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2007 MotoGP Qatar - Results 10/03/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 43'2.788
2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'2.838
3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'8.530
4 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'9.071
5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'17.433
6 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'18.647
7 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'22.916
8 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'23.057
9 Alex Barros Ducati BRA 0'25.961
10 Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 0'28.456
Its nice to see 3 Americans in the top 10. Im thinking Hopkins might be the man this year if he can keep it together. Of course there is always Rossi. Him and Pedrosa will battle it out, Pedrosa is very very hungry!
Check out some of the quotes from the teams below:
STONER STORMS TO PERFECT FIRST WIN AT LOSAIL
Casey Stoner made a perfect start with the Ducati Marlboro Team at Qatar today, riding to a magnificent season-opening victory aboard his Desmosedici GP7. The Australian's breathtaking maiden win in the first race of MotoGP's new 800cc era repeats Loris Capirossi's 2006 season-opening win at Jerez and follows Troy Bayliss' 2006 season-ending win at Valencia on the 990cc GP6. Capirossi had an unluckier start to his 2007 campaign, sliding off without injury at one-third distance while charging forward and aiming for a podium result.
Stoner rode a perfectly judged race, leading the first lap and then battling with former World Champion Valentino Rossi throughout. The pair swapped positions several times, separated by just a few tenths for most of the 22 laps, Stoner crossing the finish line 2.8 seconds ahead after setting a new track record on the final lap.
Casey Stoner, race winner, World Championship leader
"We couldn't ask for much more, it was my first time racing with Ducati and Bridgestone, a perfect start. I couldn't be happier with the weekend, the team worked perfectly and the bike and tyres were perfect in the race. We had a bit of a speed advantage and though we had some dramas in other parts of the track I played to the strengths of the bike and was able to do some pretty fast lap times. Valentino and I had a good battle, it was nice riding up front again. When he came by later on I decided to see how much further the bike can go and I was able to break a bit of an advantage. On the last lap I didn't realise I had a gap and rode the fastest lap, which shows how well the Bridgestones worked. I'm really happy with the way things are going and think we'll get stronger and stronger, but we'll have to see how the season pans out. I'm leading the championship which feels a little strange but it's only the first race of a very, very long year."
Loris Capriossi, DNF
"It's a real shame because I got a great start but someone touched me in the first turn and I lost a few places. After that I was recovering, pushing hard, then I lost the front in the last corner. It's a pity because I could have got a good result, as Casey proved our whole package is strong, and it's good that a Ducati won. I always said that Casey is a great talent, a good guy, and he deserved to win."
Federico Minoli, president and CEO Ducati Motor Holding
"This is an extraordinary day - we've won the first 800 race, just like we won the last 990 race. Ducati is enjoying a great start to the year, both in racing and commercially, because our new 1098 is going so well. The win is a testimony to Ducati, it shows the strength of our brand and technology. We have created something that's good for us, for motorcycling and for Italy. Our technology is second to none, it's entirely developed in Bologna by a group of dedicated engineers and shows the world that when Italians focus on something they can do it very well. Stoner was amazing, he's so young and he won so well, he didn't dare too much, he knew he had more speed on the straight and he rode a very intelligent race. Loris had an unlucky day but he doesn't need to prove anything, he is the symbol of Ducati, we know he's strong and we know he will be back. We are extremely satisfied with today, the engine was beyond our expectations, the desmodromic system works so well. The tyres were also very good, so our thanks to Bridgestone, to our other technical partner Shell Advance and all our sponsors."
Rossi launches 800cc challenge with hard-fought second in Qatar
Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi finished second in the inaugural Grand Prix of the 800cc era today after losing out in a close battle with Casey Stoner (Ducati), who took his first MotoGP win. After starting from pole position for the 46th time in his career, Rossi got a good start but surrendered his lead to the eventual winner as they crossed the line at the end of the first lap with Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and John Hopkins (Suzuki) in close contention. From then on seven-time World Champion Rossi stalked the Australian youngster with both showing their strength in different parts of the track; Rossi's Yamaha was generally faster in the corners whilst the Ducati claimed the advantage on the straights. With four laps to go Rossi made his move and passed but Stoner passed him back over the line and Rossi was unable to stay with him in the final few laps. Stoner eventually took the chequered flag 2.8 seconds clear of Rossi with Pedrosa just holding on for third ahead of Hopkins.
After being consistently fast throughout the practice sessions and also starting from the front row in third, today was not to be Colin Edwards' day and a small slide off the start line saw him lose his grid position into turn one before dropping to seventh by the end of the first lap. The Texan had a few problems during the race and was unable to make it back up to the front group, settling into a best position of fifth before Marco Melandri (Honda) eventually relegated him to sixth with three laps to go.
