Race Weekend - Barcelona

De Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya race was a difficult and tough one for the DeGraaf Grand Prix Team. Randy Krummenacher had an ok start but lost a lot of positions in the first lap and dropped back to P16. Krummenacher had a catch up race and fought back to a 10th position and scored 6 points. Danny Webb had a superb start but couldn’t hold the whole race with his hand injury and call it a day in the 13^th lap.  

 During the warm up session, which started at 08.40 hour, it was already hot with 24 degrees. Randy Krummenacher had a good session and ended the session at a nice 7^th position. Danny Webb used the session only to ride in the piston of his Aprilia and gave his hand some rest to save it for the race.

Danny Webb had really a superb start. Before the first corner Webb was even second. After the first lap the British rider could fight with the leading group at P7. After three laps his hand couldn’t hold it any longer and Webb had to give away every lap positions. After 13 laps Webb call it a day and went into the pit lane to avoid forcing has injury.

Danny Webb (DNF):

“I tried to complete the full race but I couldn’t do it. Mine had been hurting so much, it was impossible to brake at the right moments. The start was perfect and I could last for three laps and than I had trouble to brake. I have a couple of weeks rest now and I want to be fit for the Dutch TT. During this home race for the team I want to grab a really good result.”

The Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya has been good so far for Randy Krummenacher. The good feeling Krummenacher had before the start of the weekend has given him a superb 4^th position at the front row. Danny Webb is in a lot of pain but manages to have a good lap and will start tomorrow from the third row at an 11^th spot.

During the free practice in the morning Randy Krummenacher wasn’t happy with his 13th position in this session. The front fork setting wasn’t yet perfect it was moving too much coming into the corner. Danny Webb had problems to break proper in this session because of the pain in his right hand. One time Webb was off track because of this and ended the session at the 20^th position.

It was difficult for Danny Webb to ride a fast lap in this session. With the pain in his right hand, despite the pain killers, Webb had a very fast lap with just 5 minutes on the clock and stood on the 9^th position. In the last minute the riders Jonas Folger and Stefan Bradl past Webb and the British rider will start tomorrow from a 11th position at the third row.

Danny Webb (11^e, 1:52,548):

“It was a tough day today. The pain from my little finger affects also the use of my right hand. Despite the pain killers it is hard to brake. I saw during the session P19 on my pit board and that wasn’t the position I want to start the race tomorrow. I focussed on one fast lap and tried not to think about the pain and I manage to grab the third row. I’m very happy with this result and I hope to finish the race in to the points. It’s going to be a long race for me Sunday!”

Although Bradley Smith dropped from first to second in the 125cc World Championships on Sunday the Englishman still performed well the Catalunya circuit near Barcelona, riding intelligently to an eighth place finish from seventh on the grid.

The Oxfordshire teenager was not on his strongest form this weekend at the sixth round of the year, but he undertook a mission in damage limitation to pick up eight valuable points.

His team-mate Julián Simón now sits at the head of the standings with a 1.5 point advantage, but the Spaniard could have won the Barcelona race had he not celebrated a lap too early and thrown away a victory, eventually finishing fourth. Italian rider Andrea Iannone was the race-winner, with Spaniards Nico Terol and Sergio Gadea second and third.

Also picking up a handful of points, meanwhile, was Gloucestershire’s Blusens Aprilia rider Scott Redding, who qualified tenth on Saturday and finished the race in eleventh place. There was further frustration for Kent youngster Danny Webb however, as the Degraaf Grand Prix man had to retire early due to a hand injury.

In the MotoGP race, Valentino Rossi pulled off a superb last corner move on his young Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo to take his 99th career victory, with an exhausted Casey Stoner crossing the line third – meaning that those three riders are now all tied for first position in the standings on 106 points. Meanwhile, James Toseland brought his satellite Yamaha machine home in 13th place in the stifling 40°C heat.

The 250cc contest saw a popular victory for Alvaro Bautista, as he extended his championship lead, with Hiroshi Aoyama second and Hector Barbera third. World Champion Marco Simoncelli had crashed out on just the second lap.

