Casey Stoner
Last weekend the Italian MotoGP took place at the Mugello circuit on a day of mixed weather conditions, a dry race for the 125cc riders and a wet race for the 250cc and the main race.
125cc
British rider Bradley Smith on the Bancaja Aspar Team bike took his second victory at the Italian MotoGP on Sunday after qualifying in pole position.
The 18-year-old, rode a superb race as he came under attack from the likes of Jack & Jones rider Nicolas Terol and his team-mate Julián Simon.
The track was relatively dry for the start of the 125cc race and Smith got off the line to take the lead as they went into the first corner ahead of Terol and Simon.
Behind, the battle for fourth place was going on with Derbi Racing Team rider Pol Espargaró finally claiming the place on the final lap as the Ajo Interwetten rider Sandro Cortese crashed out.
On lap 5, Andrea Iannone on the Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. machine suffered some sort of mechanical problem as his bike slowed down and he then retired.
Smith initially built up a gap between himself and the two other riders but they slowly reeled him in and he rode an impressive race to hold them back and is now leading the championship by 3.5 points from Simon.
Scott Redding on the Blusens Aprilia, crashed out half-way through the race while in fourth place, finally finishing in seventh.
Here are the results;
Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Bradley Smith Aprilia 40m09.523s
2. Nicolas Terol Aprilia + 0.216s
3. Julian Simon Aprilia + 7.114s
4. Pol Espargaro Derbi + 11.829s
5. Marc Marquez KTM + 12.315s
6. Johann Zarco Aprilia + 14.605s
7. Scott Redding Aprilia + 15.305s
8. Stefan Bradl Aprilia + 22.255s
9. Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia + 22.392s
10. Sandro Cortese Derbi + 29.239s
11. Sergio Gadea Aprilia + 36.359s
12. Lorenzo Zanetti Aprilia + 36.444s
13. Randy Krummenacher Aprilia + 36.507s
14. Jonas Folger Aprilia + 36.581s
15. Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia + 36.636s
16. Esteve Rabat Aprilia + 36.834s
17. Luigi Morciano Aprilia + 49.870s
18. Simone Corsi Aprilia + 50.419s
19. Dominique Aegerter Derbi +1m05.900s
20. Riccardo Moretti Aprilia +1m06.019s
21. Davide Stirpe Honda +1m20.225s
22. Lukas Sembera Aprilia +1m21.946s
23. Jasper Iwema Honda +1m43.074s
24. Gennaro Sabatino Aprilia + 1 lap
25. Luca Vitali Aprilia + 1 lap
26. Alessandro Tonucci Aprilia + 1 lap
Retirements:
Luca Marconi Aprilia 12 laps
Daniel Webb Aprilia 8 laps
Andrea Iannone Aprilia 5 laps
Joan Olive Derbi 5 laps
Efren Vazquez Derbi 5 laps
Tomoyoshi Koyama Loncin 2 laps
Alexis Masbou Loncin 1 lap
250cc
Mattia Passini on the Team Toth Aprilia took the victory in front of his home crowd on Sunday as an all to familiar scene went on behind between Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista.
As the riders prepared to line up on the grid, the rain began, forcing teams to swap settings and tyres on their machines after it was declared a ‘Wet Race’.
Simoncelli on the Metis Gilera shot away at the start, even creating a gap until Bautista began to catch him on the Mapfre Aspar team bike, followed closely by Pasini.
Bautista passed Simoncelli on the pit straight before making it stick almost instantly as Simoncelli ran wide. In an incident reminiscent of the previous year, Simoncelli attempted a move in a gap far too small, and slid into the side of Bautista, running both of the riders into the gravel. Both, fortunately stayed on their machines but Simoncelli had gained the advantage and was soon off down the track followed a few moments later by Bautista.
The pair soon gained on the leading Italian and the race was back on but Bautista couldn’t make a pass on Simoncelli.
Simoncelli got passed the Aprilia rider to take the lead but Pasini refused to lose the place he’d fought for and after five corners of the pair riding alongside each other, Pasini made his move stick and finished just a tenth of a second ahead of Simoncelli.
Simoncelli has since been hit with a $5,ooo fine and a ‘yellow card’, a warning by the Race Direction for “riding in an irresponsible manner”.
Last season, Simoncelli had a similar penalty imposed on him after an incident at Mugello when he was deemed to have forced Héctor Barbera out of the race illegally.