Valentino Rossi
"It was a great race today and a good battle, although of course we would have preferred to start the season with a win! After the practice this morning we were a little bit scared because we had some problems with the tyre, but we understood what to do and I definitely made the right tyre choice with Michelin, so I am happy for that. I got a great start and my M1 worked very well, I could ride it how I wanted on the limit and keep pushing. I wanted to push Casey and try to take the fight to him more, but in fact he was perfect today. He didn't make a single mistake as far as I could see and he rode very well; he deserved to win so congratulations to him. I could see that he was faster on the straight and so I knew that if I got in front I was going to need to make a gap from him, but in fact he was too strong! In the last few laps we were getting faster and faster and I thought I still had a chance, but then he kept on going and my tyre started to slide a little bit so I wasn't able to stay with him to the finish. Anyway, we only waved the white flag right at the end so I am happy about this! Of course it's not perfect but my team have worked very hard and it's much better to have 20 points like this than two like last year! Now we need to find a little bit more horsepower, but Yamaha is working very hard and I am confident that we will continue to improve."
Colin Edwards
"I spun off the line on the dirty part of the track and so my start wasn't great, which was annoying. I had a bit of a feeling just before we went out that we would be slower in the first few laps as the tyre was going to take time to heat up and unfortunately that was the case; I just couldn't push hard enough in those vital first few laps. Anyway after that I was holding pace okay and thought I could stay with the top group but then I had a near crash on lap seven or eight coming into turn seven, to the extent when I was holding the bike up on my knee and elbow! I somehow figured out how to get it back up after 30 metres but we lost quite a bit of time. From then on my rhythm was okay and honestly the race as a whole wasn't so bad, but the tyre felt a bit greasy and I was lacking some front grip, which was strange after it had been perfect all weekend. We definitely need more power - that was obvious today, so that's priority number one for Yamaha I guess! Anyway, we've learnt a lot this weekend so let's go forward from here."
Davide Brivio - Team Director
"It could be a better start for us and it's not what we hoped for after starting on the front row with both riders, but anyway it's not so bad! Our bike is good and we can fight for the victory as Valentino showed today, but we have some more work to do. Colin unfortunately wasn't able to match the potential he showed during the practices, but I am sure he will be back at the top in Jerez. In some areas our bike is very strong and in other areas less so; now we will do our best to even this out. We gathered a lot more important information this weekend which will help our engineers over the coming days and I am sure we will be ready to fight again in Jerez."
PEDROSA TAKES RECORD PODIUM IN GRAND PRIX OF QATAR
Repsol Honda star Dani Pedrosa became the youngest ever rider to achieve 50 Grand Prix podiums as he took third place in Saturday's Grand Prix of Qatar. The 21-year-old Spaniard made a fast start from fifth on the grid and in the first laps Pedrosa battled with the front runners, overtaking pole-man Valentino Rossi multiple times for second, only for Rossi to regain the place. As the race progressed Pedrosa couldn't hold on to the front two and chose to control the gap to John Hopkins behind him.
By crossing the line in third, the Repsol Honda rider took his ninth MotoGP podium in only his second season in the premier class. Added to his 17 podiums in the 125cc class and 24 podiums in 250s, Pedrosa notched up 50 Grand Prix podiums at the tender age of 21 years and 162 days. The previous holder of this record was Valentino Rossi, who was 22 years and 93 days old when he took his 50th GP podium at the French GP in 2001.
In the first MotoGP race of the 2007 season today Nicky Hayden moved up from ninth on the grid to finish in eighth place, having battled hard throughout the 22-lap race at the 5.380km (3.343 miles) Losail circuit. Though he lacked some confidence in the feel from the front of his RC212V, the new World Champion recorded his fastest lap of the race on the last lap as he valiantly chased down Chris Vermeulen in seventh place. Hayden crossed the line just 0.141s behind the Australian to score eight World Championship points. Australian Casey Stoner scored his first Grand Prix victory today, with Valentino Rossi finishing second.
The Repsol Honda Team now looks forward to the Grand Prix of Spain in Jerez and round two of the MotoGP World Championship, which takes place on Sunday March 25.
Nicky Hayden
"I tried to learn as much as I could in the race. I really felt like I rode my hardest and had some good dices with a few of the guys - I just about caught Vermeulen on the last lap and I got faster as the race went on. My last two laps were my fastest laps of the race and that's the positive thing. It's been a tough weekend but I'm not going to whine and make a bunch of excuses. I qualified ninth and finished eight and, compared to the top boys, we've just been off the pace for the whole weekend. The biggest problem is confidence in the front and getting the bike to steer how I want it to. I want to say thanks to the team because those guys have been working hard. We'll stay here to test tomorrow and try to figure out some improvements, and hopefully be a lot closer when we get to the next race at Jerez."
