bMoto

Full results, rider quotes and other happy goodness inside.. so you know spoilers if you haven’t seen it already !

Race 1 - 22 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 42′2.850
2, Toni Elias, Honda, ESP, 0′6.207
3, Loris Capirossi, Ducati, ITA, 0′8.102
4, Alex Barros, Ducati, BRA, 0′8.135
5, Marco Melandri, Honda, ITA, 0′8.289
6, John Hopkins, Suzuki, USA, 0′10.186
7, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0′10.239
8, Randy De Puniet, Kawasaki, FRA, 0′14.734
9, Alex Hofmann, Ducati, GER, 0′16.042
10, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0′18.999
11, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0′26.249
12, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0′29.546
13, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0′36.922
14, Makoto Tamada, Yamaha, JPN, 0′38.540
15, Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha, FRA, 0′39.337
16, Kenny Roberts, KR212V, USA, 1′9.336

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Sunday Apr 22 2007
Turkish GP -FANTASTIC DAY FOR DUCATI MARLBORO MEN

Ducati Marlboro Team man Casey Stoner scored a masterful victory at Istanbul Park today to regain the World Championship lead while team-mate Loris Capirossi announced his renaissance with a gritty ride to third place. The pair’s impressive performance also puts Ducati at the top of the constructors’ title chase and the Ducati Marlboro Team at the top of the teams’ championship.

Stoner swept into the lead at the end of the first lap and no one could get close enough to challenge him after that, the Australian extending his advantage throughout to win by 6.2 seconds. Capirossi had a less lonely race, running second behind Stoner early on, then battling back and forth with a group of riders. He lost third place to fellow Ducati GP7 rider Alex Barros exiting Turn 11 on the last lap but fought back into the final chicane to take his first podium of 2007.

Three Ducatis in the top four made this the best-ever MotoGP race for the legendary Italian marque. Bridgestone also enjoyed its best MotoGP result, monopolising the top six places.

Casey Stoner, race winner, World Championship leader on 61 points - “We had a great race, unfortunately some of the other riders didn’t have such a good race. Really, with the way the Ducati and the Bridgestones were today we couldn’t do anything wrong. I got past Colin (Edwards) on the first lap because I wanted to make sure I didn’t get held up and bumped back like in Jerez. Then Valentino ran off the track, pretty much gifting me first position. From there we put some good laps together, built a gap and continued from there because some of the other riders were having a battle. I don’t want to sound confident, but at first I was pushing hard to get a gap, then after it got to 2.53 seconds I tried to slow the pace, just to make sure everything was safe, and the lap times actually dropped from trying to go a bit slower. The Bridgestone tyres were absolutely perfect, in fact the whole package was just perfect. I have to thank a lot of people, all the team and everybody who’s contributed to my career, including Anthony Peadon (Australian former international sprint cyclist) for training me over the last few weeks. We are really determined this year, we’re not expecting much, we’re just doing the best job we can. With Ducati and Marlboro and everybody together I think we can do a really good job and I think and I hope that we can get stronger as the season goes on.”

Loris Capirossi, 3rd place, 11th in World Championship on 20 points - “The whole weekend has been fantastic for me, I’m back! Twenty days ago I had the best moment of my life when our first kid was born, so now I’m enjoying riding again and I hope my championship starts here because we still have 15 races to go. Everything worked so good, I got a good start and tried to follow Casey but he was so strong and I preferred to go a little slower. I fought a lot, especially with Alex on the last lap. I lost the front in the fast right, my bike start shaking a lot and Alex overtook me, so I said �okay, I have only one opportunity to make the podium, to out-brake Alex at the chicane’. I want to say thank you very much to team, to everyone for keeping confidence in me after two difficult races.”

Federico Minoli, President and CEO Ducati Motor Holding - “Three Ducatis in the top four is really amazing, it’s our best-ever result in MotoGP, a fantastic day. Casey has been so strong all weekend, Loris showed a lot of character holding onto third and I’m really happy for Alex too. To see our other team go so well is another testimony to the talent of our engineers. Casey again showed great maturity, he kept extending his advantage throughout the race and always kept his cool. The kid has a great future in front of him.”

Press release courtesy of Ducati.

