STONER ENDS AS HE STARTED

Casey Stoner ended the season as he started with a grand prix victory, comfortably winning the Parts Europe Grand Prix of Valencia in Spain this afternoon.

The 23 year old Australian was never challenged during the 30 lap encounter round the 2.489 miles Ricardo Tormo circuit after taking the lead on the second bend on the very first lap. Pedrosa, who won the race last year for Repsol Honda, could not stay with Stoner’s Marlboro Ducati and the 2007 World Champion raced towards his sixth win of the season.

World Champion Valentino Rossi made a great start from the fourth row of the grid but once into third place on the Fiat Yamaha could make no impression on the two leaders. The Italian had to settle for a lonely third place with his 16th podium finish of the season.

Andrea Dovizioso finished his superb first MotoGP season in fourth place with former World Champion Nicky Hayden making his last appearance for Honda in fifth.

There is no rest for the riders with testing starting in Valencia less than 24 hours after the finish of the last race. For Stoner it was the perfect start to a big week which ends on Thursday with a bone graft operation on his damaged left wrist.

TOSELAND’S DEBUT YEAR ENDS IN DISAPPOINTMENT

James Toseland ended his MotoGP debut season with a disappointing 11th place after being hampered by lack of dry set-up time during the wet practice sessions.

The 28 year old Yorkshireman finished his debut season in 11th place on the Tech 3 Yamaha when a clash early in the race with Jorge Lorenzo pushed him back after he started from the second row of the grid.

 “The wet practices meant that we could never work on the dry set-up of the bike for the race,” revealed Toseland, who will not be testing this week.” I got pushed wide by Jorge Lorenzo in the early stages and then into a freight train of riders.”

 SMITH WAVES GOODBYE WITH A FOURTH

Bradley Smith ended his 125 cc season with the Polaris World team with a hard fought fourth place which moved him into a final sixth place in the World Championship standing.

Lack of dry practice time meant set-up was always going to be a gamble in the sunshine and Smith was battling for third place at the finish in the final few laps of 24 lap race.

Fifteen year old Scott Redding completed a superb first World Championship season, which included that historic win in the British Grand Prix, with an eighth place after a race long battle with Tomoyoshi Koyama. The Gloucestershire teenager eventually finishing in 11th place in the World Championship.

Kent-based Danny Webb had another tough day. He made a bad start and then crashed out of the race trying to get back into contention.

Race Results

Final Championship Positions

ROSSI FEELS THE HEAT TO FIGHT OFF PEDROSA

Valentino Rossi secured his ninth win of the season in the Polini Grand Prix of Malaysia, not only fighting off the challenge of Dani Pedrosa but also the searing heat with temperatures reaching the mid forties at the height of the 21 lap battle round the demanding 3.447 miles Sepang circuit.
 
The World Champion, riding the Fiat Yamaha, toyed with the impressive Pedrosa in the early stages before taking the lead to win with over four seconds to spare. Spaniard Pedrosa was an equally comfortable second on the Repsol Honda in front of a tremendous battle for third.

At the finish Italian Andrea Dovizioso grabbed his very first MotoGP podium finish fighting off the considerable challenge of former World Champion Nicky Hayden and Japanese Honda rider Shinya Nakano.

It was a double day of celebrating for the exhausted Rossi with his great friend Marco Simoncelli clinching the 250 cc World Championship after finishing third in the 20 lap race.
 

TOSELAND CRASHES OUT

James Toseland’s penultimate MotoGP race of the season was almost over before it began today as the British rider crashed out of contention just three laps into the 21-lap race. The Tech 3 Yamaha rider enjoyed a positive start from 12th position on the grid and was running a good pace before becoming involved in a dogfight with several riders on lap two.

The 28-year-old appeared to be struggling for grip as he was pushed down to 16th place in a three-way battle in blisteringly hot weather conditions. Just moments later, the Michelin-shod Tech 3 Yamaha was in the gravel as Toseland crashed out of the race at turn seven.

He walked away from the incident uninjured – having lost the front end of the machine after pushing too hard into the right hand turn, trying to pick up places from Randy De Puniet and Anthony West. Further drama was added to the race when light rain began to fall with six laps remaining. Victory was secured by Valentino Rossi from second-placed Dani Pedrosa, with Andrea Dovizioso completing the podium.

“It was all a bit of a mess,” said Toseland. “I was pushing too hard out there because I needed to try to work my way through the field after qualifying in 12th. I shouldn’t be qualifying that far down the grid, but it was my fault and I had to try to rectify it during the race.

