Posted by Administrator on 08-18-2008 at 08:08 am
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Valentino Rossi moved two races clear at the top of the championship with his fifth win of the season today, enjoying an easy ride home after his closest rival Casey Stoner crashed out on lap seven.
Rossi, starting from second, lost some time at the first corner getting past John Hopkins and for the first couple of laps Stoner looked in danger of clearing off, but the Italian soon found his rhythm and was gradually making up time on the Australian when he saw him slide off into the gravel. The pair had already opened out an impressive gap from the chasing pack and Rossi was left to race the remaining 15 laps alone and unchallenged, eventually coming home 15 seconds clear of Toni Elias. The seven-time world champion’s 67th premier-class victory takes him within one race of the all-time premier-class record, held by his compatriot Giacomo Agostini.
Rossi is now 50 points clear of Stoner with Pedrosa 15 points off in third, whilst Lorenzo’s six points see him remain fourth in the standings, ten points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso.
Valentino Rossi - Position: 1 Time: 43′28.841
“I was confident today because my bike was fast from Friday practice, and with Jeremy we made a small modification to the front after warm-up to allow me to be a bit faster in some sections, and it worked very well. I lost about half a second getting past Hopkins at the start and Casey was incredibly fast at that stage, like he’d already done ten laps! For a short time I was worried but then, after two laps, I understood that my bike was working very well and that I was fast enough to try to catch him. I had closed a little bit already and gradually the red bike was becoming a bit bigger in front of me, and I think this is when he started to push harder and made his mistake. I was anticipating a very hard battle if I did catch him, so when I saw the red bike slide out I could hardly believe it – this made things a lot easier for me! After that I just enjoyed riding my bike; my Bridgestone tyres worked very well until the end and my M1 felt very good. Of course I can’t count this as a complete victory because Casey fell, and I am sorry for him, but this is racing and I have to be happy with this result. We are 50 points clear which is a lot and I am very excited to be going to Misano in this situation. However we know that 50 points is still not always enough when you have someone as strong as Casey and so we won’t relax. Now we have two days of testing and we will try some new electronics in order to help me open the throttle earlier and also, of course, test some Bridgestone tyres.”
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“Of course this is a very important victory for us and we’re very happy today. It’s clear that Valentino did a very good job at the start not to let Stoner get too far ahead, and he was starting to make up ground and put some pressure on him when he unfortunately crashed. Of course this made our job a lot easier! We need to keep going like this and not lose our concentration, but we’ve had two very good races and we are confident that we are in good shape. We have two days of testing now which will be very important for the final six races, and then we go to another home race at Misano and try to make up for last year!”
Lorenzo finishes tenth with gutsy ride in Brno
Fiat Yamaha Team rookie Jorge Lorenzo finished a creditable tenth in Brno today, making up seven places after starting last on the grid. The Spaniard made the most of the tools he had available to pass several riders, including two on the last lap, and hangs onto his fourth place in the championship as a result. His team-mate Valentino Rossi won his fifth race of the season and was saved another tense battle with Casey Stoner after the Australian crashed out of the lead on the seventh lap.
Lorenzo was able to pass Colin Edwards early on and he then gradually settled into a rhythm and passed both James Toseland and Dani Pedrosa to take 12th. During the middle part of the race his lap times gradually improved and brought him closer to the next group and he was rewarded with an exciting final lap, which saw him pass first Sylvain Guintoli and then John Hopkins on the line to take tenth.
Six points for Lorenzo see him stay ten points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso in fourth place in the championship, whilst Rossi is now 50 points clear of Stoner. The Fiat Yamaha Team now have two days of testing before they head to the next round at Misano in Italy in two week’s time.