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WONDERFUL RACE FOR THE TEAM PRAMAC D’ANTIN,WHO ACHIEVE FOURTH POSITION WITH BARROS AND NINETH ONE WITH HOFMANN

Excellent result for the team Pramac d’Antin which obtained the top ten with both his riders in Istanbul’s race. Alex Barros protagonist of an absolute perfect race, lost the podium for very few second, qualifying in fourth position; the race was portend too hardly from the beginning when some riders fall down hindering the track, but fortunately the Brazilian was able to go on continuing his fast race to reach the head’s group. Hofmann after to be fall down in the warm up wasn’t in his good condition, anyway he cached the right spirit to continue to obtain the nineth position overtaking Valentino Rossi just two laps at the end. Thanks to this wonderful Sunday, the team will face with deep motivation the tomorrow optional test, determined to have good race in Shangai too.

Alex Barros – 4°: “I’m very happy because this one was a fantastic week end for us. We started with some difficulties but we ended very well! We work too hardly during the past two days making some changes at my DUCATI GP7 set-up to find the best solution that able me to be fast. Inspite of starded from penalizing position, I made good start that was very important for my result. It was a wonderful race for me, I had deep struggle with the some other riders and I was near to the podium. I’m displeased about it, but Loris was very determined, when I overtook him, he push at his maximum leave me behind. I would you thanks my team for the good work done, Bridgestone e Ducati for the competitive material they given us and Pramac that given me all his confidence. This result is strong important, give us the right strength to go on”.

Alex Hofmann – 9°: “I’ m very satisfied for this day. It was bad started with my fall during the warm-up, but at the end I done a good race. In reason of my fall, I wasn’t at my 100%, I have soft ache rib that make me difficult to respire, certainly anything really grievous, but it conditioned me. During the race I was always near the head’s group, unfortunately I could be there, but I’m equally satisfied; this in Istanbul was my best race! I’m so grateful with all my Team that made precious work and I want to thanks everyone hoping in a good race in China too.

Luis d’Antin – Team Principal: “I think I can be really satisfied after this race. First of all I happy for my Team that made excellent work. Both Barros and Hofmann wasn’t in their best condition, the first one because of deep flu, and the second for his fall in the morning, but all given their best. Barros struggled to the end obtaining a very important fourth position and Hofmann showed to have the right spirit to well done. The last period wasn’t very good for the Team, a day like this is deep important for us. I want to thanks Bridgestone and Ducati for the technical material and all the sponsor that believe in our project.

Official Time:

1° Casey Stoner 42’02.850
2° Toni Elias 42’09.057
3° Loris Capirossi 42’10.952
4°Alex Barros 42’10.985
5°Marco Melandri 42’11.139
9° Alex Hofmann 42’18.892

Press release courtesy of Pramac Dantin Ducati.

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Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen was involved in a first lap crash at today’s Turkish Grand Prix, almost definitely costing him a place on the podium - his race pace after he and rejoined the race was as good as any other rider on the track.

Vermeulen was caught up in a four rider crash, caused by Kawasaki’s Olivier Jacque and also involving Dani Pedrosa and Colin Edwards. Vermeulen’s bike was lying on top of Pedrosa’s and the determined Australian dragged it off, got back on and re-joined the race. The Rizla Suzuki GSV-R sustained some damage in the accident but Vermeulen battled back to secure 11th place at the end of the race, setting the fastest time on the penultimate lap. The accident cost Vermeulen over 22 seconds from start to finish and his final race time was only 20 seconds off second place.

John Hopkins was involved in an equally exciting race. The 23-year old Anglo-American battled all race long for the podium, but the highly competitive 800cc championship meant he had to fight for every place and eventually brought his GSV-R home in sixth place, just ahead of World Champion Nicky Hayden.

Over 40,000 people watched Casey Stoner on the Bridgestone-shod Ducati take victory at a sunny Istanbul circuit, and also witness Bridgestone have the first six bikes across the line for the first time ever in GP history.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now travels to the Far East for round four of the MotoGP World Championship at Shanghai in China on Sunday 6th May.

Chris Vermeulen - “I got a bit boxed in on the first lap and immediately got involved in a battle, but we soon straightened things out. I had just passed Alex Barros when another rider took out Edwards and Pedrosa right in front of me and I had nowhere to go but down. That was the worst part of the race, but luckily my bike was still running and lying on top of Pedrosa’s. I grabbed the clutch, pulled my bike off his and re-joined the race. My handlebar was bent and the fairing was broken but everything else seemed to be fine. I gave it a lap or two to see if everything was ok and then just got my head down and went for it. I started to chase after the other guys and do some fast, consistent laps. I kept it as smooth as I could and managed to get up to 11th. I know I set the fastest lap near the end so who knows what might have happened if I hadn’t have crashed. We now need to take this forward to China, qualify well and make sure we don’t get knocked off again!”

