Race Weekend - San Marino

The GP Cinzano di San Marino e Riviera di Rimini 125cc race was one of the most exciting races of the season. In this race Danny Webb manage to grab another top 10 position this season. Randy Krummenacher has been held up in the first lap by a crash of Sergio Gadea and finish just outside the points on a 17th position. 

British rider Danny Webb didn’t have one of his good starts and dropped back from 13th to a 17th place in the first lap. Already in the beginning of the race Webb was in a group fighting for a 14^th position. After the Blusens riders Scott Redding and Esteve Rabat came in to the pit-lane with mechanical problems, Webb‘s group was battling for a 12^th position. In the last lap the two leaders of the race crashed out and Webb finish at a good 10^th place.

Danny Webb (10^th):

“It was a tough race with a good result. It wasn’t one of the best starts I had and lost a couple of positions. Right from the beginning I was battling in a big group. I decided not to lead the group but the lap times were to slow so I took over the lead and the lap times went a second faster.

In the last couple of laps I battled with Michael Ranseder and my goal was of course to beat him and I succeeded.

I didn’t know it was at the end for a 10th position so I’m quite happy. Now we have three weekends no race and I will use this period to train hard and come back strong. The goal of the last four races is to finish all of them in the top 10.”

After the extreme hot weather on Friday during the GP Cinzano di San Marino e Riviera di Rimini it was today a little bit cooler. With still temperatures around the 30 degrees it was a hard job for the riders. The DeGraaf Grand Prix rider Danny Webb manage in the last minute to qualify on a 13^th spot and the Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher had to accept a 23^rd position on the sixth row. 

The free practice on Saturday morning did not go entirely smoothly. Both riders still had problems with the front suspension set-up but by the end of the session it went better and better. Randy Krummenacher made a big step and finished the session on a 17^th position. The British rider Danny Webb crashed in his fastest lap in the last minute of the session. Webb ended on a 22^nd spot.

Temperatures rose above 30 degrees here in the qualifying session so the conditions were almost the same as on Friday. Qualifying was difficult for both DeGraaf Grand Prix riders. Throughout the session, both drivers stayed out of the top 20 and the Swiss rider randy Krummenacher was not even in the top 30. Danny Webb moved forward in the last three and manage to take a second of his lap time and finished 13^th. Krummenacher also made amends in the final minutes and came from the 32nd to the 23rd position 2.0 seconds from the fastest man Bradley Smith. 

Danny Webb (13^th, 1:45,188):

“It wasn’t easy today! We have made a step forward in the set-up of the suspension and this felt better. In qualifying it was difficult and I struggled to ride a fast lap time. In the last three laps I was in a group which helped me to improve my lap time. I couldn’t see the lap time on my dashboard but when I saw P13 I was happy. Tomorrow we will make some minor adjustments at the suspension that we can test in the warm-up. I'm ready for the race tomorrow and I try to fight for a top 10 position.”

A crash between the two leading riders, Andrea Iannone and Pol Espargaro, in the 125cc race at Misano on Sunday, handed a surprise podium to Oxfordshire’s Bradley Smith.

The young 18 year old rider started the 12th race of the year in pole position but struggled to stay with the race leaders and even dropped back to ninth place with ten laps remaining.

However, a late rally towards the front and the last corner crash for Iannone and Espargaro saw Smith move up the order to cross the line behind title favourite Julian Simon and another Spaniard Nico Terol. Smith remains third in the standings behind Simon and Terol.

There was a top ten finish for Kent’s Danny Webb, who also rallied late in the race, whereas there was yet more frustration for Gloucestershire’s Scott Redding who had to retire due to a technical fault.

In the MotoGP race Valentino Rossi bounced back from last week’s Indianapolis crash with a 2.4 seconds win over his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, to move himself 30 points ahead of the Spaniard in the standings with four rounds remaining. Dani Pedrosa completed the podium and James Toseland was tenth.

Race Results

1 Valentino ROSSI ITA YAMAHA 44'32.882
2 Jorge LORENZO SPA YAMAHA 44'35.298
3 Dani PEDROSA SPA HONDA 44'45.282
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA HONDA 44'59.212
5 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA SUZUKI 44'59.421
6 Toni ELIAS SPA HONDA 45'01.168

Championship Positions

1 ROSSI Valentino 237 points
2 LORENZO Jorge 207
3 PEDROSA Dani 157
4 STONER Casey 150
5 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 133
6 EDWARDS Colin 123

Bradley Smith chases second place in the 125 cc World Championship at the Cinzano Grand Prix of San Marino and the Riviera of Rimini on the Adriatic coast of Italy on Sunday.

With five rounds remaining Smith closed to within one point of second place Nico Terol in the Championship after a battling second place at the previous round in Indianapolis.  Smith’s team-mate Julian Simon still holds a 52.5 lead in the Championship despite finishing fifth in America.

Scott Redding desperately needs a change of fortune after mechanical problems kept him out of the points in America. The Blusens Aprilia rider is 14th in the Championship but is on the pace when his bike is running well.

Kent-based Danny Webb was back to scoring points in America with a hard fought 11th place riding the Degraff Grand Prix Aprilia. He needs to finish even higher in the next race races to climb the table and secure his grand prix future.

James Toseland finished a morale boosting sixth in the MotoGP race at Indianapolis. The result equalled his best ever grand prix result and the Yorkshireman is looking forward to the race at Misano where he raced in the World Superbike Championship.