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Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 10th Time: +39.573
“This race is a bit sad for me because we have the potential to do a lot better. However considering what has happened this weekend and, above all, the problems with the front tyre, I think we have done almost as much as we could. At the start I didn’t want to take too many risks and I could feel that the front tyre was getting worse on each lap, but on the other hand the rear tyre was getting better each lap! I know that we have had had problems this weekend but I know that Michelin are working very hard, so now we will try to use the test to make some improvements. I want to say thank you to all of my team for their hard work, congratulate Valentino for his victory and finally also Toni Elias for his podium.”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“Today we couldn’t have done any better than this, but we can’t be satisfied to finish tenth. But overall Jorge did a great job and a good race, and he was able to find a good rhythm in the middle part of the race, continue until to the end and pass many riders, plus he was able to score some valuable points. Motivation in our team is still high because we have many more races to do and tomorrow at the test we will start again to work very hard with Michelin, look at the problems we have had here and try to find a way to improve things for the remaining races.”
Tech 3 Yamaha show fighting spirit in Brno
Tech 3 Yamaha’s James Toseland and Colin Edwards raced to top 15 results in today’s Czech Republic GP.
In front of a record crowd of over 146,000 fans at a cool and cloudy Brno, the 22-lap race proved to be a tough challenge for Toseland and Edwards, who both gave their maximum effort in difficult circumstances to claim 13th and 14th places respectively.
Starting from the back row of the grid, Toseland made his customary good start, gaining two places on the first lap. The 27-year-old once again showed his never-say-die attitude, despite some traction issues as he scored points for the ninth time in 11 races.
Edwards was one place further back as he too encountered some grip issues in an effort to maintain his pursuit of Toseland, as the Tech 3 duo fought closely in the opening stages. The American still remains firmly in the hunt for fourth place in the world championship, lying 18-points behind fellow Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo with six races remaining.
Tech 3 Yamaha also remains in contention for a top four finish in the Team World Championship, and is still the leading non-factory team in the standings heading to the Misano round on August 31.
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James Toseland 13th – 75 points
“It was a difficult race and the result is clearly not where we want to be. I don’t want to be fighting at the back of the top 15, and neither does my team or Yamaha and it is disappointing. All I can do is go out there with whatever I have got underneath me and give it my maximum and I did that. But this team and Yamaha deserve to be higher up and today wasn’t good enough. It would be easy to let my head drop but I have never been that type of rider and I am not going to start now. I was reasonably happy with my start but I had a few moments with the front tyre on the first couple of laps and I soon realised that I was at my maximum and that I wasn’t going to be able to do much more. It is disappointing because I have slipped out of the top ten in the standings and that was one of my big goals before the start of the season. We have got to keep working hard as a team and hope that Michelin can quickly turn it around for the rest of the season so we can try and get back into that top ten and keep the morale up of the team. Colin had even more problems than me so it must have been tough for him, but this is the situation we are in. We will all keep pushing hard and see what we can do.”
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Colin Edwards 14th – 102 points
“I could see straightaway behind James that he was having some issues with the front tyre, which we expected. I still thought I could put a good pace together but it never happened. I just didn’t have the confidence I needed to push harder with the tyres and the more I pushed I didn’t seem to go much faster. James was able to leave me pretty easily as my issues started to get worse but I wanted to stay out there and try my best for my guys at Tech 3 and Yamaha, who as always have been working like crazy to help me this weekend. I thank them for that, but there was nothing else I could do. Towards the end I just decided to take a few more risks and I went a bit quicker, but there was no way I was going to catch anybody. I’ve had a bad run lately but I’m still in contention for fourth in the championship, and I’ll keep fighting. But we need big improvements from Michelin. The good start we had to the season seems like a long way away now, and we have to work with Michelin to try and solve some of the issues because I didn’t enjoy today at all.”
Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“We thought the disappointment of Laguna Seca would be forgotten after the summer break and we would have a positive weekend in Brno. Unfortunately from the very beginning of the weekend we understood it was going to be another tough weekend. Clearly we couldn’t challenge the tyre opposition. We have been trying a lot of different settings to try and cope with that, but it was difficult. The most difficult was qualifying in the rain conditions and we were far behind. We knew starting from the last two rows it would be a tough race but James and Colin still tried as hard as they could and they stayed on track and scored a few points. But this is not how we started the championship and today was a really difficult day. To see the chequered flag with a few points is a relief but for sure there will be a lot of meetings and a lot of thinking of what to do for the future because we keep on losing ground in the championship and this is very disappointing.”