John Hopkins - “It was certainly a dogfight out there! I would firstly like to thank – and congratulate – Bridgestone. They have done a great job here especially on my behalf. Last year I had to pit for a new tyre and this year they had the top six places, so well done to them. I got a decent enough start and made some early passes, and I got my head down and really got stuck into the race. At about half distance I got involved in a hell of a fight where everything just kept turning upside down. One minute I was in seventh then up to fourth or third and then back to sixth. I had to work for every bit today and would definitely like to have gone for that podium place, but we got some good points. Now it’s time to go to China, I got a fourth there last year and I’m really looking forward to going back. It’s a nice flowing track and I think the Suzuki GSV-R and the Bridgestone tyres will work well!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager - “Rizla Suzuki MotoGP had high hopes yesterday of a great result here. We did see a good performance, but unfortunately it was not a great result. For me the ride of the GP came from Chris Vermeulen, he had enough pace to win the race! To pick himself up and achieve such fast lap-times immediately, and with a damaged bike, was just incredible. It also culminated in him setting the fastest time on the penultimate lap of the race. It just shows what a true racer he is and if everything goes his way he certainly has the ability to challenge MotoGP’s established stars on a regular basis. John rode a brilliant first lap to get to third position, and was involved in a frenetic battle throughout the race and we are all a bit disappointed that we couldn’t quite get that podium we are after. Nonetheless the Suzuki GSV-R has worked really well here in Turkey, Bridgestone has dominated all weekend, now let’s go to China and carry on the good work!”

Grand Prix of Turkey Race Classification:

1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 42′02.850: 2. Toni Elias (Honda) +6.207: 3. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +8.102: 4. Alex Barros (Ducati) +8.135: 5. Marco Melandri (Honda) +8.289: 6. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +10.186: 11. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +26.249:

Press release courtesy of Rizla Suzuki.

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Disappointment for Rossi and Edwards on unlucky day in Turkey

High hopes for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards went unfulfilled today as the Fiat Yamaha Team riders, who started from first and second on the grid, were both victims of bad luck at Istanbul Park. The pair got a good start and were leading the pack into turn one before Edwards dropped back as he was unable to get enough heat into his tyre and Rossi made a mistake and ran wide at turn eleven. Disaster then struck for Edwards as he was hit from behind by another rider and sent tumbling into the gravel trap in a crash that involved four riders in total. Rossi meanwhile seemed to be going well and had fought back to second behind eventual winner Casey Stoner, before he suffered a serious rear tyre problem that forced him to roll off the gas and drop right back through the field. The Italian had to use all his talents to keep himself in the race and he eventually brought his Yamaha home in tenth position, taking what were a creditable six points under the circumstances.

Rossi now drops to second place in the championship standings, ten points behind Stoner and 15 ahead of Dani Pedrosa, who was also involved in the first-lap crash. Edwards’ unlucky non-finish, only the second in his Yamaha career, means he drops down to sixth. The Fiat Yamaha Team have a one-day test planned tomorrow although Edwards will wait until the morning to confirm if he will ride after badly bruising his knee when he was knocked down.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 10th Time: +18.999 - “We are very disappointed today because we had high expectations for this race, but instead we had some unexpected problems with the tyre and it’s been a disaster for us. Yesterday and this morning the same race tyre felt good but unfortunately today something happened to it after some laps and I couldn’t fulfil the potential we had here. We don’t know the reason yet for the problem but now Michelin are trying to understand what happened. I had a great start and was leading on the first lap, although I made a mistake at turn eleven when I ran wide and dropped to fifth. However at that stage my bike was working very well and I was able to fight back to second; I felt sure that I was going to have a good battle with Stoner! Sadly though, after ten or eleven laps, the tyre started to lose all grip and I had to slow right down because I was quite scared. It felt like there was a big problem with the tyre and I had to go very carefully just to finish. We were very unlucky today, we started first and second but Colin crashed when he was hit and then I had this problem. I’m also quite unhappy with Elias today because I think he was quite dangerous - more than once he passed me on the inside and then altered his line. This is not a correct way to race. We’re all quite sad tonight but we have many more races so we will look forward now to China.”

Colin Edwards - Position: DNF Time - “I got a great start but I had some problems getting heat into the rear tyre, which we were expecting at the start anyway. As a result I couldn’t corner so well and I slipped right back on that first lap. Then Valentino ran off the track a bit at the fast right turn and I think everyone was checking up a bit and looking at him instead of thinking about the next corner! It seemed that everyone around me ran a bit wide into turn 12 but I braked normally and went underneath them when Jacque hit me from behind and I went down. I’m not badly hurt but my knee took a bit of a bang and it’s swollen up quite a lot. It’s pretty disappointing because we know my bike was working well and once I got some heat into the tyre it might have been a good race.”

