Jorge Lorenzo was disappointed to miss out on the podium at Phillip Island today, despite prevailing in a race-long battle for fourth place. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi stormed through the field after starting 12th to finish second behind Casey Stoner.
Lorenzo started from second on the grid but he did not quite have the outstanding rhythm he had yesterday and he slipped to fourth on lap one. He then traded places with Tech 3 Yamaha rider James Toseland a couple of times before settling in behind the Briton as Rossi loomed behind. By lap 13 of 27 Lorenzo’s world champion team-mate had dispatched his Yamaha compatriots and was disappearing off and it then became a battle for fourth between the Spaniard, Toseland, Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano with the foursome trading passes at times more reminiscent of a 125cc race. In the last few lap s Lorenzo was able to take control of proceedings somewhat and he was able to hang on to fourth, just ahead of Nakano with Toseland in sixth.
The rookie is 27 points off third in the championship and also has a mathematical chance of second, with two rounds remaining. The next battle comes in two week’s time at Sepang in Malaysia.
Jorge LorenzoPosition: 4th
Time: +11.500
“I’m not very happy with the race because I know I should have been able to fight for the podium today. I didn’t ride like I know I can, Toseland was in front of me many times and I couldn’t pass him, and then I couldn’t follow Valentino when he came through. I think I had the rhythm to have been with Valentino but it didn’t work today. Even though it’s mathematically still possible, I think that the second and third places in the championship are probably lost to me now. I think that the most important thing now is to get good results in Malaysia and Valencia so that we finish the season in the right way. The team, the tyres and the bike are all working well, we’re getting good results but we know they can be better. I like Malaysia a lot, I rode there in the winter and I think it will be good for Michelin, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager “We’re a bit disappointed about today’s result because we definitely had the potential to be on the podium and that’s what we were hoping for. We had a few more problems than yesterday with grip in the rear and in the hard braking areas we weren’t as good as the others, so we suffered for this. Aside from this it was a good race and Jorge had a great battle for fourth, so despite the result we’ve enjoyed it and now we’re looking forward to the next one.”
Ambient temperature: 17 degrees
Track temperature: 27 degrees
Humidity: 45%
Results 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 40'56.543
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 6.504
3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda + 7.205
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 11.5005. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 11.914
6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha + 12.243
7. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP + 12.780
8. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha + 25.920
9. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP + 26.037
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 26.799
11. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team + 27.027
12. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing + 47.808
13. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing + 48.333
14. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team + 48.899
15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki + 48.935
16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro + 1'11.767
NOT CLASSIFIED Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 27 Lap
Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 27 Lap
Championship Standings 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 332
2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 245
3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 209
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1825. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 145
6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 131
7. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 126
8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 118
9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 106
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 102
11. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 100
12. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 91
13. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 60
14. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 55
15. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 54
16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 51
17. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 50
18. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 46
19. Ben Spies (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 20
20. Jamie Hacking (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team 5
21. Tadyuki Okada (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 2
Phillip Island Record Lap: M. Melandri (Honda) 2005, 1'30.332
Best Lap: C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'28.665