Posted by Administrator on 08-17-2008 at 04:08 pm
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Valentino Rossi moved two races clear at the top of the championship with his fifth win of the season today, enjoying an easy ride home after his closest rival Casey Stoner crashed out on lap seven.
Rossi, starting from second, lost some time at the first corner getting past John Hopkins and for the first couple of laps Stoner looked in danger of clearing off, but the Italian soon found his rhythm and was gradually making up time on the Australian when he saw him slide off into the gravel. The pair had already opened out an impressive gap from the chasing pack and Rossi was left to race the remaining 15 laps alone and unchallenged, eventually coming home 15 seconds clear of Toni Elias. The seven-time world champion’s 67th premier-class victory takes him within one race of the all-time premier-class record, held by his compatriot Giacomo Agostini.
Rossi is now 50 points clear of Stoner with Pedrosa 15 points off in third, whilst Lorenzo’s six points see him remain fourth in the standings, ten points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso.
Valentino Rossi - Position: 1 Time: 43′28.841
“I was confident today because my bike was fast from Friday practice, and with Jeremy we made a small modification to the front after warm-up to allow me to be a bit faster in some sections, and it worked very well. I lost about half a second getting past Hopkins at the start and Casey was incredibly fast at that stage, like he’d already done ten laps! For a short time I was worried but then, after two laps, I understood that my bike was working very well and that I was fast enough to try to catch him. I had closed a little bit already and gradually the red bike was becoming a bit bigger in front of me, and I think this is when he started to push harder and made his mistake. I was anticipating a very hard battle if I did catch him, so when I saw the red bike slide out I could hardly believe it – this made things a lot easier for me! After that I just enjoyed riding my bike; my Bridgestone tyres worked very well until the end and my M1 felt very good. Of course I can’t count this as a complete victory because Casey fell, and I am sorry for him, but this is racing and I have to be happy with this result. We are 50 points clear which is a lot and I am very excited to be going to Misano in this situation. However we know that 50 points is still not always enough when you have someone as strong as Casey and so we won’t relax. Now we have two days of testing and we will try some new electronics in order to help me open the throttle earlier and also, of course, test some Bridgestone tyres.”
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“Of course this is a very important victory for us and we’re very happy today. It’s clear that Valentino did a very good job at the start not to let Stoner get too far ahead, and he was starting to make up ground and put some pressure on him when he unfortunately crashed. Of course this made our job a lot easier! We need to keep going like this and not lose our concentration, but we’ve had two very good races and we are confident that we are in good shape. We have two days of testing now which will be very important for the final six races, and then we go to another home race at Misano and try to make up for last year!”
Lorenzo finishes tenth with gutsy ride in Brno
Fiat Yamaha Team rookie Jorge Lorenzo finished a creditable tenth in Brno today, making up seven places after starting last on the grid. The Spaniard made the most of the tools he had available to pass several riders, including two on the last lap, and hangs onto his fourth place in the championship as a result. His team-mate Valentino Rossi won his fifth race of the season and was saved another tense battle with Casey Stoner after the Australian crashed out of the lead on the seventh lap.
Lorenzo was able to pass Colin Edwards early on and he then gradually settled into a rhythm and passed both James Toseland and Dani Pedrosa to take 12th. During the middle part of the race his lap times gradually improved and brought him closer to the next group and he was rewarded with an exciting final lap, which saw him pass first Sylvain Guintoli and then John Hopkins on the line to take tenth.
Six points for Lorenzo see him stay ten points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso in fourth place in the championship, whilst Rossi is now 50 points clear of Stoner. The Fiat Yamaha Team now have two days of testing before they head to the next round at Misano in Italy in two week’s time.
