All three teams and riders give their perspectives of the nights events under the desert spotlights that eventually saw Casey Stoner come out on top for the third consecutive time at Losail.
Compiled press release:Repsol Honda
Promising Repsol Honda Showing in Eventful Qatar Grand Prix
Repsol Honda riders Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa put on a battling display in the Qatar Grand Prix, finishing in fifth and eleventh places in the delayed opening round of the MotoGP World Championship. Both came away feeling positive after an eventful weekend, yet also believed their finishing positions didn’t fully reflect their potential in this dramatic 22-lap race.
Making his race debut in the factory Honda team, Dovizioso didn’t get the best of starts and slipped from fourth on the grid to seventh in the first few corners. The 23-year-old Italian then unleashed a series of scorching moves in the opening laps, climbing to third place and setting off in pursuit of Valentino Rossi. His blistering progress was only subdued by a feeling of reduced grip from the front of his RC212V which forced Dovizioso to slow slightly and adjust his riding style. He came home in a creditable fifth to collect 11 points.
No one would have believed his Repsol Honda team-mate, Dani Pedrosa, was riding injured as he stormed through the field from his starting position of 14th. The tough Spaniard was up to an amazing sixth place by lap eight and, considering that he’s been unable to ride for over five weeks as he recovered from surgery, an incredible result looked possible. However, the 24-year-old began to experience some vibration from his front wheel and started slip back through the field. He wasn’t helped by Alex de Angelis who spectacularly slammed into the side of Pedrosa - who had been forced wide as Chris Vermeulen slipped by to take sixth place. At the chequered flag, a battered and bruised Pedrosa valiantly held on to eleventh place to collect five valuable points - confirming that his decision to race in Qatar was the right one.
The Repsol Honda squad now heads for their home race, the Japanese Grand Prix which takes place at the Twin Ring Motegi, in two week’s time.
Andrea Dovizioso, 5th:
“I didn’t start well but I was able to overtake some riders and get into third position. During the first three laps the machine was performing really well - as it had during practice - and I tried to keep in contact with Valentino, but then I started struggling with the front. It was folding entering the corners and, later, also mid-corner, so I couldn’t turn as I would have liked. I had to slow down and compensate by turning with the rear tyre. We never had this issue during practice or the pre-season tests, so we need to understand what happened and do some more work to adapt the machine to the tyres. It was a very hard fight today, and I’m satisfied that we learned a lot here in practice and during the race. Now we’ll analyse the data and work hard for the next one in Japan.”.
Dani Pedrosa, 11th:
“Overall I’m happy because of my progress over the weekend. I improved in every session and I’m glad to have come here and scored five points - though I’m also slightly disappointed because it could even have been ten or eleven. I got a good start and the race was going very well at the beginning. After seven or eight laps, though, I had started to get some vibration with the front wheel which became more severe as the race progressed. I started to lose grip at the front and my lap times suffered, so we’ll have to check what the issue was. I also suffered a lot physically in the race, and de Angelis gave me a big hit mid-race. The collision was avoidable I think because he could have passed me cleanly. My knee was giving me a lot of pain by the end and my left arm was pretty tired too. Still, we came away having completed the race and with a few points, which was our target, so I’m happy.”
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager:
“Both riders were fighting hard to the chequered flag and I’m very pleased with their performance this weekend. We’ve amassed a lot of data from both machines and from Andrea and Dani’s feedback, and we’ll use this to work on the areas where we need to improve our machine’s performance. Now we’re back racing again we know what we’ve got to do. The weekend has been positive overall, but fifth and 11th isn’t where we want to be, so we’ll continue to work hard and move forward.”
Ducati Marlboro
Stoner Sensational and Hayden Heroic in QatarCasey Stoner took a dominant victory in the opening round of 2009 MotoGP World Championship and his third in consecutive years at the Grand Prix Qatar in tonight’s rescheduled race under the floodlights of Losail. With torrential rain forcing the postponement of the original contest last night, the riders returned to the track today for a 20-minute warm-up at 1830h ahead of a 2100h start. The nervous wait didn’t seem to affect the Australian, who launched from pole position to lead the entire distance, maintaining his searing pace in the second half of the race to keep the chasing Valentino Rossi at bay.
