The Yamaha Tech 3 Team scored its best result of the year to date as Sylvain Guintoli finished in 13th position at the Grand Prix of China held in Shanghai. The result for the team could have been a lot better but unfortunately, his team mate Makoto Tamada was involved in an accident on the fourth lap of the race with fellow Japanese rider Shinya Nakano which forced his retirement. Among the positives that the team will take to the next Grand Prix is the fact that Sylvain was able to stay with defending world champion, Nicky Hayden, for several laps.
Sylvain Guintoli - Position: 13thTime: +50.705
I'm very happy with the race and the weekend. It was a good boost for me to be so close to Nicky for so long after he was caught up in that first lap incident and I had a lot of fun racing with him. Unfortunately I made a little mistake towards the end of the race that allowed the gap to open up. Anyway, I am satisfied as the weekend didn't start very well as we had a lot more trouble than Jerez and Turkey to get the right tyre but we worked hard and managed to find a good tyre for the race. At the end of the day it is my best result in MotoGP, I was able to follow Rossi for a couple of laps during practice learning a few things and I managed to stay with the world champion for half the race so this has given me a good boost of confidence for my home Grand Prix in Le Mans in two weeks time. I am really looking forward to that and after testing with Dunlop and the Yamaha Tech 3 Team last year feel that the tyres should work well there and it a track I particularly like so hopefully I can score some more good points in front of my home crowd.
Makoto Tamada
Makoto Tamada - Position: DNF
It was a shame my race only lasted three laps as I had a very good feeling with the bike and the tyres. I felt that this was going to be the best race of the year for me so far I am very disappointed that I crashed as we had good speed but I am also sorry for Shinya. I wasn't expecting to be going to pass him then but he was going a lot slower than I thought. I tried to avoid him by diving for the inside to take the corner but unfortunately we hit and we both went down and my bike was too badly damaged to continue The tyres are also getting better so I am feeling better on the bike everytime I ride it. Hopefully we can continue the progress at the next race and I can get a good result for myself and the team.
Herve Poncharal - Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team Director
It wasn't such a bad weekend for us but firstly I would like to say that we have to qualify better because during the entire weekend, apart for the last 30 minutes of the qualifying session, we were always quicker than a few riders who eventually qualified in front of us. Once we get to the race we go back to the same pace we had during the practices. Makoto was catching and passing a few guys and doing very well. He had a great start, was very aggressive but wasn't involved in the first lap crash. He was up to 11th as he was able to catch and pass a few riders but unfortunately - and we apologise to Shinya Nakano and his team - he was caught a bit by surprise as he was a lot faster but he didn't expect Shinya to brake so early at the end of the back straight and hit him from behind. It's a pity because when we see what Sylvain has done it was possible to have both riders score some good points. For myself personally, the best part of the weekend was Sylvain as he managed to stay right behind the world champion, Nicky Hayden for over 10 laps turning in the same lap times and this will be excellent for his confidence. He showed to many in the MotoGP paddock that he can race with anyone. The work we did at Istanbul is paying off so I hope that we will have many people come and support us at our home Grand Prix at Le Mans in two weeks time.
Circuit Length: 5451
Temp: 23
Weather: Dry
Race 1 - 22 Laps - MotoGP China - Shanghai:
1. Casey Stoner - Ducati - AUS 44'12.891
2. Valentino Rossi - Yamaha - ITA 0'3.036
3. John Hopkins -Suzuki - USA 0'6.663
4. Daniel Pedrosa - Honda - ESP 0'14.090
5. Marco Melandri -Honda - ITA 0'17.276
6. Loris Capirossi - Ducati - ITA 0'26.256
7. Chris Vermeulen - Suzuki -AUS 0'26.591
8. Randy De Puniet - Kawasaki - FRA 0'27.025
9. Alex Hofmann - Ducati - GER 0'28.108
10. Carlos Checa - Honda - ESP 0'32.957
11. Colin Edwards - Yamaha - USA 0'35.053
12. Nicky Hayden -Honda - USA 0'37.327
13. Sylvain Guintoli - Yamaha - FRA 0'50.705
14. Alex Barros - Ducati - BRA 0'55.264
15. Kenny Roberts - KR212V - USA 0'57.736
Best Lap: Casey Stoner - Ducati - AUS 1'59.857
Rider Standings:
1. Casey Stoner - Ducati - AUS 86
2. Valentino Rossi - Yamaha - ITA 71
3. Daniel Pedrosa - Honda - ESP 49
4. Marco Melandri - Honda - ITA 41
5. John Hopkins - Suzuki - USA 39
6. Toni Elias - Honda - ESP 35
7. Colin Edwards - Yamaha - USA 31
8. Nicky Hayden - Honda - USA 30
9. Loris Capirossi - Ducati - ITA 30
10. Chris Vermeulen - Suzuki - AUS 30
11. Alex Barros - Ducati - BRA 27
12. Carlos Checa - Honda - ESP 20
13. Randy De Puniet - Kawasaki - FRA 19
14. Alex Hofmann - Ducati - GER 19
15. Shinya Nakano - Honda - JPN 15
16. Sylvain Guintoli - Yamaha - FRA 6
17. Makoto Tamada - Yamaha - JPN 4
Team Standings:
1. Ducati Marlboro Team 116
2. FIAT Yamaha Team 102
3. Repsol Honda Team 79
4. Honda Gresini 76
5. Rizla Suzuki 69
6. Pramac D'Antin 46
7. Kawasaki Racing Team 23
8. Honda LCR 20
9. Konica Minolta Honda 15
10. Tech3 Yamaha 10
11. Team Roberts 4
Manufacturer Standings:
1. Ducati - 86
2. Yamaha - 71
3. Honda - 69
4. Suzuki - 46
5. Kawasaki - 23
6. KR212V - 4
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