It was a fitting result for the current Tech 3 Yamaha Team as Carlos Checa, in his swansong for the team brought his Yamaha home in 10th place after a hard fought tussle at the Grand Prix of Valencia at the Ricardo Tormo circuit won by Australian, Troy Bayliss on a Ducati. After starting from 16th position on the grid Carlos battled his way through a number of other factory machines showing the determination that has attracted the appreciation of many in the Grand Prix world and again demonstrating the impressive improved performance of the Dunlop tyres the team has used this year. Carlos came close to being the first Yamaha home as he followed Colin Edwards home by less than two seconds after defending world champion, Valentino Rossi made a very rare mistake when he crashed although he remounted to finish in 13th position Team mate James Ellison finished his time with the Tech 3 team in the points finishing in 14th position after battling handling problems with his machine.
Carlos Checa (10th, Fastest lap 1'33.944):It was a very good race. I got a start that was not so bad and I was with a group fighting for 10th to 15th position then Valentino crashed. I feel sorry for them because they lost the championship. Finally, I finished in the top 10 but it wasn't easy at the beginning. I was extremely happy with the performance of the tyre as it stayed very stable and this gave me the opportunity to pass some riders and I ended up quite close to Colin. This will give the team a good reference for us considering Colin's team is using another tyre brand and it shows how much Dunlop has improved. I feel very close to Yamaha but very sad as it is the day I leave this team, Dunlop and Yamaha and after this year I feel so very satisfied as we always fought to improve as it was never easy to get better to bring the bikes and tyres as good as possible. I feel that this is one of my best seasons considering how the season started as it was quite difficult an intense. This team gave me the chance to continue competing to learn more about tyre, and in the human aspects we had a very close relationship with many positive things. We must be very satisfied now. It is something hard to explain at this moment why I am leaving because I want to challenge for a better position in races and I know if they continue here I need more time to develop to get into a more competitive position. At least I left something very important, some progress, some results and some improvements so they can keep working and growing. This is the kind of year I will not forget for sureas like I said it has probably been my most satisfying in al the years I have spent in the Grand Prix. I'd like to thank Herve, Yamaha, Dunlop and the entire team for allowing me to learn more about riding, development and about myself and know that we will part as good friends."
James Ellison (14th,Fastest lap 1'35.311):"For me the race was pretty disappointing as the chatter problem was still with us. All year it has been much the same. We ran the same tyre as Carlos but I've been running a different spec Yamaha all year to what Carlos runs. Getting the setup has been very, very difficult. No matter what we run the chatter problems has been persisting. After four laps the chattering is there. It's either a case of ride with it or if I try to ride through it. If I try and ride though it I will crash like happened in Assen and yesterday during qualifying. When things go well and the bike is working I know I can run the times but when I'm riding something that is chattering every corner and it is so close to the limit all the time it makes this impossible. After today I'm wrecked trying to hang onto it. But saying that, I'd like to say I really appreciate the work and the effort Herve and the team have put in. Truthfully the team has been unbelievable all year. I only wish that there were a few things that were different that may have given me the chance of scoring some results I know I'm capable of. I would love to be staying with the team as well to continue the hard work we have all put in but that isn't possible, so I'd just like to say thanks to them all and hope that one day I can return to the MotoGP paddock."
Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director:"It was an incredible day today. Firstly, I feel sorry for Yamaha and Valentino who lost the championship today but that is racing. I am very sorry about that. I am very happy for our last race with Carlos as he showed much fighting spirit because he started 16th and he passed a lot of guys. His pace was very close to that of the leaders for a lot of the race and he caught many riders on other tyres. He eventually passed Hopkins and was closing on Colin to be just two seconds away at the end so we went close to being the first Yamaha - and on Dunlop. That says a lot. We have definitely improved so much during the year but we still have to concentrate on qualifying tyres but if you look at the last few races - apart from Motegi - the second part of the season really showed consistency and a big improvement. Thank you to Carlos and well done Dunlop. We go again with Dunlop next year and together with the new tyre rule and the 800cc capacity everything is much more open and we are very positive so it's good to end up with a race like this. The only sad thing for us is that we say goodbye to Carlos as he has done so much for us. I want to wish him all the best and good luck for what he is doing and thanks again for what he has done. I would also like to say thanks to James as well. I know that he tried very hard all year to come to grips with the bike and the tyres but unfortunately it didn't work out. Like Carlos I would like to wish him the best for anything he does in the future."
Circuit Length: 4005
Temp: 32
Crowd: 129.446
Weather: Hot
Race 1 - 30 Laps 29/10/2006: 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 46'55.415
2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'1.319
3 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'9.230
4 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'12.065
5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'16.306
6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'17.390
7 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 0'19.329
8 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 0'23.174
9 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'26.072
10 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 0'28.194
11 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'29.364
12 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 0'29.707
13 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'38.546
14 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'20.013
15 Garry McCoy Imor X3 AUS -7 Laps
Best Lap: Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'32.924
Rider Standings 29/10/2006: 1. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 252
2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 247
3. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 229
4. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 228
5. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 215
6. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 134
7. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 124
8. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 119
9. Toni Elias Honda ESP 116
10. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 116
11. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 98
12. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 96
13. Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 95
14. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 92
15. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 75
18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 26
Team Standings 29/10/2006: 1. Repsol Honda Team 467
2. Camel Yamaha Team 371
3. Ducati Marlboro Team 356
4. Fortuna Honda Team 344
5. Rizla Suzuki 214
6. Team Roberts KR 134
7. Kawasaki Racing Team 129
8. Honda LCR 119
9. Tech3 Yamaha 101
10. Konica Minolta Honda 96
11. Pramac D'Antin 33
12. Ilmor SRT 2
Manufacturer Standings 29/10/2006: 1. Honda 360
2. Yamaha 289
3. Ducati 248
4. Suzuki 151
5. Team Robert KR 134
6. Kawasaki 109
7. Imor X3 2
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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