The wooded hills of Brno, thronged by 141,632 spectators, proved a less than happy hunting ground for the Fiat Yamaha Team at today's Czech Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi was dogged by traction problems almost from the start and was only able to hang on for seventh, whilst Colin Edwards slid out of the race on the second lap. Starting from sixth, Rossi slipped one place at the start but regained his starting position by the end of lap one, behind Loris Capirossi. The Italian then spent several laps on his fellow countryman's tail before he was able to pass him on lap eight of 22, but by then Rossi was suffering from grip problems and was unable to push on and clear a gap from the chasing pack.
A few laps later he was passed by Chris Vermeulen and then by Capirossi, before Randy de Puniet began to threaten him in the closing stages and he was forced to use all his skills to keep the Frenchman behind him to the line. Edwards meanwhile failed to finish a race for only the third time in his Yamaha career, making a rare mistake on lap two and losing the front. He rejoined the race briefly but was unable to continue, coming into the pits on the next lap.
The race was won by Casey Stoner, who extends his championship lead over Rossi to 60 points. Edwards remains seventh with 93 points. The MotoGP paddock now has one weekend off before the San Marino Grand Prix, when Grand Prix motorcycle racing returns to Misano for the first time in 14 years.
Valentino Rossi - Position: 7thTime: +22.485
"We expected a difficult race today because we knew our potential here wasn't very high after the last two days. However it was even worse than we expected! I tried to keep my rhythm going but, after only seven or eight laps, the tyre started to slide a lot on the right side and from then on I wasn't able to open the throttle.
"Throughout the weekend we have done everything to try to find more traction. We have changed the setting a lot to try to find a way to make the tyre work, but unfortunately during the race we had no grip. Also, with the setting we had to use, we had to sacrifice some of our corner speed and this also slowed us down. It was very difficult today. I was able to do 1.59s to start with but after a few laps the tyre made a big step down and then I just had to wait for the end of the race.
"I had a hard time with Capirossi at the start; in some parts I was faster than him but I couldn't overtake him because he was pulling away from me on the straights. Eventually I got past him but he stayed with me and I couldn't pull clear. I pushed as hard as I could; at that time I wasn't too fast but not too slow either, but after that my tyre was finished and then Vermeulen came, then Loris again...I am sad because I wasn't even able to try to fight with them today. Towards the end I had to push at the limit to stay in front of de Puniet and luckily I managed, but we were a very long way from a good performance. I tried to change my style, to ride in a different way to help the situation, but it was no good.
"We have a test now but in reality our situation is quite bad and we have a few different problems to deal with. We will try to make the best of the next two days of work and to try to find something different for the next few races. We have to wait and see what we find, but for sure it's going to be very difficult. This is a very hard moment that we're in. We have six races to go and we just have to work as hard as we can to try to find a way to make some good results."
Colin Edwards - Position: DNF Time: Lap 3
"Even though my start wasn't so bad on paper - I made up one place - it didn't feel too good. We were trying a new starting system that's been working really well but, in the hustle and bustle on the grid, I released the clutch a bit early, dropped RPM and then had to re-group. Anyway, I was pushing pretty hard from then on and I had a couple of passing areas that I knew I was good at so I was working my way up to de Puniet to see what I could do. I came out of turn three, went into four and was watching him and before I knew it, I lost the front and was on the ground. It's been a long time since I've lost the front that fast, usually it just kind of gives way but I guess it wasn't completely up to temperature, it was only the second lap and it just went. I made a mistake and I'm really disappointed, now we've got some serious work to do during the test so we have a better weekend in Misano."
Davide Brivio - Team Director
"It is very hard to find the right words to say about today! We had a very difficult race with Valentino and we tried our best with what we had. Unfortunately Colin crashed when he was feeling good after this morning, so that's a great pity as well. We have to keep working now to improve our package and the situation we find ourselves in. We have two days of testing here and we will try some new engine parts as well as some new tyres. Of course we won't give up and we will be working very hard over the next two days with both riders. We'll be back to try again in Misano."
Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team Czech Out Of Brno Well Qualified
The Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team leave the Czech Republic Grand Prix at the technically demanding Brno circuit with an impressive result locked away in the record books. In his first year of MotoGP competition, Sylvain Guintoli put his Yamaha M1 at the top of the time sheets at the end of the opening day. This effort reflected the achievement of last year during the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island when a Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 machine also topped the table. The team were subsequently in high spirits and in a very competitive one-hour qualifying session on Saturday afternoon Guintoli again battled with the leading factory teams. In the fight for the race it appeared that the best result of the year was a distinct possibility as he charged through to ninth place. He then managed to close on a another quartet of leading riders that included Valentino Rossi, but the frantic pace of his determined riding caused the rear tyre of Sylvain's machine to lose it's competitive edge. He eventually finished in 13th place to score more valuable championship points. His teammate, Makoto Tamada, could not replicate his result from the previous round in the USA and finished 17th.