“It’s disappointing to have not secured a good result here because we had a pre-season test at Sepang and I was running eighth in this morning’s warm-up so I know that I had the pace. Everything went wrong when I failed to get a good enough start really. I’m just putting it behind me now and looking forward to the final race of the season at Valencia next weekend. I know the Spanish circuit quite well, so I’m going there feeling positive.”
 

BRILLIANT BRADLEY BATTLES TO SECOND

Seventeen year old Bradley Smith produced his performance of the season to finish a brilliant second in the 125 cc race after starting from the fourth row of the grid. Riding the Polaris World Aprilia for the second to last time, he fought his way through the field in the stifling heat but could not catch the impressive 2007 World Champion Gabor Talmacsi at the front.

“It was a great result especially after the disasters in qualifying with the rain wrecking the second session,” revealed the Oxford teenager. “I made a good start but had to fight my way through the pack. I tried hard to close on Gabor at the front but he was controlling things at the front. If I’d had a front row start it would have been a different story but I’m very happy with the result. I will go flat out to win in Valencia to thank the team for their work and support this year.”
 
It was a bad day for the other two British riders. Danny Webb retired with a series of misfortunes when his bike would not start for the warm-up lap. He then jumped the start and was penalised with a ride through penalty before retiring. Scott Redding was forced out of the race with mechanical problems.

 
Race Results

1 Valentino ROSSI ITA YAMAHA 43'06.007

2 Dani PEDROSA SPA HONDA 43'10.015

3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA HONDA 43'14.543

4 Nicky HAYDEN USA HONDA 43'14.865

5 Shinya NAKANO JPN  HONDA 43'16.590

6 Casey STONER AUS  DUCATI 43'19.647

7  Loris CAPIROSSI ITA SUZUKI 43'21.943

8  Colin EDWARDS USA YAMAHA 43'24.809

 

Championship Positions

1 ROSSI Valentino 357

2 STONER Casey 255

3 PEDROSA Dani 229

4 LORENZO Jorge 182

5 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 161

6 HAYDEN Nicky 144

7 EDWARDS Colin 134

8 VERMEULEN Chris 125

BRILLIANT BIRTHDAY BATTLE FOR TOSELAND

Birthday boy James Toseland fought an amazing battle in today’s 27-lap race in the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island to equal his best race finish in sixth position at the chequered flag. A strong start into fourth place from fifth on the grid gave the British contender a great launch pad.

The Tech 3 Yamaha rider quickly moved into third place when Dani Pedrosa ran wide into the first turn and into the gravel. Toseland worked hard to maintain his place, which included hard-fought battles with the factory Yamahas of World Champion Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. The spectacular racing even saw the MotoGP rookie pass eight-times world champion Rossi on two separate occasions as the gritty Yorkshireman refused to give up the fight for a maiden podium finish.

After finally giving way to Rossi, Toseland continued to fight hard to maintain fourth place. After several episodes of place swapping with Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, Toseland still held the upper hand. However, with just three laps remaining and the British rider’s hard-ridden Michelin tyre starting to fade slightly, both Lorenzo and Dovizioso stole the advantage.

A determined Toseland still refused to give in, regaining the lead over Dovizioso. However, it was Shinya Nakano who had been sitting at the back of the four-rider battle for fourth position who was able to take the initiative and grab fifth place at the chequered flag behind Lorenzo. Isle of Man resident Toseland passed the flag in sixth.

“I’m feeling great after that race,” said Toseland who celebrated his 28th birthday today. “That’s the most comfortable I’ve felt at a circuit and on the bike for a long time because I’ve ridden here before and we tested here pre-season. For the first time in my career I passed multiple champion Valentino Rossi twice, so that’s something to be proud of. I tried really hard to stay with him because that was the podium position.

“I think I tried so hard that I didn’t manage to retain my tyre enough for the battle in the final few laps, but I definitely can’t be disappointed about my performance out there today. I’ve had fantastic support from the Tech 3 Yamaha team and my friends, family and fans so we’ll hopefully be celebrating tonight.”

STONER AND AUSTRALIA CELEBRATE FOR SECOND YEAR IN SUCCESSION

Casey Stoner may have lost his World Championship seven days ago but he was back to his very best to win his home Grand Prix for the second year in succession.

In glorious sunshine at the magnificent 2.764 miles Phillip Island circuit Stoner led from the start from pole position on the Marlboro Ducati chased by 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden, whose team-mate Dani Pedrosa crashed at the second bend of the 27 lap race.

