Repsol Honda RC212V rider Dani Pedrosa had a luckless race at Phillip Island today, falling on the first lap. The tumble was a bitter disappointment for the Spaniard who had been in confident mood after running an impressive race pace in practice and qualifying on the second row of the grid.
In tricky cool, sunny conditions Pedrosa got a good start, holding third place, then got sideways as the pack funnelled into the Southern Loop left-hander for the first time. He managed to regain control but ran wide and off the track at speed, falling heavily as ran across the grass. Pedrosa hurt his left knee in the crash. Despite the fall, the former 125 and 250 World Champion maintains his third position in the 2008 MotoGP World Championship with two rounds remaining.
Dani Pedrosa, DNF, 3rd in World Championship“I got a good start and was entering the second corner in third position when the rear tyre started sliding. I tried to correct the bike but I ran off the track. On the grass I tried to correct the bike again but I crashed. I hurt my left knee in the fall. Fortunately I’ve not broken any bones or damaged any ligaments, but I’ve got a lot of pain and the knee is swollen. I am very disappointed because we knew we had a good race pace and I was very confident that I could score another podium, just like at Motegi last weekend.
It was another bad race. I made a mistake and I am sorry for the team, they worked hard throughout the weekend. Tonight I will fly back to Spain and rest the injury while looking forward to the Malaysia GP. Now it’s looking difficult for second place in the championship, there are only two races left.”
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager“Sometimes racing is like this, but I’m sorry for Dani because he had a good race pace. He didn’t have good grip at the start, he made a mistake and crashed. But Dani understands what happened, so I’m sure that he will be back even stronger in Malaysia and fight for a good result.
MotoGP RACE: 1. Casey STONER - AUS - Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 40'56.643
2. Valentino ROSSI - ITA - Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 41'03.147
3. Nicky HAYDEN - USA - Repsol Honda Team HONDA 41'03.848
4. Jorge LORENZO - SPA - Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 41'08.143
5. Shinya NAKANO - JPN - San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 41'08.557
6. James TOSELAND - GBR - Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 41'08.886 243
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO - ITA - JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA 41'09.423
8. Colin EDWARDS - USA - Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 41'22.563
9. Randy DE PUNIET - FRA - LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 41'22.680
10. Loris CAPIROSSI - ITA - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 41'23.442
11. Toni ELIAS - SPA - Alice Team DUCATI 41'23.670
12. Anthony WEST - AUS- Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 41'44.451
13. John HOPKINS - USA - Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 41'44.976
14. Sylvain GUINTOLI - FRA- Alice Team DUCATI 41'45.542
15. Chris VERMEULEN- AUS- Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 41'45.578
16. Marco MELANDRI- ITA - Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 42'08.410
Not finished first lap:
15. Alex DE ANGELIS - RSM - San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA
2. Dani PEDROSA - SPA - Repsol Honda Team HONDAWORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:1. Valentino ROSSI - ITA - Fiat Yamaha Team 332
2. Casey STONER - AUS - Ducati Marlboro Team 245
3. Dani PEDROSA - SPA - Repsol Honda Team 209 4. Jorge LORENZO - SPA - Fiat Yamaha Team 182
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO - ITA - JiR Team Scot MotoGP 145
6. Nicky HAYDEN - USA - Repsol Honda Team 131
7. Colin EDWARDS - USA - Tech 3 Yamaha 126
8. Chris VERMEULEN - AUS - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 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 Team 51
17. John HOPKINS - USA - Kawasaki Racing Team 50
18. Anthony WEST - AUS - Kawasaki Racing Team 46
19. Ben SPIES - USA - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 20
20. Jamie HACKING -USA - Kawasaki Racing Team 5
21. Tadayuki OKADA - JPN - Repsol Honda Team 2
Constructor Points:1. YAMAHA 361
2. DUCATI 286
3. HONDA 275
4. SUZUKI 165
5. KAWASAKI 81
Team Points:1. FIAT YAMAHA TEAM 514
2. REPSOL HONDA TEAM 3403. DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM 296
4. TECH 3 YAMAHA 226
5. RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP 222
6. SAN CARLO HONDA GRESINI 161
7. ALICE TEAM 151
8. JIR TEAM SCOT MOTOGP 145
9. KAWASAKI RACING TEAM 101
10. LCR HONDA MOTOGP 54