QUOTES

Bradley Smith

“It was great to be back on the podium at Indianapolis especially after some recent disappointing results. I must continue in the same way at Misano which is an important race for some of my team who live very close to the circuit.”

Scott Redding

“I’m so disappointed about our problems at Indianapolis because I’m on the pace when the bike is going well. I’ve just got to put those disappointments behind me and get on with. Surely my luck will change, hopefully in Misano.”

Danny Webb

“It was great to be back in the points at Indianapolis and I must continue at Misano. I made a really bad start on Sunday and that must improve in Italy.”

James Toseland

"It's very pleasing to finish in the top six, I know I'm capable of these sort of results and need to be doing it very weekend. Now I'm really looking forward to Misano next week, a track I know very well from Superbikes."

LORENZO OUT TO SPOIL ROSSI’S HOMECOMING

Fresh from his victory in Indianapolis Jorge Lorenzo arrives in Valentino Rossi’s homeland determined to make it two in a row at the 13th round of the MotoGP World Championship, the Cinzano Grand Prix of San Marino and the Riviera of Rimini in Italy on Sunday.

Spaniard Lorenzo halved Rossi’s Championship lead to 25 points after his third grand prix victory but the Italian will have enormous patriotic support round the 2.626 mile Misano circuit situated on the Adriatic coast. The World Champion, who crashed in Indianapolis, lives just a few kilometres from the circuit which returned to the MotoGP calendar in 2007 after a 16 year absence.

Both the Fiat Yamaha team-mates have won at the track but in different classes. Rossi won the MotoGP race last year on his way to the world title while Lorenzo was successful a year before in the 250 cc class, also on route to the Championship.

Casey Stoner, who won the race round the tight circuit that has a couple of quick bends in 2007, will miss his third grand prix because of his mystery illness. Once again Mika Kallio will take his place on the Marlboro Ducati while his team-mate Nicky Hayden returned to Europe after a morale boosting third place at Indianapolis.

Stoner, who hopes to return at the next round in Portugal, hung onto third place in the Championship after Dani Pedrosa crashed out in Indianapolis from pole position. The Repsol Honda rider crashed while leading but remounted to finish tenth and is just nine points behind the Australian former World Champion.

The real dark horse on Sunday could be another home boy Alex De Angelis who scored his first ever MotoGP podium at Indianapolis. He’s already been told he is out of the San Carlo Gresini team next year but forgot his troubles to finish a superb second behind Lorenzo and in front of Hayden. His team-mate Toni Elias is also out of a job but is also in a rich vein of form including a third place at Brno.

Andrea Dovizioso returns home to Italy sixth in the Championship just three points behind Colin Edwards in fifth place. Two other Italians will be looking for a change of fortune. Marco Melandri has crashed out of the last two races from the Hayate Kawasaki while veteran Loris Capirossi is still chasing his first podium finish of the season on the Rizla Suzuki.

Twenty year old Spaniard Aleix Espargaro made an impressive MotoGP debut at Indianapolis finishing 13th on the Pramac Ducati. He will continue to replace Kallio at Misano.

The 250 cc World Champion Marco Simoncelli lives just down the coast from Misano and is chasing a hatrick of wins after victories in Brno and Indianapolis riding the Métis Gilera. With five rounds of the Championship remaining he trails Championship leader Hiroshi Aoyama by 27 points. Sandwiched between them is Alavaro Bautista who won the race last year. Look out for another local resident Matteo Pasini who has already won in Italy this year and won the 125 cc at Misano a couple of years ago.

Julian Simon still holds a 52.5 points lead in the 125 cc World Championship but there is a tremendous battle for second place. Nico Terol holds onto second place by single points from Simon’s Aspar team-mate Bradley Smith who finished second in Indianapolis. The race was won by 18 year Spaniard Pol Espargaro and another threat on Sunday could be Italian Simone Corsi who was third in America.  

EVENT TIME SCHEDULE

Friday 4 September

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

Saturday 5 September

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 6 September

08.40 – 09.00              125cc Warm Up
09.10 – 09.30              250cc Warm Up
09.40 – 10.00              MotoGP Warm U
11.00                           125cc RACE (23 laps)
12.15                           250cc RACE (26 laps)
14.00                           MotoGP RACE (28 laps)

During the first day of the GP Cinzano di San Marino e Riviera di Rimini the weather conditions are very hot. With temperatures above the 35 degrees it was a tough job for the riders to race. Danny Webb could finish the session at a 16^th position and Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher ended the session at a 26^th position.

The heat is not only an issue for the rider but also for the mechanics which are working all day in a tent fully in the sun. Drinking water is one of the first needs for them to stay focus on their job. The first half of the session Danny Webb couldn’t find his rhythm and had problems to focus on fast lap times. After a couple of changes to the engine and the suspension Webb got slowly his rhythm back. In the last ten minutes of the session Webb was showed P32 on the pit board and immediately the speed was back. The British teenager ended the session on 16^th position just 1,3 seconds behind the fastest rider of today Bradley Smith.

Danny Webb (16^th, 1:46,660):

“It is really hot here in Misano! During riding the sweat is coming sometimes in your eyes and that doesn’t really help to get focussed. I had problems to find my rhythm and it took a while to get through that barrier. When I saw the P32 at the pit board I just went flat out and that got me more than 2 seconds. The bike is pretty ok but still we have to find a better set-up for the front suspension. The weather will be much cooler tomorrow so I expect to more at the front.”