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Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 10th Time: +39.573
“This race is a bit sad for me because we have the potential to do a lot better. However considering what has happened this weekend and, above all, the problems with the front tyre, I think we have done almost as much as we could. At the start I didn’t want to take too many risks and I could feel that the front tyre was getting worse on each lap, but on the other hand the rear tyre was getting better each lap! I know that we have had had problems this weekend but I know that Michelin are working very hard, so now we will try to use the test to make some improvements. I want to say thank you to all of my team for their hard work, congratulate Valentino for his victory and finally also Toni Elias for his podium.”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“Today we couldn’t have done any better than this, but we can’t be satisfied to finish tenth. But overall Jorge did a great job and a good race, and he was able to find a good rhythm in the middle part of the race, continue until to the end and pass many riders, plus he was able to score some valuable points. Motivation in our team is still high because we have many more races to do and tomorrow at the test we will start again to work very hard with Michelin, look at the problems we have had here and try to find a way to improve things for the remaining races.”
Tech 3 Yamaha show fighting spirit in Brno
Tech 3 Yamaha’s James Toseland and Colin Edwards raced to top 15 results in today’s Czech Republic GP.
In front of a record crowd of over 146,000 fans at a cool and cloudy Brno, the 22-lap race proved to be a tough challenge for Toseland and Edwards, who both gave their maximum effort in difficult circumstances to claim 13th and 14th places respectively.
Starting from the back row of the grid, Toseland made his customary good start, gaining two places on the first lap. The 27-year-old once again showed his never-say-die attitude, despite some traction issues as he scored points for the ninth time in 11 races.
Edwards was one place further back as he too encountered some grip issues in an effort to maintain his pursuit of Toseland, as the Tech 3 duo fought closely in the opening stages. The American still remains firmly in the hunt for fourth place in the world championship, lying 18-points behind fellow Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo with six races remaining.
Tech 3 Yamaha also remains in contention for a top four finish in the Team World Championship, and is still the leading non-factory team in the standings heading to the Misano round on August 31.
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James Toseland 13th – 75 points
“It was a difficult race and the result is clearly not where we want to be. I don’t want to be fighting at the back of the top 15, and neither does my team or Yamaha and it is disappointing. All I can do is go out there with whatever I have got underneath me and give it my maximum and I did that. But this team and Yamaha deserve to be higher up and today wasn’t good enough. It would be easy to let my head drop but I have never been that type of rider and I am not going to start now. I was reasonably happy with my start but I had a few moments with the front tyre on the first couple of laps and I soon realised that I was at my maximum and that I wasn’t going to be able to do much more. It is disappointing because I have slipped out of the top ten in the standings and that was one of my big goals before the start of the season. We have got to keep working hard as a team and hope that Michelin can quickly turn it around for the rest of the season so we can try and get back into that top ten and keep the morale up of the team. Colin had even more problems than me so it must have been tough for him, but this is the situation we are in. We will all keep pushing hard and see what we can do.”
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Colin Edwards 14th – 102 points
“I could see straightaway behind James that he was having some issues with the front tyre, which we expected. I still thought I could put a good pace together but it never happened. I just didn’t have the confidence I needed to push harder with the tyres and the more I pushed I didn’t seem to go much faster. James was able to leave me pretty easily as my issues started to get worse but I wanted to stay out there and try my best for my guys at Tech 3 and Yamaha, who as always have been working like crazy to help me this weekend. I thank them for that, but there was nothing else I could do. Towards the end I just decided to take a few more risks and I went a bit quicker, but there was no way I was going to catch anybody. I’ve had a bad run lately but I’m still in contention for fourth in the championship, and I’ll keep fighting. But we need big improvements from Michelin. The good start we had to the season seems like a long way away now, and we have to work with Michelin to try and solve some of the issues because I didn’t enjoy today at all.”
Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“We thought the disappointment of Laguna Seca would be forgotten after the summer break and we would have a positive weekend in Brno. Unfortunately from the very beginning of the weekend we understood it was going to be another tough weekend. Clearly we couldn’t challenge the tyre opposition. We have been trying a lot of different settings to try and cope with that, but it was difficult. The most difficult was qualifying in the rain conditions and we were far behind. We knew starting from the last two rows it would be a tough race but James and Colin still tried as hard as they could and they stayed on track and scored a few points. But this is not how we started the championship and today was a really difficult day. To see the chequered flag with a few points is a relief but for sure there will be a lot of meetings and a lot of thinking of what to do for the future because we keep on losing ground in the championship and this is very disappointing.”
Posted by Administrator on 08-17-2008 at 07:08 am
Full race results from the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno, round twelve of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship.
Casey Stoner crashed out of the race lead on lap six, leaving Valentino Rossi to ride to a 15 second victory…
1. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 43min 28.841 secs
2. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 43min 43.845 secs
3. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 50.530 secs
4. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 43min 54.700 secs
5. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 43min 58.306 secs
6. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 59.449 secs
7. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 44min 5.294 secs
8. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 44min 5.591 secs
9. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 44min 7.663 secs
10. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 44min 8.414 secs
11. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 44min 8.451 secs
12. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 44min 9.733 secs
13. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 44min 40.331 secs
14. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 44min 49.974 secs
15. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 45min 5.879 secs
16. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 45min 7.248 secs
DNF:
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B)
Posted by Administrator on 08-14-2008 at 06:08 am
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The Fiat Yamaha Team resume their pursuit of the MotoGP World Championship title this weekend after a four-week summer holiday, with Valentino Rossi leading the series into what promises to be a thrilling seven-race climax. The Czech Republic hosts round twelve of eighteen, with the town of Brno staging a Grand Prix for the 39th time since the original 14km road circuit was first used back in 1965.
Rossi heads to the motorcycling heartlands of eastern Europe with renewed energy and ready to resume battle at one of his most successful circuits, following a stunning maiden win at Laguna Seca before the break. The 29-year-old took his first ever Grand Prix win at Brno in the 125cc class and has since added to his tally there with a 250cc success and three wins in MotoGP, as well as three second places in the top class. His success in America, which came after a thrilling tussle with Casey Stoner, means the Italian leads the Australian by 25 points at the top of the standings.
Jorge Lorenzo was also in need of a rest after picking up the latest in a string of injuries at Laguna, where a first lap crash left him nursing three broken metatarsals in his left foot. However, intense physiotherapy during the well-timed summer break sees him nearing full fitness as he returns to action at a circuit where he has taken 250cc victory from pole position for the last two seasons, in addition to a 125cc win back in 2004.
Whilst the riders have taken a well-earned rest, engineers at Yamaha’s factory headquarters in Japan have been working around the clock over the summer towards this weekend’s race, as well as for the two-day test that will take place afterwards. The well-balanced nature of the Brno circuit make it an ideal testing venue, with its winding chicanes and dramatic elevation changes retaining much of the character of the original road circuit, which wanders its way through the surrounding forests.
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Valentino Rossi - “Looking forward to more racing”
“Last year we had a bad time at Brno; I could only finish seventh and it was quite disheartening. This year, however, we’re going there in a very different frame of mind: leading the championship, following a great win and with our bike and tyres working very well. I’ve had a good summer break, just relaxing with my friends and family, but now I am really looking forward to going racing again. I know that Brno is going to be hard and that Casey will be a formidable competitor once again, and we’re going to have to work at the maximum from the first practice in order not to lose any time in finding out the right set-up for our bike. We have seven races left and I am dreaming of them all being as fun as Laguna Seca!”
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Jorge Lorenzo - “High hopes”
“I am going to Brno with a high hopes and above all trying not to think about the disappointment of Laguna Seca; it’s behind me now. In the USA I was fast once again and I hope that I can carry on like this in the Czech Republic. I know that I can. Brno is a circuit that I like a lot, it’s one of my favourites. I’ve won there three times in 125cc and 250cc. It’s a good place for my riding style and the weather is normally perfect. Physically I feel very good after the crash and the injuries, I definitely feel as good as could be expected. It’s the first time this season that I’ve really had proper time to recover, thanks to the holidays, so I think I am in good shape. At the moment I am still using my crutches to walk but I have been able to do some training and I know that I won’t have a problem when I arrive in Brno on Thursday.”