As Stoner started to pull away from Hayden’s Repsol Honda all eyes focused on World Champion Valentino Rossi as he fought his way through the field after starting from the fourth row of the grid after his big crash from the Fiat Yamaha in qualifying on Saturday afternoon. After a tremendous battle with James Toseland Rossi moved into third place on the very last lap and overtook Hayden to steal second place

But for once Rossi had to play second fiddle to Stoner and the celebrating home crowd.

REDDING FLIES THE FLAG AS SMITH AND WEBB CRASH OUT

Fifteen year old Scot Redding flew the British flag on the day Frenchman Mike Di Meglio clinched the 125 cc World title. Redding riding the Blusens finished a superb tenth on his Phillip Island debut in the race won by Di Meglio but it was a bad day for Danny Webb and Bradley Smith.

Webb crashed in the morning warm-up and damaged his collarbone and broke his little finger and was unable to take part in the race.

Seventeen year old Smith led from his front row start but crashed at the hairpin on the first lap. He was uninjured and remounted last in the field. Bradley raced the Polaris World Aprilia back to within sight of the final points positions before retiring with a second accident, two laps from the finish.

ROSSI –THE GREATEST EVER

Valentino Rossi regained the MotoGP World title he lost two long years ago with another immaculate display on the Fiat Yamaha to win the A-Style Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi this afternoon.

The 29 year old Italian fought off the challenge of fellow Championship contenders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa to win his eighth World title, five of those in the Premier class, his 96th grand prix victory and his eighth grand prix win of the season.

Australian Stoner rode manfully on the Marlboro Ducati to stay with Rossi but after 24 laps of the 2.983 miles Motegi circuit had to settle for second place and hand over his World title to Rossi with Pedrosa an impressive third on the Bridgestone-shod Repsol Honda.

Twelve years ago Rossi made his grand prix debut in the 125 cc Malaysia Grand Prix. Almost from that moment he has propelled grand prix motorcycle racing into heights never imagined previously.

Is he the greatest rider of all time? – Yes without a shadow of a doubt.
 

TOSELAND POINTS SCORING ON MOTEGI DEBUT
 

Following a positive start from tenth position on the grid into eighth on track, Yorkshireman James Toseland rode a consistent race at Motegi circuit in Japan to claim an 11th place finish. The Tech 3 Yamaha rider slipped back into ninth position on the opening lap before settling for tenth position for the majority of the 24-lap race.

It was the 27-year-old’s first visit to the Japanese circuit and he fought hard to defend his on track position from the more experienced John Hopkins throughout the majority of the race. However, the American seized the advantage in the dying minutes of the race to relegate Tech 3 Yamaha’s Toseland to 11th place.

“Firstly, I’d like to congratulate Valentino on his victory. He’s definitely a deserving multiple champion.  It was a difficult race out there today in high humidity and I had to work really hard just to keep tenth position for the majority of the race, explained Toseland. “It was disappointing to lose out at the very end after fighting so hard but 11th position is still a good result for me on my first visit to the circuit.”
 

TOP TEN FINISHES FOR REDDING AND WEBB
 

Scott Redding and Danny Webb secured excellent top ten finishes in the 125 cc race won by 18 year old German Stefan Bradl. It was not such good news for Bradley Smith who retired with mechanical problems just before the finish while battling for seventh place after a bad start.

Fifteen year old Redding once again led the British challenge with a hard fought eighth place riding the Blusens Aprilia on his Motegi debut. Kent-based Webb was equally impressive riding the Degraff Grand Prix Aprilia. After a superb battle with local hero Tomoyoshi Koyama he finally secured his third top ten finish of the season.

 

Race Results:

1 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA YAMAHA 43'09.599

2 1 Casey STONER AUS DUCATI 43'11.542

3 2 Dani PEDROSA SPA HONDA 43'14.465

4 48 Jorge LORENZO SPA YAMAHA 43'15.764

5 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA HONDA 43'34.192

6 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA SUZUKI 43'35.284

7  5 Colin EDWARDS USA YAMAHA 43'35.517

8  56 Shinya NAKANO JPN  HONDA 43'35.602

 

Championship Positions

1 ROSSI Valentino 312

2 STONER Casey 220

3 PEDROSA Dani 209

4 LORENZO Jorge 169

5 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 136

6 EDWARDS Colin 118

7 VERMEULEN Chris 117

8 HAYDEN Nicky 115

EARTH WIND AND FIRE FOR VALENTINO ROSSI

The MotoGP stars took everything the weather could throw at them at the very first Red Bull Indy Grand Prix at Indianapolis to produce an amazing race that virtually assured the 2008 World Championship for Valentino Rossi.