Race Results

1 Valentino ROSSI ITA YAMAHA 43'11.897
2 Jorge LORENZO SPA YAMAHA 43'11.992
3 Casey STONER AUS  DUCATI 43'20.781
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA HONDA 43'20.833
5 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA SUZUKI 43'31.728
6 Dani PEDROSA SPA HONDA 43'34.079

Championship Positions

1 ROSSI Valentino 106 points
2 LORENZO Jorge 106
3 STONER Casey 106
4 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 69
5 PEDROSA Dani 67
6 EDWARDS Colin 54

British 125 cc World Championship leader Bradley Smith returns to Barcelona where his grand prix career really took off to defend his slender Championship lead at the Cinzano Grand Prix of Catalunya on Sunday. The Oxfordshire teenager was based in Barcelona for the first two years of his grand prix career  and returns with a 3.5 point lead in the very competitive Championship after his second grand prix win of the season in Italy a couple of weeks ago.

The home riders, headed by his Aspar team-mate Julian Simon, will give Smith a tough time round the demanding 2.937 miles circuit but the Championship leader has great experience at the track where he first rode a grand prix machine.

The two other British teenage 125 cc stars have equal experience at the Circuit De Catalunya after cutting their teeth in the Spanish Championship. Sixteen year old Scott Redding from Gloucester rode brilliantly for the Barcelona-based Blusens Aprilia team in Mugello until a last bend highside dropped him to seventh.

Kent teenager Danny Webb was also right up with the leaders when he fell from the DeGraff Aprilia. It’s important that he finishes on Sunday after crashing out of the last two races.

In the MotoGP class Yorkshireman James Toseland arrives in Barcelona boosted by his seventh place on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha in Mugello. He’s had a tough start to the season but two top ten finishes in the last two grands prix has boosted his confidence for Barcelona where he finished sixth last year

QUOTES

Bradley Smith

“I’m really looking forward to the weekend because Barcelona has great sentimental value for me. I had my very first ride on a grand prix bike there and the Repsol Honda team were based there. I got to know the City and spent a great deal of time training and riding in the area. It will be a tough battle and I aim to just finish each race as high as I can at this stage of the season.”

Danny Webb

“I could lead the second group for a couple of laps at Mugello but then I hit a bump in the track and crashed. Too bad but at least I know I can be up there but need some luck. Next race in Barcelona I’m confident I can be up there again and this time I have to finish the race.”

Scott Redding

“I know Barcelona well from racing there in the Spanish Championships and it’s the home race for my team which makes it special for them. We are getting there with the bike as we showed in Mugello before the last bend. I’ve been training hard in the Spanish sunshine and now want to get racing.”

James Toseland

“Mugello was the first race I've enjoyed for a while because for most of it I was fighting for the top six. That's where I was a few times last season and that's where this bike and team deserve to be starting in Barcelona this weekend where I was sixth last year.”

CATALUNYAN CLASH FOR TOP THREE

Just nine points separate the top three riders as they clash in the sixth round of the MotoGP World Championship at the Cinzano Grand Prix of Catalunya in Barcelona on Sunday.

Two riders, Championship leader Casey Stoner and second placed Jorge Lorenzo have won two grands prix this season while third placed, World Champion Valentino Rossi has won once but in the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez.

The 2007 World Champion Stoner arrives at the demanding 2.937 miles Circuit de Catalunya on the North-Eastern outskirts of the Mediterranean City full of confidence on the Marlboro Ducati after a superb victory in the previous round at the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello. The Australian, who leads Lorenzo by just four points, won the MotoGP race in Barcelona two years ago and looked in ominous form for his rivals in a Championship battle that promises to go all the way to wire.

Lorenzo returns home to Spain determined to make up for his crash in last month’s Spanish Grand Prix which he’d started in pole position on the Fiat Yamaha. The 21 year old missed the race last year after a big practice crash but won at the track on route to World 250 cc Championship success.

As at most circuits it’s Rossi that has the most impressive record. The Italian, who trails Stoner by nine points, has won five times in the Premier class, twice in the 250’s and once on a 125 machine. The last two grands prix this year have brought the World Champion just a third place in the swap machines and tyres contests. Rossi, like the majority of other riders, will be hoping for a dry race after the last two.