Davide Brivio - Team Director - “A very difficult and disappointing race for us! Colin was very unlucky as he was hit from behind through no fault of his own and there was no way for him to avoid the crash. He has some bad bruising to his knee but we hope it’s nothing too serious. Valentino made a mistake on lap one but he recovered well and it looked like he was set for a good race, but we had some problems with the tyre. We’d chosen the hardest and best tyre that we had available to us but it wasn’t enough to fight with our competitors today. We now have to work with Michelin during tomorrow’s test to understand why this happened and learn from the mistake. It was very hard for Valentino to keep going until the end in this situation but he didn’t give up and took some valuable points; we’re still second in the championship so let’s move on from here and look forward to China.”

Turkish delight for Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team
After a drama charged Grand Prix of Turkey the Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team can leave Istanbul extremely satisfied as riders Makoto Tamada and Sylvain Guintoli scored more championship points finishing in 14th and 15th spots respectively.

In what is shaping as the most intensely contested MotoGP Championship on record, both riders were extremely fortunate not to be involved in a spectacular opening lap crash that caused three riders to retire, as the Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 pilots were forced to take evasive action to stay in the race.
Losing vital seconds in the melee, both riders recovered composure rapidly to give chase to the quickly disappearing pack and with determined rides closed the gap to the leaders over the remainder of the race to finish just 30 seconds from a podium finish.

Confirming the continuing development of both the new generation Dunlop tyres and the 800cc Yamaha’s that have made their debut in the new look championship in 2007, both riders consistently lapped the 5.340km Istanbul Park circuit over a second quicker than last year.

Makoto Tamada - Position: 14th Time: +38.540 - “The race wasn’t so bad for me after Jerez but I need to find more consistency in myself. I had a good tyre as in the first few laps I could push very hard. It then dropped off a little but then the consistency remained the same. In the first lap I lost a bit as I had to ride around a long way to avoid the bikes on the track. I rode very hard to try and make up the difference but this is where I think I used a bit of the rear tyre trying to catch up to everyone. During the race I had a good battle with Shinya Nakano and my teammate Sylvain so things are getting better but the tyre remained consistent in its level of grip. I am working well with the team as we get to know each other and I am getting more and more confidence with the Dunlop tyres after being on other makes of tyres for many years. I feel that with the improvements we are making with the bike and the help from Dunlop that our results will improve at every race, as long as there are not too many crashes in front of me!”

Sylvain Guintoli - Position: 15th Time:+39.337 - “Overall it was a good weekend. After Qatar and Jerez where we did some testing, this track was completely new to me. In the first lap I had to do a bit of gardening to miss the accident in front of me on the first lap and I think I lost about 10 seconds so it was a race against the clock to come back to the pack. On the last lap I had passed Makoto but unfortunately braking at the end of the straight I hit a bit of footpeg from the big crash that was still on the track and I lost the front and nearly crashed. One point is good again, especially here where I thought it would be more difficult but I think I could’ve been closer to the front than 30 seconds except for missing the crash and that little incident on the last lap. We always knew we had a good front tyre and now we have found some new information to improve the front but especially the most important was the rear tyre. Dunlop has made some big improvements with the rear tyre as it was very consistent the entire race and allowed us to go much faster than last year as I have done faster lap times than Carlos Checa did last year in the dry. This weekend has given me a lot more confidence as I feel these tyres are much better than a lot of people think so I am hoping for a race soon where we can get everything to gel together.

Herve Poncharal - Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team Director- “I am reasonably satisfied with the result of the weekend as we are again in the points and towards the end of the race, we were quicker than a few riders in front of us and this proves that we are becoming more competitive at each race and that the new tyre rules are working. I am extremely happy with Sylvain and feel that if he wasn’t involved in the first lap drama that he would have scored more points than the single one that he claimed. He came back strongly and was very consistent the entire race, competing together with Shinya Nakano and Carlos Checa. The most encouraging sign for us was that we were only 30 seconds from third place and this proves to me the improvement that is being made to the entire package as last year we struggled here and this year it is a lot better result for us. We are staying here to test tomorrow and we have quite a few things to test especially in the tyre department. We have to keep it in perspective though as we are not going to climb ten steps at once but from the beginning of the season we are consistent and we are steadily improving.