Sylvain Guintoli - Position: 13th Time: 43.694
The weekend has been very good. We managed to perform very well on Friday and top the time sheets which was very good and yesterday in qualifying we were just 0.1 seconds behind Valentino Rossi, which confirms the big step forward Dunlop have made with their qualifying tyres. For the race we made the best choice we had regarding the rear tyre. I didn't have any problem with the front and I managed to fight through a big bunch but the second half of the race my pace went down because I had a lot of spinning and lost a lot of side grip especially on the left. I did the maximum I could and that's why I am pleased with my riding this weekend. I am now really looking forward to Misano. I think it will be pretty even for every tyre company and maybe it will be the only GP where the new tyre rule will really help us so I can't wait to get there and improve on this weekend's performance. I'd also like to thank the team and Dunlop for all the hard work they have been putting in.
Makoto Tamada - Position: 17th Time: 1´25.804
This has been a very disappointing weekend for me. After my eighth place in the last race at Laguna I was expecting a much better result. I chose a different tyre to the one Sylvain used as it seemed to work well in the warm-up this morning but in the race it was very different as after a few laps I could not push hard at all. It was a battle to stay on as there was no grip and the rear was spinning everywhere. I will just forget about this race and hope that Misano gives me the satisfaction and similar result I had at Laguna Seca.
Hervé Poncharal - Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team Manager
This has been a really exciting weekend for us. Sylvain being on top of the time-sheet on Friday was a very big thing for us. We knew the qualifying package was working very well and we were a little bit disappointed yesterday to be 10th on the grid because our ideal qualifying time would have put Sylvain fifth on the grid. Sylvain was quick all weekend but we knew the race would be another story. We chose a tyre that Sylvain had a good feeling with and in the first part of the race he was very competitive. He overtook Checa, West, Nakano Barros and Elias so we were looking quite good but he struggled over the last five laps as the rear grip dropped off. That's a shame as I feel very sorry for Sylvain. He showed everything he could all weekend and we didn't get the results that we deserved. C'est la vie. We have another two days testing here, and Dunlop have a lot of slick and wet tyres for us to test, so hopefully we will find a further step forward for the next races.
Circuit Length: 5403
Temp: 26
Weather: Sunny
Race 1 - 22 Laps - Czech Republic - Brno:
1. Casey Stoner - Ducati - AUS 43'45.810
2. John Hopkins - Suzuki - USA 0'7.903
3. Nicky Hayden - Honda - USA 0'13.100
4. Daniel Pedrosa - Honda - ESP 0'15.800
5. Chris Vermeulen - Suzuki - AUS 0'17.303
6. Loris Capirossi - Ducati - ITA 0'19.363
7. Valentino Rossi - Yamaha - ITA 0'22.485
8. Randy De Puniet - Kawasaki - FRA 0'23.073
9. Alex Barros - Ducati - BRA 0'32.292
10. Carlos Checa - Honda -ESP 0'35.153
11. Toni Elias - Honda - ESP 0'37.748
12. Anthony West - Kawasaki - AUS 0'38.250
13. Sylvain Guintoli - Yamaha - FRA 0'43.694
14. Shinya Nakano - Honda - JPN 0'57.069
15. Kurtis Roberts - KR212V - USA 1'9.603
17. Makoto Tamada - Yamaha - JPN 1'25.804
Best Lap: Casey Stoner - Ducati - AUS 1'58.301
Rider Standings:
1. Casey Stoner - Ducati - AUS 246
2. Valentino Rossi - Yamaha - ITA 186
3. Daniel Pedrosa - Honda - ESP 168
4. Chris Vermeulen - Suzuki - AUS 124
5. John Hopkins - Suzuki - USA 124
6. Marco Melandri - Honda - ITA 113
7. Colin Edwards - Yamaha - USA 93
8. Nicky Hayden - Honda - USA 89
9. Loris Capirossi - Ducati - ITA 87
10. Alex Barros - Ducati - BRA 83
11. Alex Hofmann - Ducati - GER 60
12. Randy De Puniet - Kawasaki - FRA 58
13. Toni Elias - Honda - ESP 54
14. Carlos Checa - Honda - ESP 35
15. Anthony West - Kawasaki - AUS 33
17. Makoto Tamada - Yamaha - JPN 31
18. Sylvain Guintoli - Yamaha - FRA 24
Team Standings:
1. Ducati Marlboro Team 333
2. FIAT Yamaha Team 279
3. Repsol Honda Team 257
4. Rizla Suzuki 248
5. Honda Gresini 173
6. Pramac D'Antin 143
7. Kawasaki Racing Team 100
8. Tech3 Yamaha 55
9. Honda LCR 35
10. Konica Minolta Honda 31
11. Team Roberts 13
Manufacturer Standings:
1. Ducati 258
2. Yamaha 206
3. Honda 206
4. Suzuki 171
5. Kawasaki 82
6. KR212V 13
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