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Davide Brivio - “Seven key races”
“Brno will be the start of a very important run of seven rounds to the end of the season. With 25 points on Stoner and 41 on Pedrosa we are in a good position, but we have to manage this advantage in the remaining races. It will be an exciting end to the season, with Pedrosa back in the fight and Lorenzo, I am sure, able to re-join the ‘podium club’. Last year, at most of these final circuits, we weren’t able to fight at the top but we are working hard now to be able to provide Valentino with the most competitive package to allow him to race at the front, as he has for the majority of this year’s races. Every race from now on will be very important and Brno could be one of the most difficult for us against our competitors. We have to use all of our potential and work at 100% in all of the practices. Everybody in Yamaha is extremely motivated and we can’t wait to be back in the battle, especially after the exciting Laguna Seca show!”
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Daniele Romagnoli - “Time for a good race”
“From talking to Jorge it seems that he is feeling much better; he is back in training and we are expecting him to be as fit as he could be in the circumstances. The crash was a huge disappointment but at least he has had the maximum time to get over it and we know that he will have made the most of the break. In Brno, the first aim for Jorge is to get back the feeling and confidence that he had at the start of the season, so that he can enjoy the remaining races. We need to rebuild his confidence in the bike. In practice at Laguna he was looking good – he was fast and qualified fourth. Then on the day we had some rear grip issues and the crash was very unfortunate. Rear grip is now the biggest thing we have to work on improving on the bike; we need to work together with Michelin to improve this. The new surface also adds an unknown quantity to this race and so tyre choice is going to be especially important. The team is very motivated and looking forward to getting back to work; we’re hoping for a good race, Jorge certainly deserves one!”
Valentino Rossi : Information
Age: 29
Lives: Tavullia, Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 92 (66 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 203 (143 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 50
World Championships: 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP)
Jorge Lorenzo: Information
Age: 21
Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 22 (1 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 104 (10 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 29 (3 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 2 x 250cc
Brno: Record Lap
L. Capirossi (Ducati) 2006, 1′58.157
Brno: Best Lap
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2006, 1′56.191
Grand Prix Results: Brno 2007
1. C.Stoner (Ducati) 43′45.810
2. J.Hopkins (Suzuki) +7.903
3. N.Hayden (Honda) +13.100
7. V. Rossi (ITA) Yamaha +22.485
Jorge Lorenzo Result: Brno 2007
1. J. Lorenzo (SPA) Aprilia 41′04.954 (250cc)
Posted by Administrator on 08-14-2008 at 06:08 am
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1 – What’s been the biggest change to the M1 this year?
“We have made many changes to the 2008 M1 compared to the 2007 version and we have improved it a lot; Valentino is satisfied with our work so far. Of course the biggest change for us has affected Valentino’s side only – the change of tyre manufacturer. After the switch we had a hard time learning how to get the best performance from the new tyres and of course we had no data. Last however year Valentino predicted that changing would be the right thing for him and he was right, although of course we weren’t able to predict how differently the tyre would behave.”
2 – What else have you changed on Valentino’s bike?
“We have had to work a lot on the chassis setting and we have also changed the geometry of the bike in order to get a good balance with the tyre character. Since we moved from 990cc to 800cc higher corner speed is needed in order to get faster lap times and to win. Therefore we have tried many different chassis settings in order to find out the best of bike geometry, centre of gravity, rider position, wheel-base length, chassis stiffness and so on.”
3 – Do you think that your development since the start of the season has been a success?