Race 1 - 22 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 42′2.850
2, Toni Elias, Honda, ESP, 0′6.207
3, Loris Capirossi, Ducati, ITA, 0′8.102
4, Alex Barros, Ducati, BRA, 0′8.135
5, Marco Melandri, Honda, ITA, 0′8.289
6, John Hopkins, Suzuki, USA, 0′10.186
7, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0′10.239
8, Randy De Puniet, Kawasaki, FRA, 0′14.734
9, Alex Hofmann, Ducati, GER, 0′16.042
10, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0′18.999
11, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0′26.249
12, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0′29.546
13, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0′36.922
14, Makoto Tamada, Yamaha, JPN, 0′38.540
15, Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha, FRA, 0′39.337
16, Kenny Roberts, KR212V, USA, 1′9.336

Rider Standings 22/04/2007

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 61
2, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 51
3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 36
4, Toni Elias, Honda, ESP, 35
5, Marco Melandri, Honda, ITA, 30
6, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 26
7, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 26
8, Alex Barros, Ducati, BRA, 25
9, John Hopkins, Suzuki, USA, 23
10, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 21
11, Loris Capirossi, Ducati, ITA, 20
12, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 15
13, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 14
14, Alex Hofmann, Ducati, GER, 12
15, Randy De Puniet, Kawasaki, FRA, 11
16, Makoto Tamada, Yamaha, JPN, 4
19, Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha, FRA, 3

Press release courtesy of Yamaha.

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RANDY RACES TO BEST RESULT YET IN ISTANBUL

Randy de Puniet finished today’s Turkish Grand Prix in eighth place, his best result to date since moving up to the MotoGP class with Kawasaki at the start of the 2006 season.

De Puniet’s race didn’t get off to the best start, after difficulties getting his Ninja ZX-RR off the line dropped him back to 13th place at turn one, but he recovered quickly as he chased hard to catch the group of riders ahead of him.

De Puniet’s consistency, combined with the impressive performance of his Bridgestone tyres, allowed the Kawasaki pilot to bridge the gap to current championship leader Valentino Rossi, who was the last man in a six-way battle for third place, with just five laps of the race remaining.

De Puniet was quick to put in a pass on Rossi for eighth place in the final turn, but the Italian managed to retake the position on the main straight. The Kawasaki rider eventually made the pass stick at turn four, but by then, with just three laps left to run, the gap to the ongoing battle for the final podium position was too big to bridge.

But eighth place, just 14 seconds behind race winner Casey Stoner (Ducati), is de Puniet’s best result in the premier class to date, and one on which he is keen to improve on further as the season progresses.

But while de Puniet was satisfied with the performance of himself and his Ninja ZX-RR today, his Kawasaki teammate, Olivier Jacque, was left battered and bruised after crashing out of the race on the opening lap.

The 33-year-old Kawasaki rider moved to the inside of the track to pass Alex Barros (Ducati) and Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) on the run down to the final turn, but with his view obscured by other riders Jacque missed his braking marker and got into the final turn too hot.

Realising his mistake, Jacque tried to look for a gap through which to run on, but was unable to avoid colliding with the rear of Colin Edward’s Yamaha at the apex of the turn. Jacque and Edwards both crashed as a result of the collision, with Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Vermeulen also crashing whilst taking avoiding action.

Jacque was lucky to escape with just a sore head and a bruised coccyx, but these minor injuries are enough to rule him out of Kawasaki’s planned development test at the Istanbul Park circuit tomorrow.

Randy - 8th Place- “I got a pretty bad start today. I don’t know what happened, but the bike didn’t respond immediately when I released the clutch. I was making up the places again, but then I made another mistake on the back straight. I was ninth at the end of the first lap and not far from the leading group. I had a nice fight with Barros and Hayden but in two laps I lost about three seconds trying to pass Rossi. I finally did it four laps to the end but the gap with the front guys was too big and I could only keep my pace and finish in eighth position. I am happy because I felt good and got mine and my team’s best result of the season, though I am sure that if I hadn’t had a bad start I could have finished in a better position. I will try again in China.”

Oliver - DNF- “I am really sorry about what happened and there are no excuses: I made a mistake. I got a decent start and I was feeling good. It was a big group and I saw a good opportunity to make places up after the fast turn into the chicane. I was in the middle of the group and I missed my braking marker and when I braked it was too late. There was no space. I had no way out and couldn’t avoid touching Edward’s rear wheel. I made high flight and landed on my coccyx. I thought I had broken it, as it was really painful, but luckily it is not. Now I still feel a little bit dizzy but I feel even worse for the team as we had worked really hard throughout the weekend and the bike was feeling very good. I’m really looking forward to China to work even harder and reward them.”

Press release courtesy of Kawasaki.