figured out how to get it back
up after 30 metres
but we lost quite a bit of time. From then on my rhythm was okay and
honestly the race as a
whole wasn’t so bad, but the tyre felt a bit greasy and I was lacking
some front grip, which
was strange after it had been perfect all weekend. We definitely need
more power - that was
obvious today, so that’s priority number one for Yamaha I guess!
Anyway, we’ve learnt a lot
this weekend so let’s go forward from here.”
Fiat Yamaha Team Davide Brivio Team Director
“It could be a better start for us and it’s not what we hoped for
after starting on the
front row with both riders, but anyway it’s not so bad! Our bike is
good and we can fight
for the victory as Valentino showed today, but we have some more work
to do. Colin
unfortunately wasn’t able to match the potential he showed during the
practices, but I am
sure he will be back at the top in Jerez. In some areas our bike is
very strong and in other
areas less so; now we will do our best to even this out. We gathered a
lot more important
information this weekend which will help our engineers over the coming
days and I am sure we
will be ready to fight again in Jerez.”
Ilmor -
Following his crash yesterday at the end of the hour long qualifying
session, Ilmor GP rider
Jeremy McWilliams was left unable to participate in the first race of
the 2007 MotoGP World
Championship today in Qatar. During his fall from the bike the
Northern Irishman knocked his
previously fractured left femur and irritated the muscle around the
healing bone causing an
extremely painful haematoma in his thigh. His injury prevented him
from taking part in the
warm-up session this morning and then subsequently the race –
McWilliams attended the
medical centre first thing this morning where he received pain relief
treatment and was
strongly advised against him competing. After deciding to sit-out the
warm up session in
favour of resting his leg further in the hope that he could later make
it out on to the
grid, McWilliams was in so much pain that he was forced to withdraw
from the race.
McWilliams Australian team mate Andrew Pitt didn’t fare much better
either. Pitt had a
disappointing race and had to stop before the end due to an as yet
unidentified issue. The
team are now analysing the data accumulated from the warm up session
and the race to try and
figure out what went wrong. Pitt resumes testing duties tomorrow as
the team stay a further
day in Qatar – McWilliams understandably will not take part instead
focusing on getting
himself race fit in time for the second leg of the championship in
Jerez, Spain in two
weeks.
Andrew Pitt, Ilmor GP Rider (Not Classified): I’m really disappointed
with today. We did so
well on Thursday, things were looking good but yesterday and today
left a lot to be desired.
I had a bad start and I was having problems with corner entry which
really slowed me down –
I decided that my best plan of action was to just maintain a steady
speed and finish the
race however the bike had other ideas. I know that the team are
working hard to solve the
problems that we’ve experienced in the past few days – the test
tomorrow will definitely
help.”
Jeremy McWilliams, Ilmor GP Rider (Not Starting): “I am totally gutted
that I couldn’t race
today. We made great progress on the bike at the test in Jerez and
here on Thursday then we
were cruelly dealt a blow yesterday – we definitely didn’t need that.
I’ve been sat watching
the race today and looking at our lap times from the past few days and
we would have had a
good chance of scoring points today - that’s very frustrating for me.
The decision not to
race was really hard for me but when you have a medical professional
telling you that you
will do more harm than good if you race then you really don’t have a
choice – I had to look
at the bigger picture and think about Jerez. After I spoke with the
doctor, I took some time
out, sat in a room and tried to see what I could do with my leg and it
was then that I
realised there was no way that I could race.”
Mario Illien, Ilmor GP Team Principal: “I’m very disappointed. The
team have worked so hard
and we have made some positive changes to the bike – I was expecting
better today after the
pace we managed to achieve over the past couple of days but we were a
couple of seconds down
on our own time let alone anyone else’s. We have to concentrate now on
identifying the weak
areas where we have gone adrift and making some serious improvements
ahead of Jerez.”
Konica Minolta Honda -
KONICA MINOLTA Honda rider Shinya Nakano made a steady start to his
2007 MotoGP campaign
with a hard-fought tenth place at the Losail circuit in Qatar. The
29-year-old Japanese
rider made good his promise of wanting to finish the first race with
some points in what
promises to be a long, gruelling season. Shinya spent most of the race
in good company,
battling with Chris Vermeulen, Alex Barros and 2006 World Champion
Nicky Hayden. The race
was won by Ducati’s Casey Stoner; marking the 21-year-old Australian’s
debut victory in the
MotoGP class. The MotoGP circus now heads to Europe for the Spanish
Grand Prix in Jerez over
the weekend of 23rd-25th March.