Local hero Dani Pedrosa was right in that Championship fight until he crashed out in Mugello. The Spanish Repsol Honda rider was suffering from a damaged right hip when he fell and he’s now fighting a battle to be fit for his home race. Not only did Pedrosa win the MotoGP race in Barcelona last year but he’s also been successful in both the 125 and 250 cc classes. He now trails Stoner by 33 points and is being pressured by his team-mate Italian Andrea Dovizioso who is only one point behind him.

Frenchman Randy De Puniet has finished every race so far this season riding the LCR Honda and has an impressive record at the Circuit de Catalunya. He’s twice won the 250 cc race and was fourth in the MotoGP race in Jerez this year. Italian Marco Melandri is another former 250 cc winner but was brought back to reality after finishing 11th in Mugello on the Hayate Kawasaki following his brilliant second place at Le Mans two weeks earlier.

Italian veteran Loris Capirossi has good and bad memories of Barcelona. He brought Ducati their first ever MotoGP victory in 2003 but three years ago he arrived with a real Championship chance only to be involved in a horrendous multi-bike first bend crash that wrecked his chances. Also involved in the same crash was his then team-mate Sete Gibernau who broke his collarbone. Three weeks ago Gibernau broke the same collarbone at Le Mans but hopes to be fit to ride the Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati in front of his home crowd.

The sparks will continue to fly in the 250cc race with five separate winners in the opening five rounds. The last round in Mugello was typical with World Champion and last year’s Barcelona winner Marco Simoncelli receiving a suspended sentence and fine after a clash with Championship leader Alvaro Bautista. The race was won by Mattia Pasini after a fantastic last lap scrap with Simoncelli. Third place was enough for Bautista to increase his Championship lead to five points over Spanish Grand Prix winner Hiroshi Aoyama but he will be desperate to beat Italian Simoncelli in front of the passionate home crowd.

It’s just as close in the 125 cc class where 18 year Championship leader Bradley Smith will be fighting off both a host of home riders and the patriotic crowd. The British rider leads the Championship by 3.5 points after his second win of the season in Italy. Heading the Spanish charge of four Spanish riders in the next five will be his Aspar team-mate Julian Simon.

EVENT TIME SCHEDULE

Friday 12 June

12.40 – 13.40              125cc Free Practice 1
13.55 – 14.55              MotoGP Free Practice 1
15.10 – 16.10              250cc Practice 1

Saturday 13 June

09.00 – 09.40              125cc Free Practice 2
09.55 – 10.55              MotoGP Free Practice 2
11.10 – 12.10              250cc Free Practice 2
13.00 – 13.40              125cc Qualifying
13.55 – 14.55              MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55              250cc Qualifying

Sunday 14 June

08.40 – 09.00              125cc Warm Up
09.10 – 09.30              250cc Warm Up
09.40 – 10.00              MotoGP Warm Up
11.00                           125cc RACE (22 laps)
12.15                           250cc RACE (23 laps)
14.00                           MotoGP RACE (25 laps)

In the extremely hot Barcelona during the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya Randy Krummenacher made a very good impression by finishing at the 9th position. The Swiss rider builds up the session slowly and improved his lap time lap by lap. Danny Webb had a bad session and crashed halfway the session hard in his third stint and wasn’t able to finish the session. 

British rider Danny Webb started the weekend not so good and crashed hard halfway the session today. Before the crash Webb was in the top 10 but halfway the session Webb got a high-sider and wasn’t able to finish the session. Luckily the British teenager has only wounded his right little finger and is able to ride tomorrow.

Danny Webb (21^st, 1:54,828):

“I really don’t like it that I crashed today! Before the crash it went well and I was in the top 10. I had to test from Dunlop a new tire and I rode the bike like normal. Suddenly I lost the control of the rear and crashed hard. It is a shame I lost some track time now but luckily I only hurt my right little finger. For this weekend it will not be a problem to ride and I’m going for it tomorrow.”