Here are the results;
Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 45m38.391s
2. Marco Simoncelli Gilera + 0.117s
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 1.293s
4. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 24.557s
5. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 27.014s
6. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 30.037s
7. Alex Debon Aprilia + 31.325s
8. Hector Faubel Honda + 35.178s
9. Raffaele De Rosa Honda + 44.856s
10. Roberto Locatelli Gilera + 46.483s
11. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 49.521s
12. Mike di Meglio Aprilia +1m00.539s
13. Karel Abraham Aprilia +1m23.730s
14. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda +1m25.519s
15. Imre Toth Aprilia +1m30.397s
16. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia + 1 lap
17. Axel Pons Aprilia + 1 lap
18. Bastien Chesaux Honda + 1 lap
19. Valentin Debise Honda + 1 lap
20. Daniel Arcas Aprilia + 3 laps
Retirements:
Shoya Tomizawa Honda 6 laps
Lukas Pesek Aprilia 5 laps
Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 4 laps
Jules Cluzel Aprilia 0 laps
MotoGP
Casey Stoner on the Ducati Marlboro took the victory in another wet race ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and his team-mate Valentino Rossi on the Fiat Yamaha’s.
Before the race had even started, Jorge Lorenzo had crashed out as he was heading to the grid in the freakiest of accidents. The team had only seconds to get the bike back to the pits and put Lorenzo on his second bike to make it too the grid on time, while they made fast repairs in time for the swap-over.
It was a difficult race and the ultimate test came down to team tactics as the track began to dry out forcing the riders to come in and change to their bikes with slicks.
Stoner took the lead as the race got underway but was soon being challenged and passed by the superb riding of Chris Vermeulen on the Rizla Suzuki.
The pair soon had a third challenger as Andrea Dovizioso on the Repsol Honda took both for the lead as Rossi began to gain.
Marco Melandri on the Hayate Racing Team bike was soon up with Rossi as was his team-mate Lorenzo who seemed to have regained his confidence.
On lap 3, both Vermeulen and Stoner were passed by Dovizioso with Rossi and Melandri right behind him. Rossi took the lead on lap 9 followed by Melandri as Dovizoso then went into the pits for his slick-shod Honda.
Melandri was certainly on a mission and slid passed Rossi on lap 10 before both riders pitted for their second machines as Divizoso once again led the field.
Stoner was now back up to speed and hot on the tracks of the Honda rider followed by Loris Capirossi on the second Rizla Suzuki, they both passed the Italian demoting him to third place.
Capirossi then snatched the lead off Stoner, leading the race for a whole lap before the Ducati once again took the front slot and got on with the win.
Melandri had slipped back in the last few laps and now Capirossi and Dovizioso were suffering the pace and drifting backwards as the Yamaha’s of Lorenzo and Rossi took full advantage for the second and third places on offer.
Dani Pedrosa suffered further injury after his accident at the Italian Grand Prix than was first thought. He has fractured a bone at the top of his femur and has been immobilized for ten days before it will be decided if he will be able to take part in the next round of the championship at his home track of Barcelona.
The Repsol Honda team have since issued a statement;
Dani Pedrosa today returned home to Barcelona where Doctor Xavier Mir, at the USP Institut Universitari Dexeus, confirmed that the Repsol Honda rider had not suffered any further injuries during his crash in yesterday’s Italian Grand Prix.
“Pedrosa had started the race injured after a big rear wheel slide and subsequent shake from his bike in Saturday morning’s practice session caused the unlucky Spaniard to incur severe stretching in his right hip. The scans today also showed that the initial diagnosis at the circuit on Saturday had been correct and Pedrosa had pulled the gluteus medius muscle, which caused a small crack in the greater trochanter (thigh) bone where the muscle attaches.
The factory Honda rider will now rest up ahead of the Grand Prix of Catalunya in just under two week’s time. His physical condition will be assessed next week and Pedrosa is hoping to be fit for his home race.”
Dani Pedrosa:
“It’s a relief that the tests today didn’t show up anything new because I think I have enough to contend with already. The injury from Saturday is still quite painful obviously but with luck it will improve over the next week. The timing of this a real shame because I was feeling as though I was returning to something close to race fitness and could ride the bike as I wanted. Still, this is where we are so we’ll just get on with it and try to make a quick recovery. I really hope I can be fit for the next race because it’s a very important one for me and the team.”
Here are the results;
Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Casey Stoner Ducati 45m41.894s
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha + 1.001s
3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha + 2.076s
4. Andrea Dovizioso Honda + 2.129s
5. Loris Capirossi Suzuki + 3.274s
6. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha + 24.451s
7. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha + 25.621s
8. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda + 26.046s
9. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati + 31.815s
10. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki + 34.814s
11. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki + 35.090s
12. Nicky Hayden Ducati + 39.122s
13. Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati + 52.462s
14. Toni Elias Gresini Honda + 52.478s
15. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda + 1 lap
Retirements:
Dani Pedrosa Honda 12 laps
Yuki Takahashi Scot Honda 9 laps
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