Nicky Hayden produced an equally impressive display and whilst the result was not as spectacular as Stoner’s his determination certainly was. The American suffered a heavy crash during Saturday’s qualifying session that left him nursing an extremely sore back and three stitches in his chest but he valiantly battled through to take twelfth place, almost snatching eleventh from Dani Pedrosa on the line with an exciting late charge.
Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1st:
"I’m so pleased with this victory because it is fruit of the hard work done by everybody at Ducati over the winter. It has been difficult to work in such short sessions here this weekend and going into the race last night we took a gamble with a setting change that we weren’t sure about, but we got the opportunity to try it in warm-up and it felt great, so thank you to the team that worked really hard during the whole week-end. That gave me more confidence ahead of the race. We knew this circuit is demanding for fuel consumpionts and I had to adapt my style a little to keep the pace up and hold the advantage over Valentino but finally we didn’t have problems at all with it. My wrist felt 100% tonight but I still need to work on my overall fitness after the down time over the winter and I’m sure we can keep progressing."
Nicky Hayden – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 12th:
“It’s been a tough weekend and we’ve had a lot of issues – obviously a 130mph high-side doesn’t help things but nothing really went smooth. In the beginning of the race I was quite slow, I didn’t get a great start but actually as the fuel load changed and I got a better feeling I got faster and faster and the last five or six laps were my fastest of the whole weekend. It would have been nice to nick Dani at the end there but I think the team have showed that even though a lot of stuff has gone against us this weekend we’re not going to give up. Hopefully the bad stuff is behind us now and Casey has shown the potential of the bike, so crazy as it sounds I’m leaving here in a really positive mood and looking forward to Motegi.”
Pramac Racing
Great Eighth Position at MotoGP Debut for Mika Kallio. Canepa Seventeenth. Great begin for the Pramac Racing Team rider, Mika Kallio, who has conquered at his debut in the top class an excellent eight position. The Grand Prix of Qatar didn't start too well for the Finnish rider who lost two positions after starting in tenth place. Thanks to his rhythm he has came back concluding at only ten seconds from the fourth position. His teammate, the debutant Niccolò Canepa, has now passed the emotion of the first race in the World Championship and he will have the opportunity to do better in two weeks time in the next race in Japan on the Motegi circuit.
Fabiano Sterlacchini - Pramac Racing Technical Director:
"Happy. A lot. Beside the eight final position, the riders that were in front of him didn't have such a faster rhythm. Unluckily Mika didn't start well and in the first laps lost some time otherwise he could have finish in a better position. Anyway we are positive because the rhythm he maintained for the all race is excellent for a debutant. For Niccolò we are happy that he passed this first Grand Prix without any mistakes, of course he will have to improve, but I think that the many emotions he lived this weekend has limited his performances in his first appearance in the top class."
Mika Kallio - Pramac Racing rider - 8th position:
"Before coming here I thought that if I would have finished in the top ten I would have been satisfied: the eight position is therefore a really good result. I didn't manage to start in the best way, but I have maintained a good rhythm. I tried to catch the group in front of me, but after a few laps I thought to keep my rhythm and this strategy paid off. In the last laps I was seeing Vermeulen closer and closer and I think that if I would have had a couple of more laps I could have pass him. Anyway in general we had a positive weekend and we will try to continue on this direction in the next appointment in Japan."
Niccolò Canepa - Pramac Racing rider - 17th position:
"I hoped to do better to be honest, but it has been a difficult weekend since the first session and we couldn't expect a miracle for the race. In the last laps I made it to stay with Toseland and I learnt many things. We will try to improve our performances in Japan even if it will be the first time for me in Japan, but I will surely be more aggressive because it is what I need."