“MotoGP bikes are not production bikes and that’s why I always say that Valentino, Jorge and all MotoGP riders are not human beings! Valentino has become more and more satisfied race by race and we have been able to find an ideal set-up for him that enabled him to win three races in a row. Since then, Casey Stoner and his team have found new solutions that have allowed them to make a big step forward and now of course we know that the remaining races will be tough, although we are still leading by 25 points after the excellent win in Laguna Seca.”
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4 – What is the aim for the rest of the season regarding bike development?
“Our competitor’s great performances is a big push to all of us to improve our M1 further, maybe even more than we did during last winter. I would especially like to progress the electronic control system and the engine power. At the moment there is no need to work more on the chassis, although this is something we will have to consider for next season. Lately we have been experiencing some problems with acceleration on the exit of the corner, so we need to work to find better bike geometry and chassis setting alongside the development of the engine control system.”
5 – What is your opinion about the electronics in MotoGP now? Do you think the rules need to be changed?
“This is a popular discussion at the moment and we are looking at the overall situation; do we need to change the rules? It’s true that many riders have crashed this year, including Jorge, who had a very bad series of crashes, and also Dani Pedrosa. The question is if these crashes have something to do with the current bike technology. We moved from 990cc to 800cc to have safer bikes, but the new bikes have a higher cornering speed and this might present a danger for some riders. I think that we need to do something and the biggest issue is the electronic control system. In any case, it is clear that we at Yamaha will have to develop a better and better ECS, in order to beat our rivals. I still think that the M1 is best bike out there, although Casey has had a string of very impressive results.”
6 – Valentino has re-signed for two more years and has cited his relationship with you as one of the main reasons he will continue with Yamaha. How do you feel about you relationship with him?
“The reason I always continue to be confident is because I trust Valentino so much! I like his way of thinking, he is always positive and this rubs off on everyone else. He never complains or criticizes; on the contrary, he is always looking forward and searching for new solutions! He has exactly the same approach to problems as I have. Valentino always has a positive and logical way of thinking, like me. He has a very good sense of humour, and I like this a lot; I like him as a person very much. The biggest shame is that my age is almost the double his, but the level of thinking is the same! The only difference is that he is just 29. When I was 29, I never thought about tactics and strategies! I have a huge respect for him. He is the genius behind the bike.”
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7 – What are your mid-season impressions of Jorge?
“I like Jorge very much; he is a good guy and a very good rider. Honestly, he is very different than I had expected before he joined Yamaha; I was impressed by his mature attitude and his fluent English. He is a very smart guy, smarter than I expected! He has a big talent as a rider; he is very smooth and very effective. I am sure that in the future he will dominate in MotoGP. At the beginning of the season we started with no ambitions, we thought it was too early for him to win a race because he was a rookie. He was just supposed to be here to learn about his M1. But then he surprised us with his incredible three pole positions in a row and then with his victory. Everything happened much earlier than we had expected. Generally speaking he is a very good entertainer for Yamaha and for the spectators. His season surpassed expectations early on but of course he has had some problems since then which we are working hard to address.”
8 – How has Jorge reacted since the crashes?
“After the bad crashes he has suffered, he has changed his riding style somewhat, aiming to improve his confidence in the electronics, which can help him. Before the crash in Laguna he was recovering and beginning to find a different way to treat a MotoGP bike. Laguna was a great pity, very unlucky and another set-back but I am still confident for the rest of the season, although we will continue not to put any pressure on him and there is no need to hurry his learning process.”
9 – What is your feeling about the current team?
“I am very satisfied with Jorge’s new crew chief, who joined us this year, Ramon Forcada. He is a very good crew chief, as is Jeremy Burgess. JB is an easy and sophisticated guy, he hates to worry about political correctness, like me! Now both he and Ramon are combining their wealth of experience with the new technology very successfully. Regarding Jorge’s bike specifically, I understand very well what Ramon is doing with Jorge and with Jorge’s bike. I speak with him regularly and I am satisfied that we have the same recognition about Jorge.
“Our entire team is made up of good people and good workers! As far as our riders are concerned, we have a very strong weapon; Valentino is the present and Jorge is the future