Gianluca Montiron – Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda
“Obviously we are disappointed with our final position but we need to
be positive about what
we have learned about our new machine and the tyres. For Shinya it was
important to get used
to the feeling of the bike with worn tyres and low fuel-load towards
the end of the race, as
you can only do so many race simulations during the winter. Now we
need to analyse the data
from this first race and work hard with our partners Honda, HRC and
Michelin to improve our
overall package so Shinya can fight with the top riders. This is our
aim, so we are all
looking forward to the next race in Jerez.”
Shinya Nakano – Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda (Final position – 10th)
“Well I at least did what I said I would do and cross the line and get
some points, which is
so important in such a long season. My start was not so good, but I
soon got into a good
rhythm. I benefited from a number of people crashing out and soon
spent most of the race
battling with Nicky Hayden and Chris Vermeulen. I so wanted to catch
and pass both of these
riders but unfortunately I didn’t have the lap times to do it. I think
we really needed to
be around half a second a lap faster to be competitive where we
deserve to be, but we
finished the race and learned a lot about the bike, which is so
important.”
Giulio Bernardelle – Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda
“We had to work hard in morning warm-up as the crash yesterday meant
that we had to make our
tyre choice for the race this morning. We ended up going with the
medium compound tyre,
which I think was the same choice as most of the other Honda/Michelin
riders. By analysing
the data, we know what our main problem is. Through the series of fast
right-hand corners,
which includes turn 13 where Shinya crashed yesterday, he couldn’t
push very hard at all.
Shinya has a good feeling with the front tyre but we need to improve
the grip from both the
front and the rear tyres for him to be able to push harder in the
faster corners. We now
need to work with Michelin to rectify this situation and from there
improve our mechanical
grip levels. Also it was clear today that the Ducatis and Suzukis are
very fast, so we need
something more from Honda from the engine to be more competitive. I’m
still very positive as
we have identified our problem through the data and the Team and our
technicians can now
work on this before we head to Spain for the second race of the
season. Also, Jerez is a
slower circuit, without many long straights so I think this track may
suit us a little
more.”
Gresini Racing Honda -
Marco finishes as second Honda after fighting hard in a high-paced
race
The opening round of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship matched all
expectations as the new
800cc machines lapped faster than the 990s and allowed for an
incredible pace to be set in
the Grand Prix of Qatar.
It required a determined performance from both Team Honda Gresini
riders - Marco Melandri
and Toni Elias getting good starts as they moved up to fourth and
fifth place. From that
point they did their best to stay in the lead group, squeezing every
ounce of potential out
of their bike and tyre package for the race. Melandri managed to hang
on to fifth place,
boosting his confidence ahead of the next round in Jerez. Elias,
meanwhile, paid heavily for
a mistake on lap 16 and finished back in 14th place.
Tomorrow the Honda Gresini riders will be back on track for an
important day of tests ahead
of the Grand Prix of Spain, which takes place on the 25th March.
MARCO MELANDRI (5th) : "I knew I had a good race pace and I was
actually hopeful of a better
result than this. I got a good start and that allowed me to make up
positions from the first
lap. I tried to hang on to fourth place because I felt confident but
we were losing time in
the straight and I had to brake really late to make up time. That put
a lot of stress on the
front tyre and that forced me to slow down. In the second half of the
race when the fuel
load started to lighten the bike was more balanced and I was able to
push again. The race
was tough and the pace was really high. We still have a lot of work to
do - the bike is new
and we need to develop it."
TONI ELIAS (14th): "I'm disappointed with this result because I was
expecting something much
better. We worked well and I got a good start but lap after lap I
started to suffer. We need
more consistency and have to work hard to find a good setting over
race distance."
Ducati -
Casey Stoner made a perfect start with the Ducati Marlboro Team at
Qatar today, riding to a magnificent season-opening victory aboard his
Desmosedici GP7. The Australian's breathtaking maiden win in the first
race of MotoGP's new 800cc era repeats Loris Capirossi's 2006
season-opening win at Jerez and follows Troy Bayliss' 2006
season-ending win at Valencia on the 990cc GP6. Capirossi had an
unluckier start to his 2007 campaign, sliding off without injury at
one-third distance while charging forward and aiming for a podium
result.
