A rare mistake from Valentino Rossi resulted in a first-lap crash for the Fiat Yamaha Team rider today, but he remounted and made up a gap of more than 20 seconds to pass two riders and finish in 11th place, despite riding with a broken gear-shifter and a bent handlebar. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo rallied in the later stages of a difficult race to finish sixth, whilst Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards kept the Yamaha flag flying on the podium by taking third.
Rossi had slipped back some places when he made his mistake at turn five and slid into the gravel, unfortunately taking Randy de Puniet with him. Points were still a possibility however and he re-joined the race, despite the damage to his bike and a gap of 24 seconds to Marco Melandri, the next rider. He then embarked on a heroic ride, consistently lapping as fast as the leading riders and closing the gap lap b y lap until he finally came within sight of Melandri, eventually passing him on lap 19 of 26. Four laps later he passed Toni Elias to take 11th and five championship points, finishing 46 seconds behind race-winner Casey Stoner.
With Rossi’s closest championship rival Dani Pedrosa finishing second, his gutsy ride could prove crucial in the championship race. The Italian’s first non-podium finish since the opening race of the season means he has surrendered his title lead to Pedrosa but he is adrift by only four points, the pair on 171 and 167 respectively. Lorenzo retains fourth place in the championship, 28 points behind Stoner with exactly half of the season remaining.
Valentino RossiPosition: 11th
Time: +46.025
“After seven podiums in a row I made a mistake today – this is racing! I am very disappointed because we made a change to the set-up of the front and it worked very well, and I could tell from the warm-up lap that my bike was very good today. Unfortunately I made a mistake at the first left; I arrived too fast when the tyres were still cold, I was too hard on the brakes and I lost the rear. I am sincerely sorry to Randy de Puniet and all of his team. After the crash I had a bent handlebar and no gear shifter, but despite this I was able to do the third fastest lap time, 37.1! I know I could have been faster than Pedrosa today and, although it’s easy to say now, I think I could have fought with Stoner for the win. I am glad for these five points and although we have lost the lead we are not far behind Pedrosa. I am look ing forward now to some more technical improvements for my bike and being fast, together with Bridgestone, at every track.”
Davide Brivio - Team Manager “This was a good race for Valentino, except for the first lap! The crash was unfortunate and we’re very sorry to Randy de Puniet and the LCR team; we apologise to them all and we hope that Randy is okay. Once Valentino remounted what he did was simply amazing, especially without a gear-shift and with a bent handlebar! For several laps he was the fastest rider on the track, which shows once again his spirit and determination, although it’s also disappointing because it’s clear that we could have done a good race today. These five points today are incredibly important because they have kept the gap to Pedrosa to just four points, with half of the season still remaining. Now we will just have to start again in Sachsenring and hope for a better weekend!”
Ambient temperature: 20 degrees
Track temperature: 24 degrees
Humidity: 62%
Results: 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 42'12.337
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda + 11.310
3. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha + 17.125
4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda + 20.477
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP + 27.346
6. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 28.608
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki + 32.330
8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 34.892
9. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha + 38.566
10. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team + 38.817
11. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 46.02512. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team + 48.213
13. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro + 59.594
Not Classified: Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 19 Lap
Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 26 Lap
Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 26 Lap
Championship Standings: 1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 171
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1673. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 142
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 114
5. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 98
6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 79
7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 70
8. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 60
9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 57
10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 57
11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 51
12. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 33
13. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 32
14. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 32
15. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 25
16. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 24
17. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 22
18. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 16
19. Tadyuki Okada (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 2
20. Ben Spies (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2
Assen
Record Lap: N. Hayden (Honda) 2006, 1'37.106
Best Lap: J. Hopkins (Suzuki) 2006, 1'36.41
