Race Weekend - Phillip Island

Seventeen year old Scott Redding is getting closer and closer to his first Moto2 win after finishing second in the Iveco Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island this afternoon. The Gloucestershire teenager was pipped for the second day in succession by the very experienced Alex De Angelis after leading the way in the 23 lap battle round the 2.764 mike Oceanside circuit.

Yesterday De Angelis pipped Redding for pole position in the last minute of qualifying and it was the same story in the race but Redding’s day will come.

“That was a great race but Alex did me for the second time in succession,” said the Marc VDS rider. ”I really enjoyed it so much and I’m gaining so much experience with the top guys all the time both in qualifying and in the races.”

Oxfordshire teenager Bradley Smith finished fifth in the 125 cc race after a tremendous battle throughout with Efren Vazquez and Esteve Rabat. Kent-based Danny Webb returned to points scoring form after his crash in Malaysia. He finished tenth to consolidate his tenth place in the Championship but 16 year Danny Kent finished out of the points in 21st place in just his fourth grand prix.

Stoner continues home dominance with victory in Australia

Casey Stoner’s authoritative reign at his home track of Phillip Island continued in style on Sunday as the Ducati rider won at the circuit for the fourth year in a row. Starting from pole position the 25 year-old led the Iveco Australian Grand Prix from start to finish as he made it a third win of 2010 in front of a partisan crowd of 41,537.

Eventually crossing the finish line 8.598s ahead of 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo it was the perfect end to a strong weekend from Stoner, who had demonstrated his pace throughout the practice and qualifying sessions, which had been run in mixed conditions.

However with bright sunshine providing ideal conditions for the race itself, Stoner had taken an advantage of over a second by the end of the first lap, winning comfortably and admitting,

“This feels really nice. I think when I won two in a row here nobody expected me to make it three but having done that I felt there was a lot of expectation on me today. Everything has gone well for us, we have been happy with the bike from the first practice and the support from the fans has been fantastic. I have to admit that before the race I was feeling the pressure, I was more nervous than I normally am but maybe I should be like that more often because I didn't make a single mistake! I am really happy with the way I rode today but every single person in the team has done a great job this weekend so my thanks go to them and I hope we can keep it going to the end of the season.”

Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) rode a lonely race in second position as he finished almost ten seconds ahead of third-placed Valentino Rossi. For the Spaniard it was a 14th podium finish in his title-winning campaign in what was his 50th premier class start.

The fight for third place went right down to the final lap as Fiat Yamaha man Rossi edged out Nicky Hayden in what was a fantastically close battle. The Ducati rider appeared to have got one over on his future team-mate with three laps to go when he overtook at Honda Hairpin, but Rossi returned the move at the same place on the final lap to beat the American to the final podium spot by a margin of just 0.038s.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies achieved his eighth top-five finish of his maiden MotoGP campaign and with it secured Rookie of the Year, with fellow premier class debutant Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) just under three seconds further back in sixth position.

There were top-ten finishes also for Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing), Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda). Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) was the only rider who failed to finish the race after he experienced technical problems early on.

Absent due to injuries were Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) – who rode in qualifying but opted not to race as he continues his recovery from a broken collarbone – and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki), who sustained a groin injury in a qualifying session crash. The pair both expect to be fit to return at Estoril in a fortnight.

The result lifted Stoner into third in the Championship standings ahead of Rossi, and with the Italian and his Spanish team-mate’s podium finishes Fiat Yamaha also secured Fiat Yamaha the Team Championship for 2010 with two rounds remaining.

Moto2

Alex de Angelis took his first victory in the Moto2 class as he led his JiR Moto2 team bike across the finish line ahead of Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) and Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) in the intermediate category race.

The Sammarinese rider lined up in pole position and recovered from a start which saw him drop to fourth position before slowly entering the battle for the lead. A strong finish to the race saw De Angelis win by a margin of 2.172s as he followed up his first podium of the year last time out in Malaysia with a first victory of 2010. It was also his first GP win since his only previous triumph, which came in Valencia in the 250cc class in 2006.

Redding rounded off an impressive weekend with his second podium of the year as he rode to second – his best Moto2 result to date. The 17 year-old Brit showed great determination and maturity to challenge at the front of the race for the most part, eventually placing second having started from the same position on the grid.

In third position Iannone came in a fraction over eight-tenths of a second behind Redding, as he suffered from rear-tyre issues towards the end, having gone with the softer Dunlop option. The Italian had also been part of the leading group for the majority of the race, having engaged in a thrilling battle with the two riders who finished ahead of him. It was his seventh podium of the campaign as he moved to within two points of Julián Simón in the fight for second position in the overall standings.

The Mapfre Aspar rider ended the race in fourth position, ahead of Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) and team-mate Mike di Meglio, the German equalling his best result of the season so far and the Frenchman recording his highest placement in the category to date.

2010 World Champion Toni Elías (Gresini Racing) came out on top in an engrossing contest for seventh position, ahead of Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2), Alex Debón (Aeroport de Castelló-Ajo) and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) who completed the top ten. Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Racing) had also been involved for much of the race and ended 11th.

125cc

In the 125cc class Marc Márquez’s ninth win of the season stretched the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider’s lead at the top of the World Championship standings to 12 points as he triumphed from pole position. The 17 year-old also equalled Jorge Martínez’s 1988 record as the Spanish rider with the most wins in the category in a single season as he strengthened his title charge with just two rounds remaining.

