Seventeen year old Bradley Smith bounced back to form and almost secured that first grand prix victory in the 23 lap 125 cc at Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera of Rimini at Misano this afternoon.
At the finish Smith had to settle for second place after a tremendous battle with World Champion Gabor Talmacsi but was delighted to secure his first podium finish since the French Grand Prix in May.
Riding at the home track of his Polaris World Aprilia team, Smith led from the start but Hungarian Talmacsi who had dominated practice and qualifying soon led the way in the sweltering conditions. The two leaders opened a big advantage over the pursuing pack and Smith re-took the lead when the Champion made a rare mistake at half distance.
Talmacsi fought back and once back in the lead pulled away to secure his second victory of the season which means he still has a slight chance of retaining his title with Championship leader Mike Di Meglio crashing out for the first time this season.
“I ‘m really pleased with the result which is a big thank-you to the team for all their support,” said Oxford –based Smith.” From the word go the weekend has gone well but I didn’t expect Gabor to be able to produce such fast laps at the finish and I had to settle for second.”
Danny Webb fought back from a dreadful start to finish 14th but 15 year old Scott Redding crashed out without injury in the early stages.
Ulsterman Eugene Laverty also crashed from the Blusens Aprilia after looking certain to score some 250 cc World Championship points.
Toseland Back On The Level Playing FieldAfter tyre problems wrecked his last three grands prix, James Toseland was back to racing on a level playing field in the 28 lap MotoGP race. He eventually finished sixth after a tremendous battle in the last few energy sapping laps.
After a good start from the line, the 27 year old Yorkshireman rode consistently aboard the Tech 3 Yamaha throughout the opening stages of the race to move into fifth position and was involved in a thrilling battle with Chris Vermeulen, Loris Capirossi and Andrea Dovizioso. Although Toseland was unable to maintain his position until the end of the race, he is pleased to be back in the top six riders after a frustrating few rounds.
“We got off to a great start, but the heat was relentless!” explained Toseland. “My team has worked so hard and I’m pleased we’re back up at the front with the leading riders. It was an amazing last lap as I fought off Capirossi and got into a massive slide on the fast right hander on the back straight. I stayed on and held onto sixth place. There’s just five rounds left to go this year and I’m really enjoying the challenge. I’m pleased to be back in the top six and can look forward to the remainder of the season starting in Indianapolis.”
The Perfect DayWhat a day for Valentino Rossi. He met his sporting hero Diego Maradona on the start line, saw his Championship rival Casey Stoner slide off while leading and then went on to win his sixth grand prix of the season at the Misano track situated just five miles from his home to build up a 75 point lead in the World Championship with just five rounds remaining.
The 29 year old Italian admitted it could not get a lot better but also disclosed it could have been a very different story after almost crashing on the first lap of the 28 lap race. He didn’t crash but World Champion Casey Stoner did for the second race in succession leaving the way clear for Spaniard’s Jorge Lorenzo and Tony Elias to complete the podium.
The day was complete for Rossi when he equalled Giacomo Agostini’s record breaking premier class of 68 grands prix wins – the perfect day in the sunshine.
Race Results:1. 46 Valentino ROSSI - ITA - YAMAHA 44'41.884
2. 48 Jorge LORENZO - SPA - YAMAHA 44'45.047
3. 24 Toni ELIAS - SPA - DUCATI 44'53.589
4. 2 Dani PEDROSA - SPA - HONDA 44'59.354
5. 7 Chris VERMEULEN - AUS - SUZUKI 45'05.293
6. 52 James TOSELAND - GBR - YAMAHA 45'08.092
7. 65 Loris CAPIROSSI - ITA - SUZUKI 45'08.708
8. 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO - ITA - HONDA 45'09.47
Championship Positions:1. ROSSI Valentino 262
2. STONER Casey 187
3. PEDROSA Dani 185
4. LORENZO Jorge 140
5. DOVIZIOSO Andrea 118
6. VERMEULEN Chris 110
7. EDWARDS Colin 108
8. NAKANO Shinya 87