Stoner rode a perfectly judged race, leading the first lap and then
battling with former World Champion Valentino Rossi throughout. The
pair swapped positions several times, separated by just a few tenths
for most of the 22 laps, Stoner crossing the finish line 2.8 seconds
ahead after setting a new track record on the final lap.
Casey Stoner, race winner, World Championship leader
"We couldn't ask for much more, it was my first time racing with
Ducati and Bridgestone, a perfect start. I couldn't be happier with
the weekend, the team worked perfectly and the bike and tyres were
perfect in the race. We had a bit of a speed advantage and though we
had some dramas in other parts of the track I played to the strengths
of the bike and was able to do some pretty fast lap times. Valentino
and I had a good battle, it was nice riding up front again. When he
came by later on I decided to see how much further the bike can go and
I was able to break a bit of an advantage. On the last lap I didn't
realise I had a gap and rode the fastest lap, which shows how well the
Bridgestones worked. I'm really happy with the way things are going
and think we'll get stronger and stronger, but we'll have to see how
the season pans out. I'm leading the championship which feels a little
strange but it's only the first race of a very, very long year."
Loris Capriossi, DNF
"It's a real shame because I got a great start but someone touched me
in the first turn and I lost a few places. After that I was
recovering, pushing hard, then I lost the front in the last corner.
It's a pity because I could have got a good result, as Casey proved
our whole package is strong, and it's good that a Ducati won. I always
said that Casey is a great talent, a good guy, and he deserved to
win."
Federico Minoli, president and CEO Ducati Motor Holding
"This is an extraordinary day - we've won the first 800 race, just
like we won the last 990 race. Ducati is enjoying a great start to the
year, both in racing and commercially, because our new 1098 is going
so well. The win is a testimony to Ducati, it shows the strength of
our brand and technology. We have created something that's good for
us, for motorcycling and for Italy. Our technology is second to none,
it's entirely developed in Bologna by a group of dedicated engineers
and shows the world that when Italians focus on something they can do
it very well. Stoner was amazing, he's so young and he won so well, he
didn't dare too much, he knew he had more speed on the straight and he
rode a very intelligent race. Loris had an unlucky day but he doesn't
need to prove anything, he is the symbol of Ducati, we know he's
strong and we know he will be back. We are extremely satisfied with
today, the engine was beyond our expectations, the desmodromic system
works so well. The tyres were also very good, so our thanks to
Bridgestone, to our other technical partner Shell Advance and all our
sponsors."
Repsol Honda -
Dani Pedrosa
“I’m happy with the result today and
to start the season with a third place is pretty
useful. We had a fair few problems this weekend,
so to finish on the podium is good for us. I made
a great start, which I was happy with because my
practice starts this weekend weren’t as good as
this. In the race I was trying to ride at the
maximum and then I made a mistake in the last
corner and lost the slipstream to the riders in
front. The next race is very important and Jerez
is a good track, so I hope we can move on from
the good result today and do great job there.”
Nicky Hayden
“I tried to learn as much as I could in the race.
I really felt like I rode my hardest and had some
good dices with a few of the guys – I just about
caught Vermeulen on the last lap and I got faster
as the race went on. My last two laps were my
fastest laps of the race and that’s the positive
thing. It’s been a tough weekend but I’m not
going to whine and make a bunch of excuses. I
qualified ninth and finished eight and, compared
to the top boys, we we’ve just been off the pace for the whole
weekend.”
Team Roberts -
Kenny Roberts Jnr: 13th. “I honestly don’t have
anything positive to say about this race. We just
need to continue making progress at Jerez.”
Kenny Roberts Snr – Team Owner “A bad weekend.
It’s down on motor, as it appears. He gets passed
down the straightaway, so it’s kind of hard to
put together a decent lap, and he could never
gain any ground. I don’t think the race-track
suited the motorcycle. No problem with fuel or
anything – but speed-wise, it wasn’t running its best. It’s all very
new.”
--
-Michael
Div. Aprilia RS250 og Honda CBR600+VF500-dele m.m. til salg på:
http://cbr600.dyndns.dk/