Taking the chequered flag 6.062s clear of the rest of the field having opened up an early lead Márquez finished well ahead of title rivals Pol Espargaró and Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar), who had competed closely for the remaining two podium positions during the race. Espargaró eventually finished just over five seconds clear of Terol however as the Tuenti Racing rider put in a strong final stage of the race.

The round 15 result leaves Márquez on 272 points at the top of the standings, with Terol now on 260 and Espargaró on 255 with the Estoril and Valencia rounds to go.

In a tight battle for fourth position which required a video finish between Efrén Vázquez and Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) the Tuenti Racing edged his British competitor, with Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) close behind in sixth.

Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany), Luis Salom (Stipa-Molenaar Racing), Randy Krummenacher (Stipa-Molenaar Racing) and Danny Webb (Andalucia Cajasol) all secured top-ten finishes. Unfortunately for front-row starter Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) his race ended early with a crash.

The British teenage MotoGP stars seek a change fortune with the change in temperature at the Iveco Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island on Sunday. Race day temperatures were in the mid thirties at the Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix this Sunday while they have been known to stay in single figures at the Island outpost in Victoria.

Bradley Smith was the only points scorer in Malaysia when he finished fifth in the 125 cc race despite some severe chattering problems with his Bancaja Aspar Aprilia. The 19 year old Oxfordshire rider finished second to World Champion Julian Simon round the magnificent 2.764 miles ocean side location last year and will be chasing at least a podium finish as he fights to secure a Moto2 ride next season.

Danny Webb will arrive in Australia nursing an injured hand after a big practice crash in Sepang. He crashed spectacularly in the race but the Kent-based teenager is a tough customer and will be looking to at least consolidate his tenth place in the Championship.

Sixteen year old Danny Kent had a second grand prix of misfortune in Malaysia when his Lambretta hit mechanical problems for the second race running. Once again he was in a points scoring position and could secure those moral boosting points in just his fourth grand prix on Sunday.

Seventeen year old Scott Redding suffered from the heat worst of all in Malaysia. He had to retire from the Moto2 race with heat exhaustion and will enjoy Phillip Island, however cold.

Quotes

Bradley Smith:

“Phillip Island is a great race track and we all enjoy racing there even if it’s cold. I had a great race there with Julian Simon but got taken by the World Champion on the last lap. Let’s hope I can be up there again.”

Danny Webb:

“I real tough weekend in Malaysia and the hand was very painful. I am just looking for a change of luck at Phillip Island which is such a great track.”

Danny Kent:

“I was so disappointed after bike problems for the second race in succession. Both times I was pushing for a points finish and so despite being my first visit to Phillip Island I hope I can be up there again.”

Scott Redding:

“I had no option but to pull in at Malaysia because I would have been a danger both to myself and the other riders. Despite this I was able to run with the top guys and that gives me real confidence for the race in Australia where I know it will be very much cooler.”

LORENZO READY CELEBRATE IN STYLE AT THE ISLAND

The new MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo arrives at the iconic Phillip Island circuit ready to celebrate at the Iveco Australian Grand Prix. The 23 year old Fiat Yamaha star won the most prestigious prize in motorcycle racing after finishing third in Malaysia and how he would love to celebrate at Phillip Island with a victory but it will not be easy.

Lorenzo has won two 250 cc grands prix in Australia but faces head-on the two most successful premier class riders at the windswept circuit. He took the World title from Valentino Rossi in Malaysia and the Italian is right back on form and full of confidence following just his second win of the season in the last race. Rossi won five successive premier class races at Phillip Island between 2001-2005. Also he moved into third place in the Championship after his win and is just one point in front of local hero Casey Stoner who in turn is just one point in front of Andrea Dovizioso.

Stoner, who crashed out in Malaysia after winning the two previous races, has won his home race for Ducati for the last three years and how he’d love sign off his Ducati career with a win in Australia.

With his Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa unlikely to race still recovering from his broken collarbone, Italian Andrea Dovizioso seeks to go one better after finishing second in the last two races to help in his battle for third place in the Championship.

Sixth placed Ben Spies has already tasted World Championship success at Phillip Island while Marco Melandri won the Premier class race in 2006. He leaves MotoGP at the end of the season. Another former winner is Marco Simoncelli who has won the 250 cc race for the last couple of years.

Toni Elias clinched the Moto2 Championship after finishing fourth in Malaysia but there is a tremendous battle for second place between Julian Simon and Andrea Iannone. They are separated by just five points with Simon, who won the 125 cc race, leading the way.

The closest title chase is in the 125 cc class with just 12 points separating the first three riders with three rounds remaining. Seventeen year old Marc Marquez regained his lead after his eighth win of the year in Malaysia. Just three points behind is Nico Terol with Pol Espargaro, who was second in Malaysia, a further nine points adrift.

EVENT TIME SCHEDULE

Friday 15 October

12.40 – 13.40              125cc Free Practice 1
13.55 – 14.55              MotoGP Free Practice 1
15.10 – 16.10              Moto2 Free Practice 1

Saturday 16 October

09.00 – 09.40              125cc Free Practice 2
09.55 – 10.55              MotoGP Free Practice 2
11.10 – 12.10              Moto2 Free Practice 2
13.00 – 13.40              125cc Qualifying
13.55 – 14.55              MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55              Moto2 Qualifying

Sunday 17 October

09.40 – 10.00              125cc Warm Up
10.10 – 10.30              Moto2 Warm Up
10.40 – 11.00              MotoGP Warm Up
13.00                           125cc RACE (23 laps)
14.15                           Moto2 RACE (25 laps)
16.00                           MotoGP RACE (27 laps)

Time Schedule is CET+9