Dani Pedrosa
"I'm happy with the result today and to start the season with a third place is pretty useful. We had a fair few problems this weekend, so to finish on the podium is good for us. I made a great start which I was happy with because my practice starts this weekend weren't as good as this. In the race I was trying to ride at the maximum and then I made a mistake in the last corner and lost the slipstream to the riders in front. Anyway I was not able to follow them in the corners because I was having some wheelspin and I lost my rhythm a little. The bike was sliding quite a lot and it was difficult to stay ahead of John Hopkins at the end because he was pushing hard. It was a good fight. This season is going to be a tough competition between the bikes, tyres and the riders and it should be very interesting. The next race is very important and Jerez is a great track, so I hope we can move on from the good result today and do great job there."
Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager
"Dani was reasonably happy with third today and he did well to get on the podium, however we are not satisfied with the results this weekend and we must work hard in many ways to make improvements. Nicky also fought hard to finish in eight place at the end of the race and earn some points, but of course this isn't where he wants to be and he's not satisfied with the result. The championship is long though and we will be concentrating on making the improvements we need to move forward. The next race is at Jerez and the Team will be working very hard to get the results we want there."
Hopkins narrowly misses the podium in Qatar
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins battled to a superb fourth place at today's Qatar Grand Prix, missing out on a place on the podium by only half a second.
Anglo-American Hopkins has been suffering all weekend with the after-effects of a heavy crash at Qatar last month, but he overcame the pain to equal his best-ever MotoGP result. He got off to a good start and consolidated his sixth place starting position in the early laps. Hopkins then moved up the field to third place at one point – setting one of the fastest laps of the race in the process – where he then became involved in a race long battle with Dani Pedrosa. Although Hopkins tried to make an overtaking manoeuvre on the last lap, he was unable to get past Pedrosa and had to settle for fourth.
Chris Vermeulen had an equally impressive race finishing in seventh after starting back on the fifth row in 13th place. He got relegated back to 16th on the first lap, but fought his way up the field to record valuable points for himself and the Team.
Today's race was held in warm and sunny conditions with track temperatures reaching 45°C. Australian Casey Stoner took victory on his Bridgestone-shod Ducati.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now travels back to Europe for the second round of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship at Jerez in Spain on Sunday 25th March.
John Hopkins:
"I am really happy with the way the race went after coming to this event in quite a bit of pain. I was never sure how I'd ride or even if I'd ride! I got off to a good start but lost a couple of places on the first few laps, I soon got them back and from there on I just tried to keep myself up towards the front. It was important not to lose any positions, but unfortunately Rossi and Stoner had a great pace and it was difficult to keep up with them. I stayed with Pedrosa and pushed him all the way till the end. I tried to get past him on the last lap but he's so little he gets out of the corners so quick that I just couldn't get past him! I've got to say thanks to the Team Physio Dean Miller and my trainer Johnny Louch for getting me fit enough to race here this weekend. It was also great to have my Mum here and my girlfriend Ashleigh, as they both helped me cope with the injury well. I am now ready to go to Jerez and hope to take that step up onto the podium!"
Chris Vermeulen:
"It was a difficult race starting so far back and I ran wide on the first turn and lost some more places. I started to get through the field even though it's not easy to pass on this track. I had a lot of work to do and was passing people quite hard and pushing the front tyre, which might have used the tyre up a bit too much early on, but I had to get past! In the end I was trying to catch some quick guys and just couldn't get up to them. I ended up seventh which was obviously a lot better than last year, but we still have a lot to do. The plan is now to go to Jerez and win, but irrespective if we can go there and improve on this position it will be a good result."
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
"It has been a great day's work by the Team, by Suzuki and by Bridgestone. John did everything – and more – that we wanted of him and I am sure he would have loved to have been on that podium. He had a good go on the last lap, but it wasn't going to happen without a massive risk and it was good to see him show maturity and bring the bike and himself home safely.
"Chris has had a difficult weekend but showed what an asset he is by bringing the bike from 16th on the first lap to a very creditable seventh. That result will give him great confidence for the next few races and when he improves on his qualifying positions I am sure he will be challenging right up there.
"I guess today's result and the potential we have shown demonstrates how far we have come since the race here last year. It's a solid start to this season and we are really looking forward to getting to Jerez and carrying on with the good work."
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