Torrential rain and gale force winds brought the race to a premature end but not before Rossi had secured his seventh win of the season to open up an 87 point lead over Casey Stoner with just four rounds of the Championship remaining.

Local hero the 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden had to settle for a brave second after leading in the early stages on the Repsol Honda with Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate in third place. Lorenzo admitted it was the first time in his complete career that he’d finished on the podium in wet conditions.

The car orientated American fans could not believe it – Indy and NASCAR drivers will not race in the rain, let along tornado strength winds.
 

REDDING BEST OF THE SODDEN BRITS

Fifteen year old Scott Redding led the wet and cold British challenge by finishing fourth in the shortened 125cc race. He looked set for a podium finish until being pipped by Stefan Bradl just before the race was stopped because of a flooded track.

Bradley Smith was forced off the track on the first lap when Michael Ransedar crashed in front of him. He fought back bravely to finish eighth with Danny Webb also dropping right back on the first lap to eventually finish 15th.

In the MotoGP race James Toseland made a good start but eventually dropped back to finish out of the points in 18th place.
 

The 250 cc race was cancelled because of the conditions.
 

Race Result

1  Valentino ROSSI ITA YAMAHA 37'20.095

2  Nicky HAYDEN USA HONDA 37'26.067

3 Jorge LORENZO SPA YAMAHA 37'27.953

4  Casey STONER AUS DUCATI 37'48.257

5  Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA HONDA 37'48.919

6  Ben SPIES USA SUZUKI 37'49.740

7  Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA DUCATI 37'56.318

8  Dani PEDROSA SPA HONDA 37'57.353

 

Championship Positions

1 ROSSI Valentino 287

2 STONER Casey 200

3 PEDROSA Dani 193

4 LORENZO Jorge 156

5 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 129

6 VERMEULEN Chris 117

7 EDWARDS Colin 109

8 HAYDEN Nicky 104

TYRED-OUT TOSELAND FIGHTS TO THE FINISH

James Toseland battled through 22 laps of pure hell to finish a brave 13th in the Cardion ab Grand Prix of the Czech Republic in Brno this afternoon. Tyre problems never gave the 27 year old Yorkshireman a chance on the Tech 3 Yamaha at the 3.357 mile circuit where Toseland finished first and second in the World Superbike Championship last year. Despite those major tyre problems, he battled to the finish to pick up a couple of World Championship points.

“We’ve had another tough weekend with rain once again affecting qualifying and causing difficulties with set-up,” says Toseland. “With that in mind, I’m satisfied to have just been able to finish the race. Picking up a couple of points was an added bonus. We’ve now got to put this race behind us as further experience and focus on tomorrow’s test and the next race at Misano.”

TWELVE YEARS ON – ROSSI STILL ON TOP IN BRNO

Twelve years ago a spotty faced teenager won his very first grand prix in the 125 cc race in Brno. Twenty nine year old Valentino Rossi returned this afternoon to win his 93rd grand prix and perhaps more importantly build up a 50 point lead in the World Championship with just six rounds remaining.

Not only did Rossi win his fourth grand prix of the season riding the Fiat Yamaha but his great rival Casey Stoner crashed out while being chased by Rossi when he fell from the Ducati and unlike Laguna Seca four weeks, go could not resume. It was a bitter blow for the Australian as he strives to retain his World Championship.

Spaniard Toni Elias was a brilliant second riding the Alice Ducati as he fights for his MotoGP future with veteran Loris Capirossi securing his first podium finish of the season on the Rizla Suzuki.

The next round of the Championship is at Misano in Italy just ten kilometres from Rossi’s home. The Italian returns home in good shape.


Race result

1. V. Rossi 43’28.841;  2. T. Elias +15.004; 3. L. Capirossi 21.689; 4. S. Nakano +25.859;  5. A. West +29.465; 6. C. Vermeulen +30.608; 7. M. Melandri +36.453; 8. A. De Angelis +36.750; 9. A. Dovizioso +38.822; 10. J. Lorenzo +39.573; 13. J. Toseland +1’11.490
 

Championship standings (after round 12)

1. Rossi 237;  2. Stoner 187; 3. Pedrosa 172; 4. Lorenzo 120;  5. Dovizioso 110; 6. Edwards 102; 7. Vermeulen 99; 8. Hayden 84; 9. Nakano 83; 10. Capirossi 77; 11. Toseland 75

SMITH SIXTH AS RIVALS FLY

Bradley Smith fought his way into sixth place in the 125 cc race won by 18 year old German Stefan Bradl after leading the early stages. Rain in practice and qualifying meant little set-up time in the dry for the 125 cc riders and it was the Polaris World team of Smith that suffered.

“I made a great start and led but I could not believe how fast the others were when they went past,” revealed the 17 year old. We had found a better set up and pace during the dry morning warm-up but I just could not stay with the others when they went past. I kept going as fast as I dared and sixth place keeps me in seventh place in the Championship.”

Fifteen year old Scott Redding made an impressive Brno debut but finally dropped to 11th place while Danny Webb crashed on the very first lap.

In the dry 250 cc race Ulsterman Eugene Laverty, who had been praying for rain, finished just out of the points in 16th place on the ageing Blusens Aprilia.

STONER STORMS IN THE RAIN

Casey Stoner ‘s third successive grand prix victory came in dramatic circumstances in the pouring rain at the Alice Grand Prix of Germany at the Sachsenring this afternoon.
Championship leader Dani Pedrosa raced away at the start of the 30 lap race round the tight twisty 2.281 mile circuit to build up a seven second advantage in the spray and looked likely to repeat his success of last year.
However the pace he was setting in the spray on the Repsol Honda was too hot and down he went at turn one with the opposition well out of sight. Stoner, who started from pole for the fourth successive race on the Marlboro Ducati, needed no second chance and took full advantage at the circuit where he had never won previously.

Once again he commanded the race at the front to win comfortably from the Fiat Yamaha of Valentino Rossi and to change the whole complexion of the MotoGP World Championship. Rossi, who started from the third row of the grid, was an equally comfortable second and re-took the lead in the World Championship. The Italian former World Champion holds a 16 point advantage over Pedrosa with Stoner closing all the time in third place just a further four points adrift.

Australian rain expert Chris Vermeulen was a brilliant third on the Rizla Suzuki after riding through the field from the fifth row of the grid in a race in which Pedrosa was not the only faller. Jorge Lorenzo, Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards all fell without injury, while Anthony West crashed from the Kawasaki, remounted and finished tenth.

The 11th round of the Championship is in seven days time at Laguna Seca in America where surely there will be some long awaited sunshine.

TOUGH DAY FOR TOSELAND

An excellent start from 11th position on the grid to fifth place into turn one signalled a change in fortunes for Britain’s James Toseland at Sachsenring but he was unable to hold off his rivals in a mid-pack battle due to incorrect tyre choice.

The 27-year-old had taken a gamble with a slightly harder rear tyre in the hope the heavy rain would clear mid-race to make way for a drying track. Unfortunately, by the time the rain began to ease off at half race distance, the Tech 3 Yamaha rider was already at a strong disadvantage on the time sheets.

With just nine laps to go, heavy rain fell once again and Toseland was forced to continue riding a safe race to pick up any points possible and further experience at MotoGP level.

The Tech 3 Yamaha rider passed the chequered flag in 11th place to slip down to ninth position overall in the championship standings.

“I’m obviously disappointed with today’s result. I was fourth fastest in warm-up this morning and thought that was a good sign of a better race day. I got a really good start from the grid but I had no confidence to push hard, which meant that I wasn’t able to hold off any challenges.

“I feel that I could have had a good race if I had the correct rear tyre but there’s little point in dwelling on it now. I must remain focussed and get my confidence back. I’m looking forward to the challenge of Laguna Seca and hope that we can continue to make improvements with the set-up of the Tech 3 Yamaha.”

SMITH SO CLOSE TO PODIUM FINISH

In a damp rather than wet 27 lap 125 cc race Bradley Smith finished just off the podium in fourth place after a tremendous battle to the line. There was also another superb performance by 15 year old Scott Redding to finish an impressive eighth on his Sachsenring debut on the slippery surface.

Smith took his turn at the front as drizzle fell at certain parts of the circuit but it was Championship leader Mike Di Meglio who was in command to win his third grand prix of the season and to open a 20 point lead in the Championship.

Seventeen year old German Stefan Bradl and World Champion Gabor Talmasci fought for second place with Smith joining for the last couple of laps. He passed Talmacsi going into the final corner was pipped by just over one hundredth of a second by Talmacsi on the line.

Redding rode such a calculated race while others fell by the wayside to claim a well deserved eighth on the Blusens Aprilia but Danny Webb ran off the track and failed to finish on his return after breaking his collarbone.

Ulsterman Eugene Laverty claimed a hard fought single World Championship point after finishing 15th in the 250 cc race in a tremendous scrap with Aleix Espargaro and Hector Faubel.